Steps to Take After a Car Accident

By Dallas Personal Injury Attorney on August 23, 2016

Is your driving record spotless? Do you never text while driving? Are you certain to get a designated driver when you go out drinking with your friends? You should be applauded for helping keep our roads safe. Unfortunately, not everyone acts as responsibly and even the best drivers can be blindsided by a negligent motorist. In such a situation, the most you can do to prepare is to know what to do after a car accident before one ever happens.

If you are ever in a car accident, you should always follow these steps:

1. Check on everyone: Safety and health first and foremost. Take a moment to ensure that no one has been injured. Remember: even injuries that seem mild could be indicative of serious complications that arise later.
2. Call the authorities: For serious accidents that injure at least one person or severely damage a vehicle, the authorities and emergency responders should be notified. Police can, at the very least, cordon off the lanes with debris in them to protect other drivers. They will also likely produce their own police report of the scene, which you can use in your claim later.
3. Get identifying information: The main question you need to address for your claim is who hit you? The more information you have about the negligent driver, the better. You obviously insurance information and ID but don’t forget license plate, car make and model, paint job, physical description, and so on.
4. Photograph the scene: To back up your claim and argument, photographs can work wonders. You will want pictures of the scene from numerous angles, the damage up-close, the environment, and the street conditions. Don’t have a camera? Are you sure? Smartphones all come equipped with one by default.
5. Don’t apologize: Never say you are sorry. From start to finish, you must reserve your usual courtesy and opt to not apologize. A single “sorry” can be seen as an admission of guilt that the insurance companies spin later to put liability on your shoulders, regardless of whether who really caused the crash.
6. See a medical professional: If you haven’t already, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible. You could have underlying health problems you are not feeling in the current moment. The best case scenario – you are unharmed or only suffered minor injuries – still creates a medical record you can use as evidence for your claim.
7. Contact an attorney: Last but definitely not least, you need to get a legal professional on your side to handle your claim and negotiate a settlement. You can contact Lenahan Law Firm and our Dallas personal injury attorneys for the insight and legal counsel you require to empower your case.

Call (888) 473-2820 toll-free to schedule your free case evaluation today.