When a car accident occurs, no one handles it the same way. There is always confusion and upset. People are injured, they are distraught, and they are worried about what happens next. Most people are unsure how to handle an accident. There are specific steps to take when a car accident occurs. The best step is to contact a personal injury attorney. This is someone who has ample experience with the law, and they can help you figure out your next step, what to do, and how to handle yourself. You’ll find no car accident attorney will deviate from a very specific list of things to do following a car accident. Here’s a sampling of what happens, including how you handle talking to the insurance company.
Call the Police
The first thing to do when you are involved in any car accident is to call the police. They are the ones who are writing accident reports, determining fault, and working for you. Even if the accident is minor and doesn’t seem to have caused much damage, call the police. You want a record of what happened, including observations from the police regarding who might be at fault following an accident. The problem with assuming another driver will take responsibility without a police report is many don’t. They might want to avoid talking to the police, so they’ll admit fault and give you their insurance information. When it comes down to it, however, any of them will tell the insurance company they were not to blame, and you have very little recourse if this happens. Call the police, get a police report, and then contact the insurance company.
See the Doctor
Maybe you’re not bleeding, feeling poorly, or even rattled following an accident. It’s good news, but you still need to see the doctor. The doctor is going to determine if you have an injury you can’t see. Just because the damage isn’t visible doesn’t mean it’s not there. You must see the doctor to help you survive and to determine what course of action, if any, is needed.
Call Your Insurance Agency
You are not to blame. Someone else hit you, they are to blame for the accident, and it’s their job to report the accident to the insurance company. You don’t need to get your insurance company involved in this, right? Wrong. You do want to call your insurance company, and you want to do it quickly.
Your insurance policy has numerous types of coverage you might need to utilize when you’re involved in a car accident, and it’s time for you to contact them and ask what you need to do. One might be rental car coverage. You might want to use that while your car is being repaired. You might also want to use your own company to fix your vehicle. This might not be an option if someone else’s insurance company is in charge.
Your insurance company will pay for these things and then seek reimbursement from the other company. They can also help you with things you might not know you need help with. If you decide to work only with the at-fault driver’s insurance company, it could take months to reach a settlement, which means you have no car unless you can afford to fix it out of your own pocket. The best thing you can do is call your own insurance company, let them get things going for you, and let them handle the negotiations and issues with the other insurance company.
You also have to consider whether the other driver is insured. There are instances in which the other driver does not have car insurance, and you’ll need yours no matter what. Your insurance company will fight the other driver to obtain payment for their cost helping you in this situation. You don’t need to worry about that kind of stuff, so you just call your insurance company and go from there. Let them work with you to find out how you’re going to proceed.
Your best course of action in any accident is to contact an attorney who handles car accidents and personal injury cases. This is the person who is going to provide you with help when you need it most. You will find your attorney is able to seek legal action where it’s needed, such as determining how much you’re owed. If you’re injured badly, out of work, or unable to go back to work, they’ll help you negotiate an even bigger settlement with the other insurance company so you are not financially troubled in the future. On that note, you must still contact your own insurance company when this happens.