The Immediate Steps You Need To Take After Getting Hurt In A Road Accident

The Immediate Steps You Need To Take After Getting Hurt In A Road Accident

One of the unexpected situations you can face while driving your car is getting involved in a road accident. It’s a stressful event that can leave you disoriented as you’re trying to make sure you or your loved ones are okay. And no matter how severe the crash was, there’s a chance you fail to recognize what steps you need to take right after the road accident to help you build your case with the insurance companies or in front of the judge. In the following guide, we share with you the immediate steps you need to take after getting hurt in a road accident so that you’re able to take action accordingly.

Call 911 If Needed

When a car crash happens, your top priority is to make sure that you and your passengers are safe from any harm and don't suffer any major injuries. If anyone involved has serious injuries, you need to call 911 for an ambulance and immediate medical assistance. Try to move the vehicles out of the road to avoid another accident while you wait. While it’s very likely that no one suffers from any major injuries, many car accident injuries can appear days or even weeks after the crash occurred. Therefore, you should also seek non-urgent medical assistance after the event so that professionals can determine whether you’ll need medical treatment. The documentation given by your doctor will also help you build up your case with the insurance company if needed.

Exchange Contact Information 

While it’s important to talk to the other driver involved in the road accident and write down their name, contact information, and insurance information, you should also make sure that you’re able to get the names and contact information of any witnesses of the incident who are willing to verify what happened if needed. If you need to verify coverage from the other driver, call their carrier at the scene if they don’t have proof of current insurance to cover yourself from major headaches down the line. This step is crucial to move forward any process with insurance companies or filing a lawsuit should any party be found negligent and guilty of the accident.

Take Photos of the Scene

Once you’ve finished checking up on every passenger in your car, take care of any major injuries that require a visit to a medical centre. Talk to everyone involved in the incident, you need to recollect more evidence for building up your case. However, collecting more evidence doesn’t mean that you’ll need to file a lawsuit as soon as you leave the scene. For instance, in California, you have up to two years to file a personal injury lawsuit, and if you want to file lawsuits for property damage, the period extends to three years. Still, it is crucial that you take visual evidence of the incident since it’s very likely that your insurance company will ask for photo or video proof of what happened. Take photos of every aspect of the scene with your phone- from the damaged sections of the vehicles to the license plates, street signs, traffic lights, and other elements involved in the road accident.

Report the Accident to the Authorities

Regardless of how serious the road accident was, you must contact the police to file a report and get an official record of the accident. Depending on where the incident happened, on an interstate highway, for instance, you may need to contact county or state law enforcement to report the crash. For serious accidents, the officer will redact an accident report that you may use during the insurance process that will assist in establishing legal liabilities. In the case of minor crashes without injured people or significant damage, the officer files an incident report that also functions as an information exchange. While depending on the severity of the accident some police departments won’t send officers to the scene, it’s still important that you call them to report the incident.

Suffering any road accident can be a stressful situation for everyone involved, and it can be an exhausting process that can drag on if you don’t take the necessary steps to gather all the necessary information. Medical bills and car repair costs can easily pile up depending on the car crash’s severity, so it’s vital that you understand the immediate steps you need to take after getting hurt in a situation like this to avoid major headaches down the line. How much you pay attention to these details can negatively affect your quality of life and your financial stability if you’re not careful.