It’s no surprise that road accidents are not uncommon, while a high percentage of them can even be fatal. Even if you are fortunate enough to suffer property damage only, dealing with the aftermath of an accident can still be overwhelming. Not only because you will feel upset, but because there will be certain things you should absolutely do to protect yourself legally. The following article notes the most crucial things you should do after you were involved in an accident.
Call Law Enforcement
No matter how small your accident may seem, you should always stop at the scene and call the police or ask someone to call them for you. When the police arrive, make sure you tell the officers all the details you remember about the accident. Be as accurate as possible, and if you aren’t sure about what happened, feel free to say that. If it was a minor accident, and the police are unable to come, you should go to the nearest police station to file a police report as soon as possible.
Seek Medical Attention
In order to approve your claim after an accident, insurance companies often require medical records that prove your physical injuries. Generally, when such an accident happens, a common question arises: do I need an MRI after a car accident? This diagnostic tool is crucial for identifying internal injuries that may not be immediately apparent. In fact, many lawyers might recommend an MRI as it provides concrete evidence of injuries. So, you must listen to your attorney to get fair compensation.
By letting a physician examine you for common injuries that can occur during an accident, you will gain all the medical proof you need for any legal dispute. Additionally, some injuries don’t immediately show symptoms, and if you don’t seek treatment immediately after an accident, you risk doing more damage.
Take Pictures
If your phone is still functional after the accident, use its camera to take photographs of everything related to the accident, the vehicles involved, the scene, and most importantly, your injuries. As this will all serve as evidence for your insurance company, it’s a step you really don’t want to miss. Otherwise, you will be obligated to rely on the police officer’s report, which may or may not be accurate as they didn’t witness the accident.
Exchange Information
Exchange information with any other person who was involved in the collision. Get the name, address, phone number, insurance information, and license plate numbers of all drivers. This will make it easier to contact them for any future dispute, plus you can convey all their data to your insurance company.
Don’t Admit Fault
While your first instinct might be to apologize, you should never do that if you are involved in an accident, especially if there are bodily injuries involved. Determining fault can sometimes be tricky even for law officers, and you shouldn’t incriminate yourself by admitting it prematurely. In doing so, you are essentially taking on financial liability for damages you may not have caused.
Contact Your Legal Advisor
Dealing with insurance companies, claims and lawyers can be a little intimidating, but a legal advisor who specializes in accident insurance claims can help you with that. For example, while proving a car crash claim can be hard sometimes, it’s even harder to claim insurance for the victims of motorcycle accidents. As a bike rider, you will most likely be considered guilty by default, so choosing the right motorcycle accident lawyer is one of the essential things you need to do after an accident to help you investigate the circumstances of your crash. The sooner you do this, the more time you’ll have to prepare a solid case.
Notify Your Insurance Company
Whether you caused the accident or not, you will have to report it to your insurance company. If the driver’s coverage might apply, they will get notified anyway, and you can get penalized if you fail to do it by yourself. Depending on the type of your insurance, the policy rate can rise or even get canceled. However, if you provide all of the information you collected from the accident, your insurance will probably stay the same, even if you were at fault.
Avoid Social Media
You can talk about your accident with your family and close friends, but posting details and pictures about it on social media can be a huge mistake. You should avoid posting anything until your insure case lasts because investigators for the insurance companies can use anything they find on your social media platforms against you to devalue your claim.
As you can see, the decisions and steps you take after your accident can have serious consequences both personally and legally. Failure to act can impact your eligibility for compensation or decrease its value. If you couldn’t avoid the accident, at least you can save yourself from some additional stress afterward. Or, if you are too severely injured to do these crucial things, ask a family member or close friend to do them for you.