Accidents can happen anywhere and to anyone. The thing is, no matter how carefully you drive, you can never guarantee your safety on the road as things are always unpredictable.
If you’re involved in a vehicular accident, there are various things you can do after the incident. Depending on how serious the accident is, make sure to take the following steps after getting into a vehicular accident:
Assess Your Situation
No matter what your situation is, whether the vehicular accident involves truck wrecks in Texas or small vehicles, the first thing that you should do is to assess yourself. If possible, stay calm and check if you have incurred some injuries. If you’re not injured, assess the accident’s severity and the other party. If the accident happened in the middle of the road, go to a safer area. You can stay on the side of the road for the meantime as you wait for rescue to arrive.
Call 911 And The Police
If someone is injured, call 911 immediately. Then, turn on your car’s hazard lights. If the accident is minor and no one’s hurt, you must call the police quickly. In other states, you have to file an accident report with the police. The office will then ask for your license, insurance, registration, and other important information. You should also request the name of the responding officer, badge number, and other contact details. Moreover, you need to ask for a copy of your police report as it’s essential for your insurance claims.
Consult Your Lawyer
Another thing that you should do after getting involved in a vehicular accident is contact your lawyer. Car accident lawyers can help protect your rights and ensure valuable evidence isn’t destroyed. It’s also essential that you receive legal advice before providing a statement. Lawyers can give you advice on the problems that may range from how to ensure you’re getting medical treatment to how you should get compensated fairly.
Have An Accurate Record
Once the police arrive, see to it that you tell the investigators about what exactly happened to the best of your abilities. If you don’t know particular facts, you should tell the officers that. Never speculate, misstate any facts or guess. If you’re asked if you’re injured and you’re unsure because you’re still in shock, just tell them you’re not sure instead of saying no. The injuries and pain from the accident become apparent after several hours of collision. You must also ensure that the other party’s statements are also accurate.
Take Some Photos
Use your mobile phone to document the accident. You must take pictures of every vehicle involved in the accident. You must capture photos from every angle that shows damage. You must also take photos of the skid marks and road hazards at the crash scene.
If you can’t take note of the license plate of the vehicles, take some photos of them and jot down other information like insurance and registration documents. Depending on your service providers, there are insurance companies that use apps where you can submit photos instead of waiting for an adjuster to evaluate the damage.
Get Information From the Witnesses
More often than not, witnesses tend to be the ones who are just passing by where the accident has occurred. If possible, get their thoughts on what happened. This will help support the evidence that the vehicular accident was due to someone’s negligence. However, make sure not to discuss any particulars of the accident with anybody except medical and law professionals. In addition to that, see to it that you reach out to the other driver.
Seek Immediate Medical Attention
Once you’re involved in a vehicular accident, you might not notice your injuries immediately. In fact, as mentioned, injuries may become apparent after a few hours of the accident. There are also instances when people experience the pain a day after the accident. Unless you’re certain that you’re not injured, you must seek medical attention at the nearest urgent care center or visit the clinic of your family doctor.
Anyone involved in the accident could have neck trauma, and that can be life-threatening. You can learn how to stop a neck hemorrhage in this guide by True Rescue. Knowing how to respond promptly and effectively is crucial and could potentially prevent a person from bleeding out and ultimately save their life.
Even if the accident is minor, you might sustain serious and permanent injuries to your spinal cord. Once you have lost consciousness after the car accident, you might have suffered from a closed head injury or concussion. This should be taken seriously as it may cause behavioral and cognitive changes once left untreated.
Conclusion
After any vehicular accident, getting scared and panicking is normal. But always try to stay calm and try not to lose your temper, so you’ll easily remember every detail of the accident. This is especially true if the accident was due to someone else’s negligence. If this is the case, recording everything may come in handy to get claims and protect your rights.
