As awful as a car accident can be, it is important that you keep your head when it happens and don’t make some of the mistakes that people often make. We have put together a list of dos and don’ts for vehicle accidents that may prove useful to you if you are ever in one.
Do Get Checked Over by a Doctor
Let’s start with the most important one. Even small car accidents can be very harmful, resulting in years of slow recovery after the fact. Hidden injuries like concussion and whiplash may not be apparent right away but could prove to be difficult to deal with over time.
Experts say that even if you mostly feel okay, seeing a doctor after an accident is still a good idea. Pay attention to any changes in how you feel following the event, and if you notice pain, aches, or lapses in memory, you should get a doctor to take a look at you. What feels like a minor injury could be quite serious, but it may take x-rays or other examination methods to determine that.
Don’t Flee the Scene
This is critically important, and while fleeing may be your first impulse, it is a really bad idea. Even if you think you will get away with it, you should not vacate the scene of an accident until the police have been notified and the other party involved has had a chance to talk with you and exchange information. You never know who might have taken a picture of your license plate or where a security camera may be placed that captured the details of the crash.
You are simply going to make things worse for yourself if you run away. It is better to stay and face the consequences as bad as they may be. If you stay, you won’t have to add a criminal charge of fleeing the scene onto your other expenses and problems.
Do Contact a Lawyer
After you have a doctor look at you, it is wise to reach out to a lawyer about the accident. You can talk to a car accident firm and get legal counsel regarding the accident. Whether the incident was your fault or not, you should get a lawyer involved. Failing to do so could put you at a strong disadvantage once the other side is represented by a lawyer.
When people fail to contact a lawyer for their defense, they often miss important information that could help them to present a strong case to their insurance agency or to the courts if the accident is ever brought before a judge. Lawyers know the system and know what to do in the event of a car accident. They can inform you of your rights and lay out your options for you so that you know what you expect and what to do next.
Don’t Forget to Take the Other Person’s Information
It is vital that when you get into a car accident with another person that you collect some information from that person. There will be some details that you need to know for later on to tell your insurance company or your lawyer. You should take down the other person’s name, address, and phone number. You also want to write down their vehicle make and model as well as the license plate number. All of this is going to come in handy later on.
If you are someone who reacts poorly under pressure or who is forgetful, then you should make out a card just in case of an accident. Have all these details named and ready to fill in so that you don’t forget anything. That way, if an accident occurs, there will be less for you to remember, and you won’t be panicking because you aren’t sure if you got all the relevant information. It can be hard to think clearly under pressure, so having a card to fill out ahead of time may prove helpful to you.
Do Tell Your Insurance Company
When a car accident occurs, do not keep it a secret from your insurance company. Some people will try to cheat the system and hope that their insurance premiums will be low if they do not tell their insurance company about the accident. That is a dangerous game to play, and it directly violates your agreement with your insurance company.
Let them know about the accident, even if it is your fault and you fear that they will raise the rates. This way, you will be in the clear legally, and you won’t have it weighing on your conscience. The insurance company will likely want all the information that we told you about in the last point, and they will want a copy of the police report, if one was issued. Be sure to save any and all records for them, including medical reports and other paperwork. The better you cooperate with the insurance company’s requests, the sooner you can have the entire incident behind you.
Don’t Defame the Other Party
The final tip we want to leave you with is to advise you not to say disparaging, hurtful things about the other party after an accident. Don’t go onto social media and post hateful or mean comments about them. Don’t stalk them online or try to disrupt their life. Don’t post angry messages on your social media either about the incident.
The reason for this is that insurance companies and courts may look at those posts and use them against you. The other party may be watching your posts and may take offense to some of what you say. They could lodge a defamation suit against you, claiming that you spoke falsely about them and hurt their reputation. In this digital age, that kind of dark turn after a car accident is very common. You can avoid all of that if you keep the angry comments to yourself. Just stick with saying only the facts and wait out the result of the case.