Five Steps to Follow if You Get Involved in a Car Accident

In this article, we are going to discuss what to do after been involved in a car accident. Everyone knows that being involved in a motor vehicle accident is a very unpleasant thing. After being involved in an accident, most of us were often shaken up and not going to be in a normal state of mind.

What you do after a car accident is of a great importance. We are going to share five steps with you that will help make an unpleasant experience possible go a little bit smoother.

1. The first and important thing is your health. Take care of any injury. Treating any injury suffered by yourself or by others is always the first thing you should do – even if it means going straight to the hospital. If you are unable to perform the rest of the instructions we have lined up for you due to your injuries or other health concerns, try to make sure the police, a friend, or a relative that’s present or on their way to the scene have all the information that you need before you leave to go to the hospital.

2. The second thing is that you should call the police to the scene. It is very critical that you call the police to the accident scene. The police when they get there, they are going to collect statements from the drivers that are involved and also speak to other people who witnessed the accident. The next thing the police are going to do is they are going to prepare a report that’s based on the facts that they gather at the scene. This report is going to be a major factor for the insurance companies in determining the liability or non-liability of each driver.

3. The third thing is for you to take plenty of photographs. It’s paramount that you take as many photographs as possible of the accident scene. Make sure to take the photographs of the damage to both vehicles – any pavement marking, skid marking, as well as glass, car parts, and the landmarks around. According to Salvi, Schostok, & Pritchard P.C., these photographs will help the insurance companies and lawyers determine the cause of the accident and assign liability for the accident. Remember: a picture is worth a thousand words!

4. The next thing that you can do is get witness information. Be sure that you personally get the name and contact information of anyone who may have witnessed the accident. When it comes to the accident and assigning liability, the insurance companies are more likely to believe an uninvolved and unbiased third party witness as opposed to the two biased drivers.

5. The fifth thing for you to do is exchange license and insurance information. Exchanging insurance information with the other driver is an extremely important thing to do after and accident. If you don’t get the other driver’s insurance information, you might be stuck with paying for the damages out of your own pocket even if it was not your fault. Take pictures of the other driver’s license, insurance, and registration. This will prevent any errors from happening when you start to write things down.

It happens that sometimes when people get into accidents, someone could get hostile or agitated and people can get threatening and intimidating. If you feel you are in that situation, do not make any attempts to take anything. You take the pictures from inside your car if you feel it is going to be a dangerous situation if you step out and approach the other motorist. Inform 911 right away the other person being hostile, they’re being combative and not cooperative to you. That will help the police in determining later or arriving faster to the scene.