The situation following a traffic accident may be daunting or overwhelming. However, familiarizing yourself with the best practices will make minor fender-benders or bad crashes easier for you to handle.
Here are some essential steps to take when a traffic accident occurs.
Prioritize Safety
The first thing to consider in any accident is to ensure the safety of the concerned parties. Ensure you’re okay along with your passengers. If anyone seems injured, call 911 for medical help right away.
Never attempt to move an injured person except to save them from real and imminent danger, such as fire or oncoming traffic. Evaluation by a health worker is also critical, even when injuries seem minor, as there could be undetected internal injuries.
Know Your Legal Rights
If you were involved in a crash in Tucson, consulting an auto accident lawyer in Tucson can be especially helpful—particularly if the incident caused severe injury or property damage. Apart from advising you on what steps to take immediately after the accident, the attorney can help ensure you receive fair compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and vehicle repairs. Legal complexities are more likely if a commercial truck, ride-share service, or uninsured driver was involved, making local legal expertise even more valuable.
Move to a Secure Area
If you are at a safe distance from the accident and it is possible to do so, remove the car from the roadway to avoid future risks. Staying on the road with your vehicle can become quite a danger for other drivers.
Turn on your hazard lights to inform other cars of an accident and, if possible, use flares or warning triangles. If you cannot drive due to your car’s malfunction, it is safer to remain inside, safely buckled up, until emergency help arrives.
Notify Authorities
Even if the accident seems minor, the police must be notified to file an incident report. An accident report will constitute an official record that an insurance company often requires while processing a claim. When the officers arrive at the scene, offer precise details while avoiding identifying who is to blame. Allow the officers to do their investigation and reach their conclusions.
Stay Calm and Avoid Admitting Fault
After an accident, your emotions could take over, and it is normal to feel flustered. It is a time to keep your head cool. Being in shock is common; do not make statements that could easily be interpreted as an admission of culpability or fault, even if you believe you might have contributed to the cause.
The apportionment of liability can be complicated, and insurance companies and legal authorities usually determine it. Please stick to the facts while discussing the incident with others, be it the other driver or any witness present at the scene.
Exchange Information
You should gather and exchange relevant information with the other driver involved regarding full names, contact information, driver’s license numbers, license plate numbers, insurance company info, policy numbers, and vehicle model and colors.
Also, obtain their names and phone numbers if either vehicle has passengers. This information will become helpful in insurance claims as well as potential lawsuits.
Document the Scene
Documentation of the accident scene can significantly impact the outcome of an insurance claim or legal case. Use your smartphone to take explicit photographs and videos of the accident scene from various angles, vehicle damages, skid marks or road conditions, traffic signals and signs, and any visible injuries. This will help provide strong evidence when handling insurance adjusters or legal professionals.
Record Personal Observations
Before your memory fades, write down the accident’s primary facts or aspects, accident time and location, weather and road conditions, the direction of travel for each vehicle involved, particulars concerning any unusual driving behavior or events that block the way for the accident happening, and comments which the other parties or witnesses give about the accident.
Contact any bystanders if there are any who have seen the accident unfold. Their statements could be vital evidence in the insurance and legal proceedings.
Seek Medical Attention
Even if you feel perfectly fine after the accident, visit your doctor immediately. In the meantime, seek timely medical care so that you can catch any conditions that would otherwise remain undiscovered, such as whiplash, concussions, and internal bleeding.
Waiting to see a doctor could worsen any injuries that develop after the accident; it could also mean losing your chances to prove that such injuries resulted from the accident later when you file an insurance claim. File away copies of medical notes, reports, prescriptions, bills, and associated documentation.
Notify Your Insurance Company
Report the accident immediately after it happens. Most insurance companies set deadlines for claims to be made; hence, taking this step as fast as possible is best. Don’t lie; give all relevant data in the most complete way possible, for instance, the police report number, if you have one.
Don’t guess or assume; leave investigator tasks and duties to the Adjuster with all the facts at their disposal.
Be Careful with Insurance Adjusters
After you’ve reported the accident, an insurance adjuster may call you from your insurance company or the other drivers. While you want to cooperate, you should know what you are saying.
Insurance companies use adjusters to minimize payouts, so do not admit responsibility, nor should you downplay your injuries. You should contact an attorney before accepting a settlement if an offer is made.
Follow Up on Medical and Repair Needs
The aftermath of an accident does not stop just after leaving the accident site. Keep close records of any medical treatment, rehabilitation, and follow-up visits.
Also, find appraisals for the vehicle and check that you retain receipts documenting any out-of-pocket costs from the accident. If you act promptly on medical issues and maintain precise records, you are more likely to be compensated accordingly for your injuries and damages.
Endnote
Staying strong and calm, recording the scene, seeing the doctor, and knowing your rights legally positions you for better compensation. Whether it is a light or heavy collision check, these 12 steps should smoothen things out for you to recover in peace and move on with your life.
