Did you know that there are seven million vehicle accidents in the US every year? Due to the outcome of these road accidents, about two million people are injured, among which most are taken to the emergency ward for instant care.
If you are someone who has been unfortunate enough to have been injured in an accident, you might end up striving to meet your exorbitantly high medical expenses or miss going to work due to some serious physical injury. In case you think of taking legal action against the third party or the responsible party, you may obtain a compensation amount that could help you suffice your losses.
There are a few mandatory first steps that you have to take whenever you meet with an accident. What are they? Keep reading.
- Be sure you’re secured
Soon after a vehicle crash, you will certainly feel shaky and confused and this is quite normal. Just take a few deep breaths and focus on the scene. Turn on the danger lights, try to pull the car to a safe place that doesn’t fall in the way of traffic. Do you smell gas leaking out of the tank? If yes, stay out of the car. Don’t drive the car until you’re sure that’s safe. Above all, be sure you’re safe.
- Make a call to the police
Once you move the car towards one side, the immediate next step to take is to call the police and inform them about your situation. The police take down a formal report which later on works in helping your lawyer determine the extent of the legal case. The report includes all details of what has happened, the documents of the parties and have all information that an attorney may require.
- Communicate with the other drivers
Once you’re done with informing the police, connect with the other drivers and exchange vital information. Don’t ever make the blunder of accepting your fault as this can have an adverse effect on the legal case. Don’t say that you’re not hurt. There are several types of injuries that don’t show up immediately but they become a serious concern later on. A single mistake that you make will be utilized against you by the opposing party’s insurance firm.
- Assemble all documents and papers
The first responders and police arrive at the scene and they are assigned the task of taking down all documents of the scene. However, that doesn’t deny you from documenting the scene of your own. Click enough photos of the whole scene, your vehicle, the other cars involved, and other details like marks of tires. Try to also make a narrative of the events that happened as most often car accidents can affect your ability to think, remember, and recall memories. So, the sooner you make a draft of the events, the more genuine and exact it will be.
Therefore, if you’ve been involved in a car accident, make sure you follow all the above-mentioned first steps to avoid falling into danger.
