Documenting your version of events in a clear and detailed manner can help you obtain restitution within a reasonable time-frame.
There’s nothing quite as scary as being involved in a car accident. With adrenaline racing and tensions running high, victims often make mistakes in the immediate wake of their respective accidents. Furthermore, these mistakes sometimes make it more difficult for these individuals to get the restitution they’re owed. So, should you ever find yourself involved in a car accident, make an effort to avoid the missteps discussed below.
Fleeing the Scene of an Accident
Even if you are in no way to blame for an accident, fleeing the scene before police and medical services arrive is unlikely to help your case. Refusing to stick around gives off the impression of guilt, and if you’re not there to give your side of the story, there’s a good chance law enforcement is going to side with the other party. So, unless you feel like remaining at the scene presents a genuine threat to your well-being, you’d do well to hang around. Of course, if you or any of your passengers are experiencing a medical emergency, you may need to be taken to the nearest hospital before police arrive on the scene.
Failing to Document Injuries
Documenting any injuries incurred as the result of an auto accident stands to help your case tremendously. This will ensure that a clear record of these injuries exists, making it very difficult for the responsible party to deny the damage their negligence has caused. In addition to photographing your injuries, take care to get copies of the various medical records – and medical bills – that correspond to said injuries. By extension, you should also photograph any damage done to your vehicle and obtain copies of the resultant towing and repair bills.
Not Exchanging Information with the Other Party
Leaving the scene of an accident without exchanging insurance information with the other party is never a good idea. After all, the less info you have on this individual, the harder obtaining restitution is liable to prove. Should the other party prove irate or outright combative, make sure to get their information from police before proceeding to leave the scene.
Angrily Confronting the Responsible Party
To say that tensions run high in the wake of auto accidents would be an understatement. Having your safety – and the safety of your passengers – compromised by someone else’s negligent driving is liable to prove infuriating on a number of levels. That being the case, it’s easy to see why so many accident victims are just itching for a fight in the immediate aftermath of close calls and full-on crashes.
However, approaching the responsible party with the intent of having a confrontation isn’t going to do you any favors with your insurer or law enforcement. Even if they’re the one who caused the accident, odds are they’re every bit as shaken as you and are unlikely to respond to anger or threats in a positive manner. So, if you don’t think you’ll be able to speak to the responsible party without lashing out, simply hang back and wait for the police to arrive.
Should you decide to sue this person down the road, angrily confronting them at the time of the accident is unlikely to help your case. However, what will help your case is a good lawyer. Car accident victims who reside in the Mile High City should have no trouble finding dependable Denver personal injury lawyers.
Not Documenting Your Account of the Accident
Documenting your version of events in a clear and detailed manner can help you obtain restitution within a reasonable time-frame. For best results, make a point of creating a written account of what happened as soon after the accident as possible. The sooner you type everything out, the fresher the memories are likely to be – and the sooner you submit your claim, the sooner your auto insurer can start processing it.
Being shaken up in the wake of a car accident is perfectly understandable. Even if you haven’t incurred any serious physical injuries, you’re still likely to be feeling a combination of fear, anger and intense frustration. Needless to say, this mindset is less than ideal for getting the accident sorted out in a timely and low-stress manner. So, in the immediate aftermath of a car accident, make an effort to conduct yourself as calmly and rationally as possible – provided, of course, you aren’t dealing with emergency-level injuries. To help ensure that you don’t do inadvertent harm to your case, take care to avoid the missteps discussed above.
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