A car accident is one of the most difficult situations anyone can face. If you were recently involved in one, you should know what to do after an automobile accident.
You may be faced with serious injuries that have a lifelong impact on your ability to work or complete daily tasks on your own. The aftermath can be exceedingly costly, even if you were not the one at fault.
Along with the great stress of this situation, you need to know what kind of information to collect when you are involved in a car accident. Angel Reyes & Associates is a 5-star Texas personal injury law firm committed to representing the rights of victims in car accidents. In this informative blog, we discuss the details needed after a vehicular accident, the steps to take after a car accident, and how a car accident lawyer can assist you during this traumatic time.
Initial Steps to Take After an Accident
The first few moments after a car accident are often a blur. The initial steps to take after an accident can help protect your legal rights.
Put Safety First
While car crashes are frustrating, the most important thing is ensuring that you and any passengers are safe. Even though car accidents can be terrifying, you must stay calm during this process. Check for wounds and see if you can move your appendages. If anyone is in your vehicle with you, check them for injuries.
Contact Emergency Services
After assessing the situation, make sure you contact the police to report the accident. The police report created by the officer who arrives on the scene can play a vital role in the evidence for your car accident case.
Additionally, Texas law requires drivers to contact law enforcement after car accidents in certain circumstances. If there is property damage over $1,000, the vehicles can’t be moved on their own, or someone sustains injuries or loss of life, you must call 911. While you are not obligated to call authorities for a fender-bender, it may be in your best interest. The report that officers create will detail if there are any traffic citations issued to the driver who caused it, which can help prove that you were not at fault.
Move Vehicles Out of the Way
If your vehicle can still be driven, you will want to move it out of the flow of traffic and to a safe area on the side of the road. However, since some of the details needed after a vehicular accident will include the positioning of the vehicles, it is best to take photos before moving your car.
Information to Collect at the Scene
The information to collect in case of a car accident is extensive. The more of it that you can gather, the stronger your car accident case will be. Here is some of the information you should make sure to collect:
Personal Information of All Parties Involved
It only makes sense that you get the personal contact information of every person involved in your accident. This will include all drivers and their passengers. You’ll want their full names, addresses, and contact numbers.
Details of Vehicles Involved
You should also be able to identify all of the vehicles involved in the crash. Write down the color, make, model, and year of the vehicles. Additionally, take photos of them for visual proof, making sure to get the license plate numbers of each one.
Insurance Information
All drivers involved should exchange insurance information. This includes the names of their insurers and their policy number.
Names and Contact Information of Witnesses
If anyone stopped to check on you or the other vehicle, they may be a potential witness. Anyone who saw what happened can be an asset to your case and help prove who was at fault. You should get witness names and their contact information. You can also use your phone to record their account of what they witnessed.
Documenting the Scene with Photos and Videos
Your smartphone can help you beyond calling the police and emergency medical services. The camera can capture photos and videos of the accident’s aftermath.
When taking photos, get the positioning of all vehicles involved. It is important to do this before the vehicles are moved by the police. You should also take close-up photos of all the visible damage. Videos are helpful too as you can pan across the entire scene to show nearby intersections, road signage, road conditions, and the weather and lighting at the time of the event.
If you have sustained injuries, take pictures of them as well. You’ll want to keep a log of all your injuries and your progression of healing from before your treatment to after as you recover. This can demonstrate the extent of your injuries and the impacts they have had on your life. Additionally, making notes about the accident is encouraged. You can write everything that you remember in a notebook while the details are still fresh or you can make a voice recording.
Reporting the Accident
When you call the police to the scene of the accident, they will complete a police report. This report will include what the officers believe caused the accident and who they think is at fault. If they issued a citation to the other driver, it should be indicated in this document.
Generally, when you call the police to report an accident, this information will be passed along to the DMV. Any driver who is issued citations in a car accident will have that information reported to the DMV, which will result in them having points added to their license. However, since Texas uses a modified comparative fault system, both drivers can be issued citations.
You may receive some of the blame for the accident but as long as you are less than 51% at fault, you can still recover compensation. Your compensation award will be reduced by your percentage of fault, which may mean you get stuck paying for some of your damages out-of-pocket.
Additionally, you will need to contact your insurance company to let them know you were involved in an accident. You must report it, regardless of who was at fault. Since Texas is an at-fault insurance state, you are obligated to notify your insurer since the other driver may attempt to make a claim. If you don’t provide this notice, you may lose your coverage. Take this step as soon as you can contact your insurance company.
Seeking Medical Attention
In your efforts to gather all details needed after a vehicular accident, don’t skip getting the medical care you need. An adrenaline rush is common after these types of incidents and it can mask your symptoms.
You may feel fine and see no visible injuries but it is important to get a full medical evaluation, especially after a major crash. When you have accurate and comprehensive medical records of your injuries, you stand a better chance of getting the full amount of compensation for your medical expenses.
Create a file to keep all medical records, bills, and receipts. Additionally, you should make sure you follow all medical advice provided by your doctors, attend all follow-up appointments, and take any prescription you are given to completion. By documenting this information, you’ll have a stronger car accident case.
How a Car Accident Attorney Can Help You After an Automobile Accident
Car accidents have the potential to cause severe injuries that could make it impossible to gather all this information. You may have woken up in the hospital with a fuzzy recollection of the accident. Despite this setback, you will still need to document as much as you can for your injury claim.
Hiring a car accident lawyer is a smart move as they can pursue the details needed after a vehicular accident on your behalf. You’ll have someone to communicate with your insurance company and gather all the relevant documents required to support your claim. An attorney can also get the police report, speak to witnesses, and acquire any available surveillance camera footage.
Even if you did not need to go to the emergency room and were able to gather information on your own, working with a car accident attorney is ideal. This situation is stressful and with someone advocating for you, you’ll be less likely to be taken advantage of by the insurance company. Insurers will often issue a quick settlement in hopes that you will sign a release. Once you do, you can’t seek additional funds, which means you’ll likely be getting far less compensation than their policyholder caused you in injuries and damages. If you’ve been in a car crash, contact Angel Reyes & Associates to get the legal support you need.