The aftermath of a motor vehicle accident can be extremely chaotic. In many cases, an accident scene involves smashed cars, injured drivers, curious bystanders, ambulances and police cars. In the midst of all that activity, it can be easy to lose track of what you should be doing.
Readers may know that there are some things that every person should do following an accident. In fact, many sources have information on some critical steps that injured pedestrians and motorists should do after a crash.
A recent article on Yahoo.com, for example, includes some helpful tips for what people should do immediately following an accident while they are still on the scene. Drivers will want to:
- Take pictures of road conditions, property damage, injuries and relevant signage
- Practice telling the account of the accident so that no facts are forgotten
- Stay calm and wait for the police
- Consider recording conversations with others
However, there are also a number of things that victims can do after leaving an accident scene. Following an accident, injured parties will want to:
- Keep track of medical visits, medication and the number of work days missed as a result of injuries
- Get estimates for repairs to property
- Pull together the pictures, recordings and other evidence from the accident scene
- Speak with an attorney
This last tip can be especially important for people who can’t or don’t want to deal with the police, other motorists involved in the accident or insurance companies on their own. Even if a victim forgets or is unable to do anything else after an accident, speaking with a lawyer can be an effective way to express their side of the story and protect their rights, even if it seems like it’s too late.
People don’t always act the way they’d expect after an accident because they can be scared, hurt and confused. While it may be helpful to know what to do on the scene of an accident, it is very easy to forget many of these tips in the heat of the moment. Accident victims should understand that there are a number of ways to protect themselves after being hurt, but it can be essential to act sooner, rather than later, and with the support of an attorney.
Source: Yahoo Autos, “The five big steps you should take after a car accident,” Steven Lang, Jan. 21, 2015