Top 10 Things to Do After a Car Injury
A car injury is a traumatic experience. You may suffer medical bills, lost wages, and other economic and personal damages. If you suffer a car injury, there are certain things you need to do after the accident to protect yourself and your legal rights.
- Contact the police immediately after the accident: Contacting the police is essential in any accident, especially if an injury occurs. The police can come to the scene of an accident and make observations regarding who is at fault. They may issue a traffic citation to the responsible party, and write up a report. This report can be essential to proving liability in the event that you sue, and the other party contests the fault.
- Contact your auto insurance company as soon as possible: Your auto insurance company may have certain things you need to do to preserve your right to file a claim. For example, the car may have to be towed to a specific mechanic, and you may need to keep certain records on medical bills.
- Get professional medical help: Not only is this important to ensure your health; it is also important because you want to have records of injuries that occurred as soon as possible after the lawsuit. This can help strengthen your claim that the accident caused you injuries.
- Contact a car accident attorney: As soon as you are aware that you suffered an injury from the accident, you should contact a car accident attorney. Your attorney can help you every step of the way to preserve and collect evidence that may be necessary if you want to sue the party responsible for causing your injury.
- Keep records of all medical bills: Medical bills are compensable damage, which means that the responsible party may have to pay for those bills. Make sure you keep careful records of any costs you incur, so you will be fully compensated when you sue the responsible party.
- Take detailed pictures of damage to you, your car, and your property: These pictures can all act as evidence of liability and of your damages in the event you do decide to sue the responsible party.
- Collect any and all evidence including the names of witnesses: Witnesses and other evidence from the scene of the accident can also be helpful in proving your case.
- Keep a journal of your experience, noting any pain or suffering you experience: Pain and suffering and emotional distress are also compensable damages in court. If you have a record of what you went through after the accident, this can make a jury or judge more sympathetic and can make it easier to win an award including these damages against the defendant.
- Keep a record of work missed: The defendant who injured you may also have to pay you back for any work you missed and money lost as a result of causing your accident. Keeping a record of missed work can help you make sure you get the full recovery you deserve.
- Consider filing a lawsuit against the responsible party: Every person who drives a vehicle owes a duty to other drivers to behave with a reasonable duty of care. If someone fails in that duty and hurts you as a result, you have the legal right to recover for that damage. To recover, however, you have to file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations (the time limit) expires. This period is usually one to two years after the accident, so you want to make sure you find out exactly what the time limit to file suit is in your area and that you comply with it.