If you have been seriously injured in a car accident, it is important to know the immediate steps to take to protect your legal rights and to assure proper care.
- Stop your car and pull over to the side of the road. Make sure you are away from oncoming traffic.
- Call 911 or the local police or sheriff’s department.
- Obtain the other driver’s information, including license plate number, driver’s license and insurance information, including phone number.
- When you meet with law enforcement, stick to the facts, don’t over-talk, check any written statement for accuracy and ask to review the police report to make sure that it is correct.
- If there are any witnesses, get their names and contact information.
- If you have a phone, take pictures if you can. Take photos of the road and of the vehicles. The more photos you can take, the better. If you actually have a camera, all the better.
- If you feel that you are injured, go to the hospital. This is not the time to be Ms. or Mr. Macho.
- Contact a top-rated personal injury attorney or accident attorney.
- Do not post information on Facebook, Twitter, Google, LinkedIn or any other social network. Information on social media may later be admissible in court.
- Do not give any statement to the insurance company, despite their repeated request to do so.
- Be careful of your actions after the accident. Don’t do anything extremely physical that may make your injuries worse. In addition, the other driver may want to use photos of you in action in order to show that you are not seriously injured.
- When in doubt, contact your lawyer. Your lawyer has your best interests at heart.
