| What
Do I Do If I am Involved in an Automobile Accident?
There
are many issues which arise the moment you become involved in
an automobile accident. These issues range from what to do at
the scene of the accident to whether or not to contact an attorney.
Often, the decisions that are made at these critical times
can be the difference in whether or not you receive any recovery
as a result of the accident.
The first decision immediately after the accident must involve
safety issues. Make sure that you and your passengers are
safe from further injury or damage. This involves assessing
the accident scene to make sure that the vehicles are stopped
in a safe place and to make sure there is no potential for
fire, explosion or further accidents.
The next most important step is to check yourself, your passengers
and the other driver for injuries. If at all possible avoid,
moving injured persons. If they have sustained certain injuries,
like a broken neck or back, moving them could cause permanent
or worsening of their injuries. However, if the car is about
to catch on fire, you may have to risk further injuring a
person to save their life.
Oncoming traffic should also be alerted that an accident
has occurred. This can be done with road flares or other signage.
Engaging emergency flashers, lights and even blowing the horn
can be effective ways to signal oncoming traffic.
Call 911 from a cell phone or other available phone. Make
sure that you speak clearly and calmly and give as much detail
as possible, including relevant landmarks, so that the appropriate
emergency vehicles can find your location without delay for
wrong directions.
Obtain information from all other involved drivers, passengers
and witnesses. Frequently, witnesses will initially stop at
the scene and then leave before the police arrive. The identity
of those witnesses may be critical at a later date. The other
driver's insurance information is also important information
to obtain.
After the accident, it is important to get a medical checkup.
This is true even if you do not believe that any injuries
were suffered. Often, back and neck symptoms appear days after
the accident. When such symptoms occur, you should seek immediate
medical attention.
An insurance adjuster may contact you after the accident.
Although it may seem like a good time to tell your side of
the story, giving a formal recorded statement could be the
reason why something is taken out of context in an effort
to deny you recovery.
However, that does not necessarily mean that in all circumstances
that you should run out and hire an attorney. There are situations
that can be resolved without the need for an attorney in a
fairly rapid fashion.
There are many different factors to consider when you are
involved in an automobile accident. Any one of these could
be the difference in recovering or not.
| 
