No matter how careful you are when you drive, or how defensive you are behind the wheel, you can’t always avoid getting into a collision. Other drivers can be negligent or reckless while driving which leads to them crashing into you and causing harm to you, your passengers, and your property. When this happens, you might be left wondering what you should do next.
You’ve gone through a car wreck, presumably have injuries, and you’re waiting to make your next decision. We’ve made a list of what you need to do after the collision so that you can get the best outcome. The following are the steps you should take after being in a car accident that wasn’t your fault.
Call Emergency Services
The first thing you should do, if you’re capable and in a safe spot, is to call emergency services. When you call 911, you should ask for them to send the police and an ambulance if you think there are any injuries on the scene.
When the police get there, you’ll want to talk to them and give them a full statement about what happened. However, you don’t want to tell them any information that you’re not sure about. Stick to the facts and don’t make any accusations about who was at fault. If you’re wrong about fault, you could be seen as not credible later down the line.
If you think you have any injuries, you should wait for medical professionals to get on the scene so that you don’t further injure yourself. Even if you don’t think you’re injured, you should get evaluated by emergency medical personnel on the scene to see if they think you have any injuries you aren’t aware of.
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Exchange Information
You’ll want to get the information of the other people at the scene, especially the other driver. You’ll want their address, phone number, make and model of their car, VIN, and their insurance information. It’s important to get all of that at the scene so that you know that you can contact them if needed.
You’ll also want to get witness information of anyone at the scene who might have seen what happened. They likely talked to the police as well, but getting their contact details can help you later if you end up filing a legal claim because they could potentially be a witness for you.
Seek Medical Treatment
One of the most important steps for you to take after your car crash is to get medical attention as soon as possible. Your pain from injuries could be masked by adrenaline and shock, so you might not even realize that you’re injured, but you should still get evaluated by a doctor immediately. They’ll be able to see if you were hurt and get you started on treatment right away.
When you seek treatment quickly, this shows that you were hurt by the accident, provides a record of your injuries, and gets you working toward healing. Throughout the healing process, you’ll need to follow your treatment plan not only to ensure you recover correctly, but also to have proof that you’re taking steps to get better.
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Take Pictures of the Scene
If you can put off getting medical help, you’ll want to take pictures of the scene to get as much evidence as possible. You might think that you only should take pictures of the damages done to your own car for insurance purposes, but there are many more parts of the accident scene that will benefit you to have evidence of.
You should take pictures of the weather, the road conditions, the other car, any injuries that you have, any objects in the road, and the structure of surrounding roads so that you can have ample proof of what happened. This will help you later in your insurance claim or in a legal claim because it gives professionals plenty of information to determine what happened.
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Talk to Your Insurance Company
Minnesota is a no-fault state. This means that your own insurance policy is responsible for covering all the damages you suffer from an accident, even if they were caused by another person. This doesn’t mean that you can’t file a legal claim against the other party to recover compensation, though. If you don’t feel like what you’re getting from insurance covers all of the suffering you endured, then you could use the help of a car accident attorney.
Hire a Car Accident Lawyer
Finally, one of the steps you should take after an auto wreck that wasn’t your fault is to hire a car accident lawyer. They’ll be able to help you file a claim against the negligent driver or company who caused your collision and subsequent damages.
You shouldn’t have to endure all these costs on your own—the responsible party should be held accountable for what happened. Reach out to Madia Law LLC today so we can discuss how we can help you.
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