What To Do If You Are Involved In A Car Accident
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In horse-and-buggy days flighty stallions sometimes bolted and raced out-of-control down crowded streets.
But, horses had “horse sense” and rarely drove head on into the next wagon.
Without horses to guide us all the foibles of humanity come into play.
Are car accidents necessary? Probably not. But since they are a fact of life in modern America and since “forewarned is forearmed” here are some tips to help you cut your losses if you are involved in one.
STOP
Even if you just feel a bump on your car or think you might have hit someone or something, you should stop. Failing to stop could get you in a whole lot of trouble.
CALL THE POLICE AND REPORT THE ACCIDENT
If there has been an injury or the possibility of injury you should call the police.
if the other driver asks you not to involve the police, you should definitely call the police. From experience I can tell you that these people often don’t have insurance and try to weasel out of paying you later on.
In twenty five years I have only twice seen at-fault drivers make good on their promise to pay for damage after an accident. One of those cases involved me when I tapped another car on an icy road and was asked to replace the car seat. Buying a new car seat was cheap for me as it avoided an increase in my rates.
If your car is in an accident and the person driving was rendered physically incapable of making an accident report, then you, as the owner of the vehicle, should make sure the accident is reported to the police.
If another driver causes an accident but does not stop do your best to get the license number. If there are witnesses get their names, addresses and phone numbers. Then call the police. Keep the witnesses at the scene till the police arrive.
If you are injured in a no-contact accident caused by a driver who flees the scene you can be compensated by your uninsured motorist coverage. However, your carrier will require “independent proof” that another driver caused the accident.
EXCHANGE INFORMATION
Drivers must exchange names, addresses phone numbers and insurance information.
GATHER INFORMATION
Make a diagram of the accident, showing the positions of the cars before, during, and after impact.
Measure skid marks (if possible), or make sure the police do it, note the positions of traffic lights and street signs, estimate the respective driving speeds (for your own records), and record details about the weather and road conditions.
If possible, have photographs taken of the accident scene and of any damage or injury to persons or vehicles.
Pictures of serious damage to your car or other cars can help you if you later pursue a claim for injuries.
On the other hand, minor damage to your car or another car can help you if someone files a claim against you.
I once tried a case where the insurance defense attorney obtained a photograph of the minor damage to my client’s car and had it blown up to to an exhibit measuring four feet by four feet.
This was impressive to the jury who felt that minor damage to car meant minor damage to the occupant and so they awarded a smaller than normal amount of money on the case.
DON’T ADMIT FAULT
You should cooperate with police officers investigating the case. Answer the police officers questions factually. Don’t guess or estimate. Do not volunteer information or comment on the accident to the police witnesses, or other drivers. Do not admit any fault for the accident.
Do not sign any pieces of paper. In some states you may be asked to sign traffic tickets–but this in itself is not an admission of guilt or wrongdoing.
You must take an alcohol test if requested, or risk losing your license.
SEE A DOCTOR
As soon after the accident as possible, it would be a good idea to be checked out by a doctor. Even if there are no initial signs of pain, there might have been damage done to the neck or spine.
Sometimes people get injured in car accidents but because those injuries don’t show up immediately, they don’t seek medical treatment promptly.
If a short time after your auto accident, you or one of your passengers develop pain in the neck or back or you feel you’re suffering from a mental or emotional disability caused by injuries to the head, see a doctor.
If you have a head injury, you may need to see a neurologist. Head injuries can occur even though you don’t hit your head. This is what happened to Natasha Richardson who died from head injuries in a skiing accident. This is known as a “contrecoup” concussion.
At the very least consult a chiropractor with respect to back and neck injuries.
DEALING WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES AND CLAIMS ADJUSTERS
After the accident contact your insurance company to inform them of the accident.
If the other driver was at fault report the accident to his insurance company.
His company should provide you with a rental car, if needed, and pay to have your car fixed.
If your car is totaled the his insurance company should pay to fix it. Kelley Blue Book and NADA both have web sites where you can get information about the value of your car.
You will likely be contacted by a claims adjustor from your own or another parties’ insurance company.
Be careful about what you say.
If you feel you have no injuries at the time and tell that to the adjustor, and later on it develops that you had injuries that you were unaware of, (this is very common in whiplash cases,) the adjustor is sure to bring it up, in an effort to keep the settlement as low as possible.
CALL A LAWYER
You may want to talk to an attorney at this time to clarify your rights and discuss questions of liability for the accident.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE SUED
If you are served with a complaint and summons and you have insurance just take the complaint and summons to your insurance agent. This would be the agent for the insurance you had at the time of the accident. Auto insurance covers you based on coverage on the date of the accident. If you changed insurance since the accident your prior insurance still has a duty to defend you.
If you were not covered by insurance you should consult a lawyer who specializes in insurance defense. It will be worth paying his hourly fee to have him protect your interests.
You might be able to get the case dismissed by proving you were uninsured at the time of the accident. The injured person can then make a claim under his uninsured motorist coverage.
His uninsured motorist insurance carrier may go after you for “subrogation”. If that happens, your insurance defense lawyer can be a big help negotiating the best possible settlement of the claim.
This may be a time to consider filing bankruptcy so a consultation with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer to discuss Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 should be scheduled.
