If you’ve been involved in a car accident, the last thing anyone wants to do is deal with the aftermath. It’s natural to be very emotional and scared about what might have happened to yourself or your loved ones.
The best thing that you can do at this point is to contact emergency services and hospital staff immediately and then make sure you and those traveling with you are safe. You’ve come away from the accident alive, and it’s important to give yourself some time to process what just happened and try to relax.
Once you’re safe, have been treated, make sure you contact a lawyer. They can help in two ways: they can help you receive compensation for your injuries; they can ensure you will be compensated for the damage done to your car.
Once you’ve done all of that, there are some things you should know before leaving the accident scene.
The first and most important thing to do is to write down everything that happens in the accident. Do not leave the area before writing down what happened from your point of view, who was involved, how fast you were going at the time of the accident etc. If you are able to get into your phone or camera and take pictures of the accident scene, make sure that you do so. This information could be useful later when insurance companies and law enforcement begin their investigations into what happened.
Once everything is taken care of, and you’re ready to leave, it’s important to discuss the accident with your insurance company. They may tell you that it’s in your best interest to leave the area before they arrive, as your presence may be interpreted as a sign that there could have been some fault on your part. It’s not in your best interest to leave the scene of an accident, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. If you do leave, be sure to call your insurance company on a secure line and inform them that you left and exactly why.
If you’re unsure of whether or not you should stay at the scene of the accident, consider whether or not there are any injuries involved. If someone has been injured in the crash, leaving would be considered abandonment. If no one is injured, you are allowed to leave, and you should make note that there is no one in need of emergency aid.
If you have been injured in an accident, it’s very important to get medical attention as soon as possible. Your insurance company can help you with this step and can provide advice on what to do next. If you weren’t injured but saw someone with extreme injuries at the scene of the crash, obtaining care could be considered a good move. However, waiting until the medical personnel arrives before seeking care for non-injury-related problems is probably a good idea if you aren’t injured. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, ambulances may not be able to provide service within a timely manner.