The Ultimate Car Accident Checklist: What You Should Do Immediately

If you’re involved in a car accident, you should know what to do immediately afterward. The first thing you should think about, after checking if you’re unharmed, is if it was your fault or whether you’ve committed a jailable offense. If so, there are steps to be taken. On the other hand, if you haven’t committed an offense and you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, this article will tell you what to do.

#1: Call Your Lawyer

You should immediately call up your lawyer if you’ve been in an accident. There are plenty of good personal injury lawyer and firms who specialize in road accidents. Naqvi Injury Law is a great example of this. Your lawyer will take your account on record and ask you to stay there and call the police so they can assess the damage. 

#2: Call the Police

You should always contact the relevant authorities when you get into a car accident. The police will arrive, take evidence and start the process whereby you and the other driver (if there is one) will exchange information. What’s more, the police will make sure to cordon off the area so no one else crashes into you and gets hurt. They will also make an incident report of the whole accident and this will prove to be useful later on.

#3: Don’t Discuss the Accident

Remember not to discuss your accident or any details with the other driver or anyone else that’s at the scene of the accident. This could start some sort of brawl or argument and you can’t afford to get into either of these. Just stay calm and try not to make conversation at all. If the other party is being confrontational or forcing you to react, breathe deeply and keep your cool.

#4: Call the Insurance Company

Once you have sorted out details with the police, you should call up your insurance company and register a complete report. Don’t mention that you were responsible for anything but do talk about any injuries sustained during the accident. Your insurance company will create a full report and this will be very useful to you later.

#5: Take Pictures

When you’re at the scene of the accident, you should take out your camera or phone and quickly start taking pictures. This will be useful when you need to file a claim with your lawyer later. You should make sure nothing is moved or displaced after the accident. For example, don’t move your car if you don’t need to. Try to get bystanders out of the way when you take your shots because you want to have clear evidence. All these pictures will come in handy because you can compare them to the ones the police take and prove your story.

On the whole, just stay calm and collected while the police and other authorities do their jobs. Your immediate concern should always be to check for any injuries and/or damage. If you later realize you were injured in the accident, you might reach out to a personal injury law firm like crockettlawgroup.com for help. Don’t confront anyone and don’t start arguments. Just lawyer up and wait it out!