What To Do Immediately After the Motor Vehicle Accident
By Jim Hurley
After being injured in a motor vehicle accident, you need to do the following:
Immediately stop your vehicle so that you can take care of the necessary items. Do not leave the scene of an accident as that can result in criminal charges. Call the police. The police will investigate, collect any important information and call ambulances for any injuries from this particular accident. Please remember that the police officer will ask you what happened, and any statement you give the police officer will be written down. Be careful with what you say and never say anything that could ultimately hurt you in regards to how the accident happened such as, “I think the accident was my fault.”
After months go by, most people forget how an auto accident happens. It is very important to keep your own journal to record how the accident happened, while it is fresh in your mind, so that you can use this information at a later date to protect yourself or your family. The following things should be gathered: witnesses’ names and addresses, a rough diagram of the area, and any possible skid marks.
Moreover, if you are injured or anyone in your family is injured, it is crucial to get medical treatment as the most important thing in any motor vehicle accident is to take care of the injuries of you and your family.
Other things to note about the accident are road conditions, traffic conditions, weather conditions, speed of your car before the accident, speed of the other car before the accident, and the impact of the collision.
It is also important to realize that many times people are involved in a motor vehicle accident and they initially feel no injuries or they believe their injuries are minimal so they will decline any type of ambulance or emergency room service at the scene of the accident. However, the police officer will always note any and all injuries, regardless of whether someone seeks treatment and many people say, “No, I have no injuries, I’m fine.” At that point, this information is written down and even if you develop injuries a few days later, which is very common, the insurance company will use that information against you in any case brought by you or a family member that is injured.
Also, getting photographs of the area and the damage to any of the vehicles can be helpful at a later date and often times, if you do not get these photographs immediately, they are difficult to obtain at a later date.
Finally, you must prepare yourself for the inconvenience, problems and headaches that will result when you are hurt in a motor vehicle accident.
Also, the other person’s insurance company adjuster will call you right after the accident to try to get a statement or get a quick settlement. Be aware that you need to be careful when dealing with them as these adjusters are not on your side.
The Norfolk based personal injury law firm, Cooper Hurley, handles automobile, truck, and motorcycle injuries. John Cooper and Jim Hurley have over 40 years of combined experience in handling auto injury accident claims. Attorney John Cooper has been named to Virginia “Super Lawyers” since 2010. Cooper Hurley represents people hurt in accidents in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News and throughout VA, and always put the best interests of the our clients first.. The firm is recognized by other lawyers as “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell, a national attorney rating service, for our top level of legal skill and highest ethical standards. If you need help or advice about a serious injury, please call us ( 757) 455 -0077 or contact through this website.
