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Published On: Tue, Feb 9th, 2021

Accidents After an Accident

Getting into a car accident can be scary. In addition to your car’s physical damage, you also have to worry about the health of you, your passengers and other parties involved in the accident.

Being in this hurried, anxious mental state can lead to many different mistakes after a car accident. To help prevent hurting your well-being and accident case, here are some common errors to avoid after getting into a car accident. 

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Leaving the Scene of the Accident

An accident can activate the brain’s fight or flight response. While it may be tempting to flee the scene of an accident — either due to stress or the need to get somewhere quickly — you are legally required to stop and exchange information with the other parties involved. Moreover, this is the time to seek emergency medical help, should anyone need it. 

Failure to stop, ensure the safety of others, and call for any essential emergency care can make you liable for a hit and run charge. In addition to losing potential accident compensation, this could lead to a loss of driving privileges, a fine and/or jail time. 

Failing to Contact the Police

After stopping and exchanging information with the other parties involved, you are typically required to contact the police. Although some states may only require police involvement in accidents involving injuries, death, or significant property damages, contacting the police will ensure your accident response follows the legal requirement checklist. 

Doing so can help properly document an accident, keep you out of legal trouble, aid a potential compensation package, and preserve key evidence.

Refusing Medical Attention

In many cases, a person may be hesitant to seek medical attention for perceived “minor” injuries sustained during an accident. An adrenaline rush, coupled with a desire to move on from the accident, can cause someone to downplay an accident’s injuries. Unfortunately, some car accident injuries may linger and grow worse over long periods of time. Furthermore, refusing medical attention after an accident can make it difficult to prove when an injury occurred, hurting your insurance claim.

To avoid this costly mistake, document any injuries and seek medical attention immediately following an accident. As always, it is better to be safe than sorry as your compensation payout and personal health may depend on it.

Forgetting to Gather Evidence

The shock of an accident can force you to neglect the scene around you. After ensuring the safety of yourself and others, exchanging information and reporting the accident to police, collect your own evidence.

Be sure to take pictures of the car damage, any markings in the roadway, road signs, precipitation and positioning of the vehicles. Comprehensive recordkeeping can mean the difference between winning or losing a settlement. 

Trusting the Insurance Companies

While communicating with the insurance companies is oftentimes necessary, some accident victims may be too trusting. Too often, car accident victims truly believe that the insurance representative wants to provide the best compensation package.

Unfortunately, insurance adjusters often do not care about your best interests, rather only the interests of the insurance agency. For this reason, it is important to recognize this and avoid sensitive questions that could jeopardize your potential car accident compensation settlement.

To help you, car accident attorneys are willing to deal with the insurance companies.

“Handling a car accident case can be a high-stakes, nerve wracking situation and every cent of compensation matters,” says Attorney Michael McCready at McCready Law. “To help ensure your health, maximize your car accident settlement and protect your case, be sure to speak with an experienced car accident lawyer as soon as possible. Early contact can help you talk to an insurance agent without risking your settlement and avoid costly mistakes after a car accident.”

Likewise, a hardworking car accident attorney can help you go above and beyond in recording evidence and ensuring that your conduct following an accident is within the law. Regardless, you should contact an attorney with any legal questions as it pertains to your car accident.

Author: Sadaf Zain

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