When you know your way around accidents, like San Francisco car accident attorney Dan Rose, you’re going to get your fair share of questions from clients who want to know exactly how they should be handling their own collision-related situations. What kinds of questions are those? That’s exactly what we’ll be looking at today, as we dive into some of the most frequent questions that car accident victims will have for their attorneys.
What Am I Supposed to Do Following an Accident?
In the heat of the moment, you might not remember everything you’re supposed to do following an accident, which is why many car accident victims may ask their attorneys what the proper protocol should have been in their particular circumstance. There will always be individual circumstances that have a bearing on what the right moves are, but generally speaking:
- Your first order of business should be to ensure your own safety and the safety of your passengers. Check to find out if anyone is injured, and call an ambulance to the scene if need be.
- After assessing injuries, you should summon the police to the scene and report the accident to authorities.
- While the police and EMS do their jobs, you might want to document as much as you can about the scene and the accident.
- Get photographs of your vehicle and the vehicle you collided with, get the names and numbers of witnesses, get whatever information you think will become useful later down the road.
Keep these factors in mind should you ever get into an accident, and do your best to maintain a cool demeanor throughout the experience so that you can make the best decisions possible.
Is There Anything I Shouldn’t Do After an Accident?
After learning about what they should do, most car accident victims would like to know what actions they should avoid. Again, this might vary, but one general piece of advice attorneys might give is to avoid making any recorded statements immediately after an accident.
Since you, your insurance company, whoever you collided with, and their insurance companies will often all have different goals following an accident, it’s best you seek out an attorney’s assistance beforehand so that you don’t end up hindering your own case.
What About Filing a Claim?
In many cases, car accident attorneys will advise that you don’t wait too long to file a claim following an accident. Some states have a window of time in which you can file suit for personal injury, and missing that window means that you’ll miss your chance to have your case heard.
