Statistics show that over 6 million car accidents occur in the US every year, and many lose their lives and others sustain various injuries. The risk is always there when youre on the road; thus the need to know what to do when a car accident occurs, and below is a guide on the same.
You have to stop when a car accident happens. Failure to stop even if no one is hurt and your vehicle is okay is a violation of the law. You may find yourself having hit-and-run charges when you fail to stop. Some situations may require you to move your car off the road to prevent a traffic buildup even though this may not be the step to take under normal circumstances. Be sure to put up signs that will alert road users that an accident has happened. For an auto accident case that you have, Mazin & Associates can be of help in dealing with it.
The next thing to do is to check if anyone has sustained any injuries. Perform a first aid and seek emergency medical services if there are signs of injury.
The rule of thumb is that you always call the police after an accident. While the cops will show up whenever a bad accident happens, a small accident may entail just the police asking you to exchange information with the other party. You will always need a police report whenever you need to file an insurance claim and when fighting of any lawsuits that might come up from the accident. This source from Mazin & Associates has information about why the police need to be involved.
During your wait for the police, you can focus on gathering evidence about the accident. Taking pictures and recording videos of the same can be done, as well as asking people who witnessed the accident to tell you more about what they saw during the incident. You also need to record the contact details of any other party who was involved in the accident, as well as the details of the vehicle including the license plates and insurance details. Also take note of the environment and circumstances of the accident, the date and time, and the location. Mazin & Associates have an article outlining other things to take note of about an accident scene.
You then need to get into contact with your insurance service provider. An insurance underwriter can be dispatched to the accident scene depending on the level of responsiveness of the insurance service provider. You will get the process of filing for a claim starting after this. Mazin & Associates has more information on how the claim process goes.
You then need to find an auto accident lawyer so that if the case ends up in court, you will get the required representation. Mazin & Associates is an experienced law firm that can help you handle any auto accident cases.