The moments after an accident can be chaotic. Realizing you’ve been hit, assessing your injuries and those of your passengers, trying to deal with your damaged vehicle, the police, other drivers, just to name a few. With all of these things going on, it is easy to forget to properly document what happened at the scene. But gathering information at the scene of the accident is crucial to your accident case. This is what you need to do:
1. Get the other driver’s information.
You need to know who hit you. And a simple phone number is not enough. Unfortunately, people will give you false information. If the police arrive at the scene and either take a report or do an information exchange that should be sufficient. Otherwise, get a picture of the other driver’s license, insurance card and license plate. This will allow us to find the other driver, and the owner of the car, later on.
2. Take pictures and videos of the scene.
Once the accident is over, you can still take pictures of your car, but the scene cannot be recreated. Take pictures of both vehicles and pictures which show the context for the accident. Where is the red light? Was there a stop sign? These can all be important to your case. Make sure to take pictures of the other driver’s vehicle as well. Often times, we have to rely on bad quality photos, taken by an insurance adjuster, which make it harder to tell what happened in the accident.
3. Do not make any statements to the insurance company without speaking to your lawyer.
Many times, people are angry, injured, or otherwise in a rush when they speak on the phone to either their insurance company or the insurance company for the other driver. While it may be necessary to have a recorded interview with the adjuster, it is best for this to happen in a controlled setting with counsel present. This allows your attorney to control what information is given and keeps the insurance company from taking advantage of you.
The Bottom Line
If you are injured in an accident, seek medical treatment immediately and call our offices as soon as you are able to do so. We will begin representing you right away to make sure that your rights are protected.