What to Do After a Car Accident

Important Steps to Protect Your Rights After a Motor Vehicle Collision

Do not discuss the collision
Any person may be called as a witness against you. Any person may be called to testify to what you say or do, as well as to give an opinion of your pain and suffering. The insurance company can use against you statements made to friends and fellow employees. Do not give anyone your estimate of the value of your claim. Do not talk to anyone you suspect may be an investigator for the insurance company. You are not likely able to tell exactly how an accident happened solely from your own perspective. Do not accept blame or apologize to the other driver. Leave it to your attorney to present your case and to the judge or jury to decide who should pay.

Gather evidence
The importance of many pieces of evidence may not be obvious. Collecting as much of as possible as soon after an impact occurs as possible will give both you and your attorney a significant head start on protecting your rights and resolving your case promptly for full value.

Write down the license plate number of the other vehicle involved. Sometimes the person driving the car does not own it. Writing down both the driver’s information and the vehicle’s license plate number ensures that you have obtained the identifying information that you might need in a lawsuit.

If a police officer is present, ask for his or her name and badge number to obtain an incident report. Take photos of the vehicles from all angles, not just any damaged areas, as well as photos of the surrounding area, physical damage, guard rails, skid marks, or debris on the road. Take photos of any injuries. Take photos of anything you think might be important, no matter how trivial it might seem. Your attorney will decide what is and what is not important.

Take the name, address, and telephone number of any potential witness. If you can safely do so, return to the scene and visit any nearby homes or business for any potential witnesses. Revisiting the scene several times at the same time at which the injury occurred may help locate those who routinely pass by the location as part of their daily routine. If you have obtained witness information, do not contact or speak to the witness again. Do not try to solicit a written statement or drawing from the witness. Instead, give any contact information you obtain to your attorney.

Property Damage
As a collision victim, you may be entitled to recover for all property damaged in a crash, as well as payment for medical bills, reimbursement for lost wages and earning capacity, and compensation for pain and suffering. You are not obligated to use a repair facility recommended by an insurance company for repairs. Get written and dated repair estimates from at least two repair facilities, at least one of which you selected without insurance company suggestion.

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident, contact the Law Office of Dane E. Johnson. We welcome your contact and will be pleased to consider your case. We believe in making all legal matters easier to cope with, starting from our first contact. We will talk with you as many times as necessary, without charge, until we determine if we can help.