What to do after a car accident that was not your fault?

Step 1: If no one is injured at the accident scene, pull over to the shoulder. If there is an injury, call 911. Step 2: At the location of the accident, exchange insurance and driver’s license information. Step 3: Within a reasonable time – 5 days – report to your insurance company.

Nobody wants to be in a car accident, but car accidents are quite common, so you should at least prepare yourself by knowing what to do if you get into one. Directly following the car accident, you will be dealing with shock, excess adrenalin; you may even have injuries. That is all before you even take into account other drivers and general shouting and horn honking.

It is a confusing and overwhelming time, and the best way to deal with it is to be prepared.

Step One: Take a Deep Breath and Call the Police

The first step is always to take a deep breath and calm yourself. Getting oxygen around your body helps your mind to slow down and focus. Then, you should call the police right away so they can attend and create an accident report. This is the first step because it will prevent you from being dissuaded from calling the police by the other driver.

A police report holds a lot of weight in an insurance claim or a personal injury trial. It stops the case from being a “he said, she said” kind of case into a case that has an objective third party and hard evidence. When the police attend the scene, they will talk to all parties involved and any witnesses that may be present and then create an accident report where they note which party is in the wrong. The negligent party may also receive citations as a result. In addition, the police report will contain contact details for all involved parties, witnesses, and the information of the attending officer. It is very useful for you or your attorney.

Step Two: Exchange Driver License and Insurance Information

At the scene of the accident, you will speak to the other driver. It is very important that you do not talk about the accident at all or if you are hurt. Any conversation you have at the scene of the accident may come up later in the case. For example, if the driver asks if you are okay and you say “fine, just a little rattled” but you are injured, then the insurance company may use that conversation to claim your injuries weren’t from the accident.

You need to get the following information from the driver:

Their name and contact information
Their insurance company name and policy details
The names and contact information for any passengers
The colour, make, and model of the vehicle
The name, badge number, and contact information for the police officers who attend the accident
The names and contact information of any witnesses

While you are waiting for the police to arrive, ask the driver for that information and get the contact information of any witnesses around. Take pictures of the scene at large and the position and damage to both cars. Take photos of the accident scene from a few different angles to cover your bases. If there was a cause of the accident like an uneven road or malfunctioning traffic light, then take photos. Take photos of the intersection and definitely take photos of any injuries you may have if they are apparent at the scene.

You should make notes of the weather conditions and what you can remember about the crash. You want to ensure you have notes so you can jog your memory later.

After Leaving the Scene of The Accident

Once the police have taken statements and allowed you to go, you need to go to a hospital right away if possible. Even if you feel fine, you should go to the local ER and ask them to run checks because you were involved in a car accident.

After a car accident, a lot of adrenalin is rushing through your body, and you may not be able to feel the full extent of your injuries. You could have fractures, whiplash, TBI, or internal injuries that you are not aware of. It is important to get checked out as soon as possible in order to catch these injuries quickly and be treated for them immediately.

In addition, the longer you wait to seek diagnosis after a car accident, the weaker your claim will be. The insurance company may claim that you could have been injured in the time between the car accident and seeking medical treatment.

Insurance Companies

After the car accident, call your insurance company. This might sound weird if you were not at fault for the car accident, because shouldn’t you call the other driver’s insurance company? But most insurance companies have a window where you must notify them of an accident, or they can deny your claim. If you find out a couple of weeks after the accident that the other driver wasn’t covered by insurance or did something to invalidate their own policy, then you may have missed the window to notify your insurance company. It is also usually your insurance company that will pay to repair any damages to your vehicle.

Call your insurance company first and notify them that you were involved in a car accident and are currently at the hospital being evaluated. Ask them what the procedure is for filing a claim and could they send you any paperwork you may need to complete or direct you to the forms on their website. Tell them that you believe you were not at fault and you have the details of the other driver’s insurance company. In some cases, your insurance company may be able to co-ordinate with the other driver’s insurance company on your behalf, freeing you from a lot of the work.

Do I Call The Other Driver’s Insurance Company?

No, you should not call the insurance company of the other driver. If you have been injured, then the cost may be high, and you should avoid speaking to the other insurance company and speak to a lawyer for advice.

Most insurance companies have forms available so you can file a third-party claim. As we said above, in some cases, your insurance company may be helpful and will cover your damages and then send the other driver’s insurance company the bill.

If you have serious injuries and you think the medical bills will be high, then you should speak to a personal injury lawyer. Most personal injury lawyers offer free consultations and will be able to help you handle the insurance companies. The reason for this is the higher the claim you make, the more likely it is that the insurance company will try and deny coverage or reduce their payout. Anything you say to them may be twisted as used as justification to reduce the compensation.

The Recovery Process

Once you have seen a medical professional and notified your insurance company, the next stage is called the recovery process. This is where you get your car fixed and collect all of your medical bills, and generally collect all of the information and evidence for your compensation.

This process can take time because you need to wait for all the damage to your car to be repaired and for medical treatments to finish, so you have the full cost of your damages. Keep all bills and receipts you receive in a folder so you can access them easily. When you are getting checked out at the hospital and going through treatments, ask the doctors to write detailed notes in your file as you will be making an insurance claim.

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