How to Behave After a Car Accident

According to the newest data, about 33 thousand people die in a car accident each year in the United States. This means that our roads are very dangerous, especially in big agglomerations, such as New York or Los Angeles, it is vital then, to know exactly how to behave in case of having a collision with another motor vehicle.

The first thing to do, after the crash, is making sure that you and your passengers are safe. If somebody does feel pain, you should make this person stay in their seat and wait for professional help to avoid further injuries (obviously, if your vehicle suffered heavy damage and may catch fire, it may be better to bet out of it and wait for help in a safe place). When your are safe, proceed to helping the other party involved in the accident and placing warning triangles to make the accident site clearly visible for other drivers. Only they, can you call 911 and collect personal data from the other party involved in the accident (do not forget about their insurance policy number). It may be a good idea to call one of car accident attorneys now – a good lawyer will help you avoid possible problems in the future, by making sure that the police and insurance company representatives at the accident site fulfill their duties exactly as they should. It is often because of the insurer’s representatives that come to collect data about the accident, that drivers recover compensation not as high, as they deserve. Why not save yourself stress, then? Ask for help to make sure that you will be treated with respect.

Finding and hiring a good lawyer is a matter of minutes

After having an accident, it is extremely important to act as swiftly as possible – it is both matter of physical safety and safety from problems that can possibly occur in the future. Without professional legal help, you may encounter countless problems, such as unfair treating by the police and your insurer or the other party taking part in the accident, who may try to prove that it is you, who is responsible for the accident. This is why, one should know how to find a good lawyer for any occasion in just a few minutes.

If you do not have any phone numbers to legal agencies prepared beforehand and saved in your cellphone’s memory, do not worry – nowadays every cellphone can connect to the Internet, which allows you to search for contact numbers to car accident attorneys, even directly after an accident. Just type a good phrase (such as “car accident attorney” + your current location) in your favorite search engine and browse through results. Chances are, that you will find somebody ready, to help you immediately. But what can a lawyer do at an accident site? A good lawyer can assure that everyone responsible for clearing up the mess treats you and your family with respect. It is a common problem that the police officers of the insurer’s representatives do not focus on their work enough, thus leading to situations, when there are still issues that are unclear and make your compensation lower, than you truly deserve.

Legal problems of hybrid cars owners

Hybrid cars seem to be much better than ordinary ones – they are much more fuel efficient, cheaper to run, do not emit as much gasses as their old-fashioned counterparts and, what is the most important when talking about safety, they can work noiselessly. This feature especially is controversial. Because everyone is used to the fact that cars are pretty loud vehicles, some of us trust that if they do not hear a car coming, they can safely cross the street. Unfortunately, this is the main reason why accidents with hybrid cars happen. People are still unaware of the fact that a motor vehicle can run noiselessly, even though drivers and owners of such vehicles perceive it as something obvious. Car accident attorneys have lots of work, then.

Toyota-Prius

If you live in a large city and drive a hybrid car on a daily basis, you definitely should be ready to contact a good lawyer – just find contact numbers to some legal offices specializing in the traffic code and always have carry these numbers in your wallet. This way, you will always be ready to ask for help, whenever you have an accident involving a pedestrian. Even, if the pedestrian involved in the accident states that he/she is aware of their fault, you still should be ready to consult a lawyer – a case against you may be filed even a long time after the accident. To avoid any problems in the future, just ask a lawyer to come to the accident site and explain the injured pedestrian that it is pointless to accuse you of anything, because the fact that you drive a quiet car does not make you a criminal – it is a responsibility of a pedestrian, to make sure that he/she can safely cross the street.

Can we really trust teenage drivers?

Almost everyone can be a driver, only children cannot. There are several stereotypes about drivers of various age groups: elderly drivers tend to drive slowly and carefully, but are dangerous due to their long reaction time and teenagers seem to be inexperienced, thus they often overestimate their own skills and drive too fast. But who really is the most dangerous? The statistics show that, in fact, the most dangerous group of drivers are teenagers and people in their early twenties. Data collected by the police prove that they are much more prone to dangerous behavior, such as speeding, careless driving, focusing on different thing than the road itself (such as talking on the phone or even typing text messages), driving with more passengers than the car was designed for and driving, when sleepy or extremely tired. Because teenagers are not experienced, they sometimes do not realize how easy it is to cause a traffic accident.

Teen Girl Driver

As potential victims of teenage drivers, we should all be prepared to contact one of many car accident attorneys. After an accident involving a teenage driver, we can maximize our chances of making the compensation as high as possible, by just letting a good lawyer help us. It is very important to always fight for your rights – you never know when you will need this money.

Your can still recover compensation after refusing medical treatment at the accident site

In many cases, car accidents happen at speeds so low that nobody gets hurt and the biggest problem of the parties involved are costs of their cars repairs. Because of this, we often refuse medical treatment after having an accident – it just seems unnecessary, when we do not notice any alarming symptoms and feel just fine. Sometimes though, even in a particularly weak collision, human body can receive some minor injuries, which are hard to notice, when we are under influence of adrenaline. After some time however, some people apparently not injured, start feeling alarming symptoms, which can be related to the accident from few days earlier. Can these people still try to recover their compensations, even though they refused medical treatment at the accident site? Answer to this question is “yes”. But how to proceed in order to recover a compensation after making a mistake such as refusing medical help? First thing to do after noticing any alarming symptoms, is contacting a doctor. A doctor should examine you and thoroughly document the examination. Then, you should contact one of car accident attorneys. Preferably, you should find one specializing in cases similar to yours or car accidents in general. An attorney will explain you what should be your next steps and, basing on his/her experience, tell you if you have chances of winning the case.

You can easily find a suitable attorney in the Internet, just type a good phrase (such as “compensation after refusing medical treatment”) into your favorite search engine’ window and call one. Your chances of recovering a satisfactory compensation are relatively high, you just have to try.

Can you achieve a settlement without professional legal help?

Many of us, who drive cheap vehicles of no sentimental value are in a situation, in which it is financially better to avoid contacting the insurer, after having an accident, because using the policy would increase the future insurance cost. It is sometimes cheaper to just repair the vehicle or get another car on our own, than pay more for the insurance in the future. Unfortunately, settling the business after an accident unofficially is not the safest possible option. The other party involved in the accident may simply be dishonest and refuse to cover their part of expenses – and there may be nothing we can do about it.

Settling the case in this way can also result in some legal problems in the future – so it is just safer to always contact the police, the insurer and a good attorney, after having even a minor accident, in which nobody got hurt. If you have any doubts concerning credibility of the other party involved in the accident (and you always should have such doubts), you can find and consult a lawyer directly after the accident. You can easily find contact numbers to car accident attorneys in the Internet, just by using your cellphone’s built-in web browser.

If you have already avoided the official ways of doing things, but some problems have arisen because the other party was not hones, remember that you have three years to file the insurance claim – so you do not have to worry, you can still recover the compensation from your insurer, but be aware that your chances of getting a satisfactory compensation get lower, as you wait.

Advices for all drivers

  1. Some states are “no fault states”. This means that in these states you do not have to prove the other party’s guilt to recover the compensation. “No fault states” are: Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, Utah, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. This means that in these states motorists have a right to recover the compensations for motor accident related injuries and losses, even when there is no certainty who is a guilty party. If you are not satisfied with the compensation your insurer offers, you can always try to fight for more. Just consult a good lawyer, who specializes in traffic code (you can find one by just typing “car accident attorneys” in your favorite Web search engine) to learn more about your chances.
  2. In many states ( for example in New York) you can file a compensation claim up to three years after an accident. There is no need to hurry, then. You can patiently take your time and file the claim whenever you decide and collect the evidence supporting your claim.
  3. If you are not satisfied with what your insurer offers, you can always sue the other party taking part in the accident. Consult a lawyer first though, because you certainly do not sue anyone without being certain of your chances. Remember that you will need as much evidence proving the other party’s guilt, so collect every document concerning you case, you can get. It may be a good idea to search the web for cases similar to yours – internet forums are rich in very useful information.

This guest post written by Jain who writes for Plattalaw.com, company who helps people to file claims for Construction Accidents.

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