What To Do After a Car Accident

The first thing you should do is move your vehicle to a safe place away from traffic to avoid any other collisions. If your vehicle is immovable due to damage brought on by the accident, leave your vehicle where it is but try to move yourself and any passengers to safety. Next, you will want to check yourself and your passengers for any potential traumatic injuries. After you move to a safe place and check for injuries, you should immediately call 911. Know that your 911 call is recorded so be careful when describing whether you or your passengers are injured and the facts of the collision. It is better to say that you are unsure if you or your passengers are injured, especially since injuries may not present themselves until the next day due to adrenaline at the scene.

After you call 911, exchange information with the other driver involved in the collision. You will want to get their name, address and insurance information. If they were working at the time of the collision, then obtain the name of their employer. Once you have exchanged information and, once police have arrived and investigated the collision, you should receive an accident report number for purposes of obtaining the police report. If you are injured and require an ambulance, then let the police know that at the scene so that they can document that issue in the report. If you do not require an ambulance, but are in pain then it is best to get checked out at a local ER or urgent care. If you do not know where to get seen for your injuries then call Locke Henry Law for further assistance.

Occasionally, folks are unfamiliar with where they can get receive medical treatment after a collision and even face difficulty getting treatment from their own doctors due to insurance issues related to treatment for motor vehicle collisions. As a personal injury law firm, we can assist in getting you to medical providers who know how to handle the insurance complexities related to treating personal injury patients. Your personal health and immediate wellbeing post-accident should not be dictated by what your insurance or primary care provider is or is not willing to do.

To summarize, after a car accident you should:

• Move your vehicle to a safer area of the road (like the shoulder) to avoid any additional collisions, if possible. If your vehicle is immovable due to damage, move yourself to safety.

• Check yourself and your passengers for injuries of any kind.

• Call 911 and be aware that your call is being recorded — it’s better to say you’re unsure if any injuries occurred than to minimize the situation, as injuries can present themselves later on after adrenaline has subsided.

• Exchange information with the other drive. Make sure to ask if they were working or on the job at the time of the collision and get the name of their employer.

• Obtain the accident report number from the responding officer’s police report of the accident.

• If you or any of your passengers require an ambulance, let the police know so they can add it to the official accident report.

• If you don’t require an ambulance, get examined for injuries at a local ER or urgent care.

• If you need help of any kind, call Locke Henry Law!