According to the National Safety Council, there are millions of accidents annually. While most of those accidents are not fatal, minor injuries (and even lifelong injuries) can occur when any kind of accident (big or small) happens.
Many people assume that the police will gather all important details following an accident though this is not usually the case. Often, the police will only note those things that are important from their perspective (or enough to file a report). The information that you need in order to file a strong personal injury case is different.
Important Details
- Following an accident, try not to discuss the accident in detail with the other person or persons involved. Simply ask for everyone’s name, phone number, address, and insurance information. Wait until the police arrive to start talking about the details that will be needed for a police report.
- Use your phone to take as many photos as possible. Take pictures of the people involved in the accident, the roads, the damage to the cars (or other vehicles), the license plates - everything. Chances are that you already use your phone to document everything, right? The scene of an accident should be no different.
- Be on guard when you talk to your insurance company. We’ve all seen insurance commercials that include a friendly person to talk to, and in most cases, those people are friendly enough. However, you have to keep in mind that your insurance company is not working for you. The job of an insurance adjuster is to save the company as much money as possible. What does this mean to you? It means that you should be careful when describing the scene of an accident.
Instead of talking to an insurance agent by yourself, wait until you have hired an attorney. The right legal team can coach you on what to say (and what not to say), and some attorneys may want to speak with your insurance company on your behalf. When it comes to any kind of accident, you really can’t be too careful about what you say!
Your Intuition Matters!
Sometimes, a doctor might say that there’s nothing physically wrong with you following an accident, but this may not be the case. If you feel like there’s something wrong, or you don’t feel quite right, it is up to you to make that call. You can always seek a second opinion!
