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Here are the most important things to do to protect yourself, your family, and your legal rights after a car accident:
- Get yourself and your vehicle out of the line of traffic, if possible
- Call emergency services to bring fire, police, and medical personnel to your location
- Collect evidence from the accident scene, witnesses, and the other driver
- Contact a Spartanburg car accident lawyer for legal assistance
Preventing Further Injuries After a Car Crash
After a motor vehicle accident, your number-one priority is your safety. Therefore, you should immediately identify and address the most urgent threats to your well-being. After a car accident, such threats may include:
- Oncoming traffic: Move your vehicle—and anyone in the vehicle, including yourself and your passengers—to the side of the road or a nearby parking lot to avoid being hit a second time.
- An unresponsive vehicle: If you cannot move your vehicle, turn on the hazard lights to warn others to move out of the way. Then leave the vehicle and go to a safer location.
- Smoke or flames: Immediately exit the car and move a safe distance away from a vehicle that is smoking or on fire.
Getting Help for Car Accident Injuries
Once you have resolved the most pressing issues, call 911 and explain what happened as clearly and concisely as possible. The 911 operator will send an ambulance, a police officer, and any other necessary emergency responders to your location to ensure everyone gets the help they need.
Most people have a cell phone they can use to call emergency services. If your phone was lost or damaged in the crash, ask someone else to call 911 or look for a nearby building where you could place the call.
Post-Accident Medical Care
Some people may be injured badly enough to visit the emergency room. Others decline a ride to the hospital and wait until they can see their regular physician. Either way, timely medical treatment after a collision is vital because:
- Getting help right away can prevent your injuries or symptoms from worsening, which in turn can help you avoid unnecessary pain and complications.
- It can help prove the motor vehicle crash caused your injuries.
- Medical records and doctor’s bills can show the extent of your injuries and prove how much money you are entitled to recover from the at-fault party.
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Gathering Evidence to Prove Who Caused Your Car Accident
While you wait for emergency services to arrive, you can get a head start on preserving your legal rights by:
- Asking the at-fault driver for their name, contact information, registration number, and insurance information
- Taking photos of the accident scene, the damage to both vehicles, and any injuries you sustained
- Writing down the names and phone numbers of anyone who witnessed the collision and might be able to provide investigators with further information
Once the police arrive, answer their questions succinctly and honestly. Do not say anything that could be used against you later, such as apologizing or giving unwarranted speculation about what happened.
Do Not Jeopardize Your Safety to Collect Car Accident Evidence
Some situations where you may not be able to collect evidence safely and should not attempt to do so include when:
- The other driver leaves the scene without stopping to assist you (a hit-and-run accident).
- You are critically injured.
- The crash scene is very chaotic and hazardous (e.g., a fire is spreading from one of the vehicles), and you must focus on your welfare.
If you cannot gather evidence, that is okay. An auto accident attorney can investigate the crash on your behalf.
How a Car Crash Lawyer Can Help Build Your Case
This task comes last in the list of things to do after an automobile accident, but that does not mean it is unimportant. Personal injury attorneys can play a critical role in:
- Reviewing applicable car insurance policies so you better understand how to contact them and what to say in response to their questions
- Gathering enough evidence to create a persuasive case file, especially if you could not collect evidence on your own
- Requesting a copy of the police report from the accident
- Proving you are not at fault for the crash
- Identifying all of the at-fault parties who owe you compensation and contacting their auto insurance companies to see if they are willing to settle out of court
- Helping you sort through your legal options and coming up with a strategy for seeking the economic and non-economic damages you need
- Filing your insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit
- Determining how much money you are eligible for and negotiating aggressively for that amount, even if the insurance company is reluctant to settle or tries to blame you for the crash
- Preparing to go to court and representing you at trial, if that is the best way to pursue your money
- Giving you and your family peace of mind by answering all of your questions, providing legal advice as necessary, and charging no upfront attorney’s fees
Seeking Timely Legal Advice After a Car Wreck
As your personal injury lawyer can remind you, you have a limited time to seek compensation. In North and South Carolina, for instance, state laws (N.C. Gen. Stat. §1-52 and S.C. Ann. §15-3-530, respectively) give would-be plaintiffs just three years to begin a case.
For this reason, and because evidence tends to deteriorate over time, it is in your best interest to call a law firm in your area as soon as you have gotten out of the path of danger, received medical attention, and collected any evidence you can.
After a Car Accident, Our Attorneys Can Help
At Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC, we are available to clients 24/7. No matter when a client needs to contact us with questions about what to do after a car accident or how their case is going, they receive prompt answers.
Contact us today to learn more through a free, no-risk case assessment with a member of our team.
