It is inevitable that at least once in your lifetime you will find yourself in a car accident. If this happens you will need to be prepared and know what to do in order to protect yourself and others. It is essential to do these things if you want to stay safe, both physically and legally, and avoid any further complications. Hence, check out this guide and see for yourself what to do if you happen to get yourself in an accident.
1. Safety first
This is something that is always a priority, making sure that everyone is safe. No matter how serious the accident was, the first thing you need to do is to assess your injuries. This means that before making any movements, you should sit and see if you are injured and how bad. If there are any puncture wounds do not remove anything, just leave it there. Do not try to get out of the car if injured, just call for help. If you are okay, get up and check all the others. See how many people are injured and how badly. This assessment is essential since you will need to call for authorities, and explain what has happened and how many people are injured and how badly. It is important to leave them in the vehicles except the one is on fire and represents an imminent danger for the others.
2. Call Authorities
The second thing that is essential is to call for the authorities. This means that the police and ambulance need to be called at the scene. The police will make a record of the accident and take statements from all the people there. It is important to stop people from fleeing the accident since in most countries this is considered a crime to get from the accident scene without calling the authorities and reporting the accident. In others there should at least be a report of it once it happens if it is just a bump.
3. Archive the accident
Once it has happened, be sure to archive all that has happened. So take photos and videos in order to have evidence of the accident. This will be useful in court and when claiming insurance. This process is of importance especially if some of the people that get in the accident may run away, so make sure to get as much evidence as soon as possible, of course, and staying safe in the process. It is good to see if there are some cameras that can be used and that did record the accident.
4. Find witnesses
Witnesses are very important. Sometimes you will not be sure what has happened when it happens, so be sure to see if there are witnesses that will be able to confirm the events and fill in the gaps if there are some. In addition to this, it will be important for the police to question them in order to get the full picture and know what has happened.
5. Contact insurance company
This is very important to do, and you will want to contact the company that is in charge of the insurance of your vehicle. They will ask the evidence and in most cases the report from the authorities in order to process the accident and offer you the compensation for the car. In most cases, if it is not your fault, you will be compensated for all the expenses of the repair of the car. Hence, make the evidence and wait for the police to come and get the report in order to be extra safe.
6. Seek additional help
Once the accident has occurred and it seems there are problems with the other ones involved in it, it is okay to seek additional help from authorities and even lawyers. In some cases, the other will claim that it is not their fault what has happened, and this will lead to legal issues if the ones that are guilty do not want to accept the responsibility for their actions. This is the time to seek help and get legal help in order to get compensated for the damage that was done on your car and in essence the injuries that were to sustain. There are situations in which hiring a lawyer is the best way to ensure you are compensated adequately and fairly for your accident injuries. With the help of your personal injury attorney at Tork Law you can file a car accident claim.
7. Get rid of the car if totaled
After the accident, the car may be so damaged that no mechanic can fix it. In this case, the car may be sold. On this website you can see the offers and get it evaluated in order to have at least some benefit from the totaled car.
In case the car is totaled, you will probably want to get rid of it, so the good thing is to have at least some money out of it. This can happen to anyone, and it is essential to know what to do when it happens. A car that is not in the state to be fixed or drove needs to be removed from your hands, and there are companies that can do this for you. They do pay for their services, but this is negligible since they will take the junkyard vehicle out of your hands and pay you for it. So, if the car is not to be used, check out how it can be removed from your hands. You’ll need to get a new car then, and if you can’t afford one you may need to get a car loan from a company like www.sgcashncars.com.
Conclusion
If you get into car accidents there are few things that you will need to do. Firstly, make sure that all of the people who were involved in the accident are safe, and not in life danger. Secondly, call for the police and ambulance in order to take care of the people who are injured and report the accident. Make sure to take photos and videos of the scene and see for the ones that may have seen the crash. It is very important to call your insurance company in order to see how to get compensated if needed. Legal help should always be asked if there is a need for it. Last, but not least, if the car is totaled be sure to get the professionals to get it out of your hands.
