What to Do after Suffering a Car Injury
If you’ve been injured in an auto accident, you might need personal injury help. It’s not uncommon for those injured in a car accident to leave the scene of the crash with more questions than answers, with more confusion than understanding, and with no idea what to do next. While there is no right or wrong way to feel following an accident, there are a few right and wrong things to do following a car accident. This is where learning how to handle this unfortunate and unexpected situation is helpful. Hopefully, you’ll never be involved in a car accident. However, it’s better to be prepared if you are.
1 Know What to Do Immediately
When you are involved in a car accident, you must know what to do right away. The most important thing you can do is to remain calm. Do not panic. Call the police and provide information about the accident. You want them to come to the scene and write an accident report so there is documentation of what happened. If you can move your car off the road, you should do so. If you are injured and cannot move, do not try to move. You can worsen the injury if you moved your body when you suffer from certain injuries.
It’s also imperative to seek medical treatment right away. You cannot ignore your health when you’re involved in an accident even if you feel fine. Just because you don’t see any blood and you can move your limbs; doesn’t mean you are in the clear. You could have internal injuries that haven’t appeared yet. From a concussion to internal bleeding to organ failure, there are many things that might be wrong with you that you simply cannot see. You must see a doctor right away to rule out or diagnose any injuries you might have sustained during the accident.
The other reason why it’s crucial to see a doctor right away is to minimize the chance that the at-fault party will argue that your injuries were not a result of the accident. For example, if you don’t think you’re injured but you find out a month later that you had internal injuries, the at-fault driver’s attorney might argue that something else happened to you along the way. This can reduce your chance of winning a personal injury case if you decide to file one, and your personal accident attorney will advise you about the risks of not seeing the doctor.
2 Call An Attorney
The personal injury lawyers you speak to following your accident can help you in more ways than one. You’re not required to file a lawsuit when you call an attorney. They can help you in many ways, including communicating with the other attorneys and the other driver’s car insurance agency. Personal injury help is just one of the many services the personal injury lawyers you speak with can provide.
Your attorney can obtain the evidence you need to win your case. They can negotiate a higher settlement amount with the at-fault party’s insurance company. They can organize your medical records and medical bills, and they can advise you what to sign and what not to sign when you’re sending paperwork from the other party’s insurance agency. For example, did you know that you should not sign a full medical release form, while the other insurance company might ask you to do just that? They might even suggest that it’s necessary if you hope to continue with the settlement offer. However, this is not true.
They only need medical records associated with your accident injuries. If you sign a medical release form, you authorize the insurance company to look into your medical records from the time you were born. They’ll use this information to try and prove you had a pre-existing injury. Your attorney can work with you and the insurance company to negotiate a higher settlement offer. Your attorney can handle the work associated with your accident for you while you spend your time recovering from your accident.
3 Filing a Personal Injury Claim
Your attorney can also help you decide if you want to file a personal injury claim. They will help you decide how much you need, if there is a case, and what you can do. For example, did you suffer from injuries that kept you from going to work for months while you recovered from surgery? Did you lose income as a result? Were your injuries so bad that you cannot return to work at all or at least in the same capacity you did in the past? Does this mean you lose all or a portion of your income?
If this is the case, you can file a personal injury lawsuit. You can also file if you have medical bills piling up from the injuries you sustained. If your spouse left you because of your injuries or the accident, you can file a lawsuit asking for damages associated with pain and suffering as well as loss of consortium. The bottom line is that you did not cause this accident, and you are not required to suffer financially as a result of it.
Call an attorney and ask them what they can do for you. Your attorney will meet with you to go over the details of your case. If you decide to hire the attorney, you will discuss the rate you pay, how you pay, and when you pay at your first meeting. You will then allow your attorney to gather evidence and find you the help you need to help you find financial peace following your accident. This is the time you should use to recover from your injuries, and your attorney can help you do that by handling the legal work that follows a car accident with injuries. Call a personal accident attorney today to seek the help you need.
