Top 9 essential things you should do if you are in a Car Accident
Contact Your Insurance Immediately
When dealing with your insurance provider, it is important to consider that it is in the best interest of your provider to deny your insurance claim. This is why it is essential to immediately call your insurance provider in the event of an accident since many insurance companies only have a certain time period within which you can enforce an insurance claim. If you report your car accident after the period specified in your policy, then you will no longer be able to claim any benefits.
If you are not absolutely sure as to how to deal with your insurance provider when you suffered a car accident, then it might be more advisable to deal with your personal injury lawyer first so that you can be guided accordingly through the best course of action for your insurance claim.
Document Your Injuries and Losses After the Accident
Establishing your personal injury claim for a car accident does not end with the above mentioned list but actually extends to several matters after the accident, especially if you have been injured. If you need to seek medical attention as a result of the accident, or an injury develops later on, then you need to document these incidents so that you can later refer to them when you are trying to establish your personal injury claim.
It is obvious that when you go to a hospital you will need to fill out certain forms when seeking medical attention. With this, make sure that you have a copy of these consultation forms, admission forms, emergency room forms, or simple doctor prescriptions that can help illuminate the course of your injury and medical treatment. Apart from this, you should document, either in a journal or through photos, the names and offices of the doctors whom you visited. If you required rehabilitation from a physical therapist or a chiropractor, or if you suffered trauma, document your appointments with these specialists.
Another source of documentation could be your receipts for doctor’s appointments or hospital treatments, or if you had sought any professional help in relation to your injury. This could include actual paper or email correspondence with your doctors or receipts for wheelchairs, crutches, etc.
If you had to take time off work due to your personal injury, then make sure that you document it as well, including particular employment papers from your employer so that you can add them to your list of claims for your personal injury suit. Likewise, if you are a student and had to miss time from school, make sure you document your absences.
Another important aspect of personal injury claims are emotional damages, which are awarded to an individual when he or she suffers severe anxiety or sleepless nights as a result of an injury. For this purpose, it would be best if you could keep a personal diary or journal that documents these feelings so that you can exhibit your emotional state later in court.
Remember that your claims from the car accident also extend to your possible monetary and financial losses that may have occurred as result of your accident. It is very important that you have the proper documentation or photographs to back your claim up.
