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What to Do If You Are Involved in a Car Accident - Ten Time Tested Tips
By Rex Bush
In horse-and-buggy days flighty stallions sometimes bolted and raced out-of-control down crowded streets.
But, horses had "horse sense" and rarely drove head on into the next wagon.
Without horses to guide us all the foibles of humanity come into play.
Are car accidents necessary? Probably not. But since they are a fact of life in modern America and since "forewarned is forearmed" here are some tips to help you cut your losses if you are involved in one.
STOP
Even if you just feel a bump on your car or think you might have hit someone or something, you should stop. Failing to stop could get you in a whole lot of trouble.
CALL THE POLICE AND REPORT THE ACCIDENT
If there has been an injury or the possibility of injury you should call the police.
if the other driver asks you not to involve the police, you should definitely call the police. From experience I can tell you that these people often don't have insurance and try to weasel out of paying you later on.
In twenty five years I have only twice seen at-fault drivers make good on their promise to pay for damage after an accident. One of those cases involved me when I tapped another car on an icy road and was asked to replace the car seat. Buying a new car seat was cheap for me as it avoided an increase in my rates.
If your car is in an accident and the person driving was rendered physically incapable of making an accident report, then you, as the owner of the vehicle, should make sure the accident is reported to the police.
If another driver causes an accident but does not stop do your best to get the license number. If there are witnesses get their names, addresses and phone numbers. Then call the police. Keep the witnesses at the scene till the police arrive.
If you are injured in a no-contact accident caused by a driver who flees the scene you can be compensated by your uninsured motorist coverage. However, your carrier will require "independent proof" that another driver caused the accident.
EXCHANGE INFORMATION
Drivers must exchange names, addresses phone numbers and insurance information.
GATHER INFORMATION
Make a diagram of the accident, showing the positions of the cars before, during, and after impact.
Measure skid marks (if possible), or make sure the police do it, note the positions of traffic lights and street signs, estimate the respective driving speeds (for your own records), and record details about the weather and road conditions.
If possible, have photographs taken of the accident scene and of any damage or injury to persons or vehicles.
Pictures of serious damage to your car or other cars can help you if you later pursue a claim for injuries.
On the other hand, minor damage to your car or another car can help you if someone files a claim against you.
I once tried a case where the insurance defense attorney obtained a photograph of the minor damage to my client's car and had it blown up to to an exhibit measuring four feet by four feet.
This was impressive to the jury who felt that minor damage to car meant minor damage to the occupant and so they awarded a smaller than normal amount of money on the case.
DON'T ADMIT FAULT
You should cooperate with police officers investigating the case. Answer the police officers questions factually. Don't guess or estimate. Do not volunteer information or comment on the accident to the police witnesses, or other drivers. Do not admit any fault for the accident.
Do not sign any pieces of paper. In some states you may be asked to sign traffic tickets--but this in itself is not an admission of guilt or wrongdoing.
You must take an alcohol test if requested, or risk losing your license.
SEE A DOCTOR
As soon after the accident as possible, it would be a good idea to be checked out by a doctor. Even if there are no initial signs of pain, there might have been damage done to the neck or spine.
Sometimes people get injured in car accidents but because those injuries don't show up immediately, they don't seek medical treatment promptly.
If a short time after your auto accident, you or one of your passengers develop pain in the neck or back or you feel you're suffering from a mental or emotional disability caused by injuries to the head, see a doctor.
If you have a head injury, you may need to see a neurologist. Head injuries can occur even though you don't hit your head. This is what happened to Natasha Richardson who died from head injuries in a skiing accident. This is known as a "contrecoup" concussion.
At the very least consult a chiropractor with respect to back and neck injuries.
REPORT THE ACCIDENT TO INSURANCE COMPANIES
After the accident contact your insurance company to inform them of the accident.
If the other driver was at fault report the accident to his insurance company.
His company should provide you with a rental car, if needed, and pay to have your car fixed.
If your car is totaled the his insurance company should pay to fix it. Kelley Blue Book and NADA both have web sites where you can get information about the value of your car.
HOW TO DEAL SUCCESSFULLY WITH CLAIMS ADJUSTERS
You will likely be contacted by a claims adjustor from your own or another parties' insurance company.
Be careful about what you say.
If you feel you have no injuries at the time and tell that to the adjustor, and later on it develops that you had injuries that you were unaware of, (this is very common in whiplash cases,) the adjustor is sure to bring it up, in an effort to keep the settlement as low as possible.
If the adjuster is not promptly providing you what, by law, you are entitled to, ask to speak with her supervisor.
If that doesn't work well...
CALL A LAWYER
You may want to talk to an attorney to clarify your rights and discuss questions of liability for the accident.
And you might need help getting a rental car, getting all the damage repaired on your car, or getting fair value for your car if it is totaled.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE SUED
If you are served with a complaint and summons and you have insurance just take the complaint and summons to your insurance agent. This would be the agent for the insurance you had at the time of the accident. Auto insurance covers you based on coverage on the date of the accident. If you changed insurance since the accident your prior insurance still has a duty to defend you.
If you were not covered by insurance you should consult a lawyer who specializes in insurance defense. It will be worth paying his hourly fee to have him protect your interests.
You might be able to get the case dismissed by proving you were uninsured at the time of the accident. The injured person can then make a claim under his uninsured motorist coverage.
His uninsured motorist insurance carrier may go after you for "subrogation". If that happens, your insurance defense lawyer can be a big help negotiating the best possible settlement of the claim.
This may be a time to consider filing bankruptcy so a consultation with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer to discuss Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 should be scheduled.
Rex Bush is founder of Bush Law Firm near Salt Lake City, Utah where he handles personal injury cases in Utah and throughout the United States and Canada. For more information on personal injury issues visit his website: Utah Injury Attorney.
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How to Make Your Car Accident Claim Strong?
By Lindsay Nolan
Car accident claims are unique and can never be precisely same as another; understandably for the reason that car accidents although look similar will have slight differences. So it is important to make the claim stronger for a successful settlement. The claim must be methodically planned considering the various proofs required for strengthening the case. Most of the important information can be gathered from the accident spot, so if you are involved in an accident it is important for you to act immediately after recovering from the shock.
To make your car accident claim stronger you must be able to prove with substantial facts that the accident occurred due to the negligence of the other party. To consolidate the evidence you should collect the following important information from the accident scene.
o Note down the name, address and phone number of the involved party. Exchanging personal details is a legal requirement in an accident scene.
o Find out the insurance policy number of the involved party and the name of the insurance company. As per rules every car drivers must have insurance policy against car accident claims.
o Collect details of other party's type of car, color and plate number.
o Take photographs of the accident scene and the area of accident.
o Collect name, address and telephone number of witnesses if available at the accident spot.
o Collect the police officer's name and badge number and the copy of his/her accident report.
o If you are injured get a medical report from a doctor.
o Inform your insurance company about the accident immediately after the accident.
A car accident claim can be valued high provided it is supported with the right documents and photographs. Although the above information collected by you are absolutely necessary for strengthening your claim, the claim can be stronger if you find a specialist car accident claims solicitor to handle the process of filing your claim. A specialist and experienced accident lawyer trained to deal with law on your behalf and to negotiate with insurance companies will sure to strengthen your claim case. There is a danger of weakening your claim if you try to handle your claim by yourself directly approaching the insurance company. Chances are that the involved party's insurance company will make maximum efforts to settle you for smaller amount. A specialist and experienced car accident lawyer is the ideal person to make your claim strong by legally negotiating with insurance companies for maximum settlement.
Passengers of the car will not have any responsibility over the car accident, so if you are a victim passenger your claim will naturally be stronger. Your claim will be equally strong even if your car driver is at fault to cause the accident.
While making car accident claims it is very important to keep in mind that your case will be strong only if you are innocent in the event of accident. It is also advisable to find an expert solicitor to handle your specific type of car accident in view of making your claim case stronger.
Want to make strong car accident claims Here is what you are looking for.
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