What You Should Do After an Accident
You were driving along the road and suddenly — BAM! — you’re in the middle of a collision. Maybe it was your fault. Maybe it was the other driver’s fault. At this moment, that’s not what’s important. You have to collect your wits, shake off the shock of the accident, and take the right steps to ensure the accident is handled correctly.
Below are the steps you should follow. You might even want to print this off and keep in your car as a reminder.
Step 1: Do not leave the scene!
Normally exclamation points don’t work well in writing but in this case the point needs to be emphasized. Leaving the scene of an accident is the worst thing you can. For one, you could leave yourself vulnerable to a hit and run charge. Plus, the police are not going to have a chance to interview you or to examine the scene. No matter what else is going on — don’t leave the scene unless you’re being taken away in an ambulance.
Step 2: Make sure everyone is alright
The next thing you need to do is make sure everyone in your vehicle and the other vehicles involved are not in need of medical attention. Remember that no matter how much you love your car or how certain you are the other person caused the accident you should put human life before your property’s value.
Step 3: Call the police
Even if you think someone else might have called the police already, you need to make that phone call just in case. Now in some places the police won’t come out if the accident occurred on private property, such as in a parking lot. But you should still follow up and make a police report as soon as possible. This will be important for your insurance.
If your cars are blocking the street, you may need to move them until the police arrive so you don’t obstruct traffic. But before you do, try to take photographs of the scene as evidence and talk to any eye witnesses who may have seen what happened. The police will find all of this useful in their investigation.
Step 4: Exchange insurance information
If the police do arrive, they will facilitate this exchange. Even if they do not, you should both exchange insurance and contact information. Never let someone off the hook who promises to pay you out-of-pocket if you don’t report the accident to the police or to his/her insurance. In most of these cases, they either have no insurance or are at risk of losing their insurance because of the number of accidents they have had in the past.
Step 5: File your claim
Many insurance companies today make it easy for you to file the report over the phone or even through the Internet so do this as soon as possible. Your insurance company will set the wheels in motion for the subsequent steps, including contacting the other insurance company and sending an adjuster to look at the damage. Make sure you have the number of the police report when you file your claim.
June 18, 2009, Posted by Rainy Day Mitch