Car accidents are never pleasant events. Emotions are running high, and you might be shaken, disturbed, or injured moments after the accident. But there are some things you can do to ensure your safety and prepare for a car insurance claim or car accident lawsuit.
Step 1: Don’t Leave the Scene
Don’t leave the scene of the accident until you have obtained information from other parties in the accident. If there is an investigating police officer, don’t leave until you are released to do so by the officer. Leaving early will make you guilty of a hit-and-run.
Step 2: Check for Injuries
Check if anyone is injured, starting with you and your passengers. Then, if it is safe to do so, check other drivers and passengers. If you have any injuries, call 911 right away. If you are not sure whether or not to make the call, call 911 anyway.
Don’t provide assistance outside your training. And unless the person is in imminent peril (from a fire, for example) don’t transport anyone who’s injured. Learn more about car accident injuries.
Step 3: Call the Police
If you have already called 911, a police officer should be dispatched to the accident. If nobody appears to be injured, you need to call the police if state law sets a minimum level of property damage (typically around $1,000, but less in some states). You cannot tell the level of damage at the scene, so it is typically a good idea to obtain a police report.
A police officer will take a police report and interview all parties to the accident. An officer’s presence can also be extremely helpful if it is determined the other vehicle is operated under the influence or without auto insurance. Attempt to obtain the badge number and name of the responding officer and the police report number if at all possible.
Step 4: Move Vehicles
If the accident is fairly minor with no major injuries, try to get all vehicles over to a shoulder and off the road. This will prevent the traffic tie-up from being so huge and will assist first responders in their ability to get to the accident scene.
Step 5: Exchange Insurance and Contact Information
Obtain names of other drivers, their phone numbers, driver’s license numbers, and vehicle insurance details (company, policy number). If the driver of the car is not the owner of the car, obtain the owner’s information as well. Do not risk transcription errors or loss of data and instead photograph the other driver’s insurance card and driver’s license and email or text it to yourself.
If there are witnesses, obtain their name and contact information. Your attorney or insurance company might require their statement to verify your description of the incident.
Step 6: Collect Possible Evidence
Besides writing down any witnesses to the accident, attempt to obtain evidence. Record information about the vehicles that collided in the accident, such as:
Vehicle Information to Record:
- make
- model
- year
- license plate number (even a partial is useful), and
- overall description (such as color, bumper stickers, and dents).
Photograph any damage to the vehicles, skid marks, traffic lights, and conditions of the area. For instance, if the accident happened at a four-way stop, but your stop sign is face down in the grass or missing, photograph this. This might be an important part of the liability puzzle.
Spin and observe whether you see any cameras nearby, either surveillance or doorbell cameras. Record where they are and whether you need to call whom in order to acquire a copy of the footage.
Step 7: Watch What You Say
Regardless of how you feel or what you believe may have caused the accident, beware of what you say on the scene of the car accident. Don’t blame the other party. Even if you are sure you are at fault, you may find out later that you were wrong. But once you admit fault on the scene of the accident, your comment can come back to haunt you.
Never make any promises to another driver, especially regarding the utilization of police or insurance adjusters.
Step 8: Don’t Wait to Get Medical Care
After your car accident, if you feel even the slightest idea of injury, or just get the sense that something is amiss with you physically, it is best to get medical attention as quickly as possible. Your health is your final concern, but receiving proper medical attention after a car accident (and having medical reports and bills to prove that care) will only help to support any car accident injury claim which you make.
Find out more about seeing a doctor as soon as possible after a car accident.
Step 9: Write Down What Occurred
If you can possibly manage a moment when you will not be preoccupied, take a seat and write down precisely what occurred the best you can, including:
Most important things to write down:
- the date, time, and place where the accident in fact happened
- the direction of travel
- where you were positioned along the road at the time of impact, and
- the other vehicle’s actions at the time the accident happened.
Step 10: Notify Your Car Insurance Company
Your automobile insurance company will have a number to call in reporting the accident. You can also call your insurance agent who will take your information and report the accident to your insurance company for you.
You must notify your car insurance company promptly, irrespective of whether it is your mistake or that of the other driver in the accident. Your insurance policy requires you to give notice of any loss that can call into play your coverage to your insurance company at the earliest possible opportunity. Delay in giving suitable notice to your car insurance company can invalidate your coverage.
Keep in mind that reporting the accident to your car insurance company does not always mean you will be making a claim. Talk to an attorney or your agent about the advantages and disadvantages of filing a claim, such as whether or not it will affect your car insurance premium.
Step 11: Notify the Department of Motor Vehicles
Depending on your location and the severity of your accident, you might have to report your accident to your department of motor vehicles (DMV). The criteria vary from state to state. In California, for instance, you are required to report an accident to the DMV within 10 days if there is property damage over $1,000 to anyone’s property, or if any person is injured or killed (however minor).
Double-check with your state DMV to find out what the reporting standards in your state are.
Step 12: Cooperate With Your Car Insurance Company
You generally owe it to your car insurance company to cooperate with their investigation of the accident. That is, you should respond to their questions and provide them with evidence or information you obtained following the accident.
But if you think that your car insurance company is wrongfully denying your claim, or you might be held criminally responsible for the accident, you may wish to contact a lawyer. You will still likely have to answer your insurance company’s questions, but your lawyer will help you make sure that you do not say something that will bring about further problems later. A lawyer can help you decide if you have a basis for a “bad faith” action against the insurer.
Step 13: Keep Good Records
If you need to alter your car or undergo medical treatment, record it all. You don’t want to make a claim, but perhaps you might consider it later on and you’ll need records in order to show your change-of-life due to your accident losses (termed “damages”).
Car accident lawyers recommend that you keep a car accident diary to support your claim. Record your injuries and how they impact your daily life. You should also record with whom you communicate and what you talk about. Do not delete any emails you send to anyone about the accident.
For further guidance, see this list of records to get after a car accident.
Step 14: Talk to a Lawyer
If your accident was the result of severe injuries or large property damage, do not sign anything from the other driver’s insurance company or attorney without speaking with an attorney. Learn more about whether or not to speak with the other driver’s insurance company after a vehicle collision.
Benefits of Attorneys:
An attorney’s representation after a car accident resulted in both a greater likelihood of receiving some type of payout and a far higher average payment:
- 74 percent of auto accident claimants who worked with an attorney received some degree of compensation, compared to 54 percent of respondents who were handling their case on their own, who received some type of payout.
- Car accident claimants who were represented by a lawyer received $44,600 on average, compared with an average payout of just $13,900 for self-represented claimants.
