The actions you take after a car accident can be some of the most critical decisions you make in your life. Unfortunately, the last thing you are likely to be doing following an accident is thinking clearly. Emotions and nerves run high as all the endorphins and adrenaline run their course.
Therefore, the best thing to do after a car accident is to not “trust your instincts.” Your instincts will be pulled in many different directions, likely to cause trouble for you later. Instead, educate yourself on the proper procedures to take following a collision, including why you should reach out to a skilled San Francisco car accident lawyer.
To get you started on preparing for the rare event that you get in an accident, here are five things to absolutely not do if you get in a wreck.
Talk About Blame, Fault Before All the Facts Are Known
Raging on someone else after a car accident might seem like the most imprudent thing to do, but you can do worse — you can apologize.
It’s true! Saying something like “I’m so sorry about the wreck!” or “I didn’t see you! I’m sorry!” can count as an admission of guilt at an accident scene. Even if you do turn out to be at fault, the last thing you want is to hand someone such a statement on a platter, which could be used in court to assert that you were so egregiously at fault that you knew it.
The facts may also later reveal something contrary to what you thought happened in the moment. Always let the facts speak for themselves rather than you drawing conclusions aloud.
This suggestion includes not verbally attacking someone you may see as at fault. Your behavior at the accident scene can be used against you in a civil or possible criminal case.
Ignore Injuries
Our body’s natural response to injury is to flood with endorphins, which act like a type of built-in morphine to disguise pain and help us escape a dangerous situation.
After an accident, this effect can cause you to ignore your own injuries. Delaying treatment for an injury can cause it to become much worse as swelling and complications set in. Denying treatment like an ambulance can also later come back to haunt you if you file an injury claim. The other driver’s insurer can use the fact to point out that you weren’t injured enough to seek emergency treatment.
Also, make sure to check on the other driver and yourself before contacting emergency services so they can know what personnel to dispatch.
Talk Candidly With Anyone Other Than the Police Officer, Your Insurer and Your Attorney
Any statement you make can potentially invalidate your ability to file an insurance claim for the costs of your injuries and other damages. For this reason, you should restrict the amount of information you share with anyone who is not a police investigator, a representative of your own insurance company or your attorney.
Revealing facts to anyone, especially other parties involved in the accident, can later cause your claim to be reduced or denied. Even talking with friends and family about the accident can sometimes jeopardize your case, so keep everything but the bare facts to yourself, your representatives and the police.
Absolutely do not sign anything given to you by anyone other than these three parties, either. Signing something like an agreement to accept cash payment for a deductible can hurt your insurer’s ability to subrogate your claim and recoup any money given, making them likely to deny your own claim outright.
Delaying Medical Treatment
If you are injured in a car accident, you can potentially file a personal injury claim with the at fault driver’s insurance to recover all medical costs as well as damages like lost wages, pain and suffering and emotional distress. The key to getting all the compensation you deserve is thorough documentation of your injuries, especially during the critical time when they are fresh.
For that reason, you should seek thorough medical treatment immediately following your injury and in subsequent follow-up visits that document your healing process. Ask the examining physician to be as thorough as possible with both their tests and their documentation, and make specific statements about any pain or limited mobility you are experiencing.
Not Seeking Help from a San Francisco Car Accident Lawyer
When you decline representation from a licensed attorney, you limit the options available to you to recover damages you have suffered. You also increase the chances that other parties will make legal moves against your best interests.
Protect these interests and raise your odds of successfully recovering all your rightful damages following a car accident by working with a skilled car accident injury lawyer in San Francisco. Your attorney can help you collect all the facts, avoid imprudent moves like preemptive settling and use their legal knowledge to increase your chances of a satisfactory case resolution.
If you have been injured in a car accident, do not hesitate to request a free personal injury consultation today.
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