subject: Managing A Road Accident Claim [print this page] If you are involved in a road accident, first and foremost you must remain calm. Regardless of who is at-fault in your collision, the best way to protect your rights and privileges in a road accident claim is to stay clear-headed and quiet.
What to do in a road accident
If you are involved in a road accident, move your vehicle safely out of the flow of traffic and attend to anyone with injuries. If you or one of your passengers is injured, immediately call for assistance, taking note of your symptoms and your surroundings as you speak with authorities. If you feel that you cannot move or you are pinned in your position, do not struggle. Relax and wait for assistance.
Procedure for a minor road accident
If you are unhurt, make two vitally important telephone calls. First, call the police and report the accident; then, immediately call your insurance company. In both discussions, summon all your powers of self-control and do your very best to remain calm. You may inadvertently hurt your own cause and case if you panic. In cases of severe accidents, your insurance agent may advise you exactly how to manage the situation and may stay on the line with you while you speak with the other driver and with police.
In all your discussions of the accident, stick to the facts, describing details of the event without assuming responsibility or assigning blame. In the heat of the moment, you may make statements that compromise your road accident claim; as you speak with law enforcement officials, take a few deep breaths, focus, and stick strictly to the narrative.
As you speak with law enforcement officials, make sure you note their names and badge numbers; better still, ask them for their business cards. In the extremely rare event officers want to charge you with major violation and take you into custody, exercise your right to counsel, arranging either for your attorney to meet you at the accident scene or to join you wherever police intend to detain you.
File a police report
In order to pursue a road accident claim, you must file a police report. In the case of a minor road accident, a 'fender bender,' police may not dispatch officers to the scene; but in cases involving major damage to vehicles and property or in cases involving serious injury, officers certainly will investigate the accident.
Do not leave the scene of your collision until law enforcement officials say that you are free to go. While you wait at the scene, use your cell phone camera to document the details of damage to your vehicle and personal property. Take your time and thoroughly examine your vehicle for all kinds of damage, keeping in mind that interior damage will require urgent repairs just like damage to bumpers and body panels.
Get medical attention
Even if you believe you have sustained no serious injury in your accident, go to your physician's office or the hospital for a thorough check-up. The most common auto accident injuries take some time to manifest their symptoms. Soft tissue injuries in your neck, shoulders, and back, for example, may not exhibit symptoms until twenty-four hours or more after the collision. In the accident's aftermath, if you experience any signs of injury or post-accident distress, seek medical attention.
