Getting into a car crash is a scary, frustrating, and sometimes confusing experience. That’s why you need as many car accident tips as possible to help you figure out how to deal with the situation.
Below, we’ve organized some car accident tips based on not just your needs but also the needs of your damaged property and potentially injured passengers. Contact your personal injury lawyer and your wrongful death lawyer to guide you throughout every detail of your accident.
Use these car accident tips that this car wreck injury lawyer in Las Vegas suggest to guide your steps after getting into a car wreck.
Seek Out Immediate Emergency Care
Even if you feel okay after a collision, you’ll definitely want to get medical care right away. Often, drivers and passengers go into shock after a car accident. This leaves them unable to tell if they’ve been hurt. In fact, people sometimes don’t even realize they have serious lacerations, bruising, or broken bones.
You’ll want to go to an urgent care facility or emergency room if an ambulance doesn’t come onsite to your crash. Alternatively, if you’re pretty sure you’re okay, make an appointment with your family physician the next day for your car accident injury treatment. You’ll be glad you followed this as one of the most important car accident tips, especially if you discover a physical problem that you didn’t recognize immediately after the incident.
Remember, too, that you’ll want to keep any documentation of visits to medical professionals related to your crash. This is important because if you do suffer any physical injuries that can be linked to the collision, your medicare insurance or the auto insurance of the at-fault driver will likely cover some, most, or all of your out-of-pocket healthcare expenses. An auto accident attorney can secure all of these documents for you.
Stay Focused on Treating Your Potential Injury
Even if you don’t get any kind of help from insurance to pay for your medical bills after a crash, you deserve to keep up with everything from your pain management treatment to physical therapy sessions. This is one of those car accident tips that may be tough to follow, it’s true. Seeing your credit card bills pile up isn’t fun or easy. And it may require you to ask friends or family members for temporary financial assistance.
Nevertheless, getting the care you need is vital for your long-term health after suffering any kind of medical injury during a collision. For instance, let’s say you require emergency dental service because a few teeth were damaged when you and another vehicle crashed. If you put off your dental service too long, the problem could exacerbate. You could then wind up with even more issues later on, potentially losing your teeth or even causing harm to your jawbone.
To be sure, of all the car accident tips that you’re going to read about, this is the one that many people try to avoid. Even if they know they should be going to a car accident doctor, dentist, car accident chiropractor, or another specialist for whiplash treatment, they turn the other way. Don’t. You deserve to feel like your old self again, or as close to it as possible. The last thing you want is to turn your situation worse just because you’re worried about money and expensive bills.
Figure Out Your Liability
What’s one of the biggest questions everyone asks after a crash? “Who’s responsible?” Sometimes, liability seems easy to figure out, as in the case of someone rear-ending another person. Other times, even seasoned police officers and insurance adjusters have difficulty figuring out who to blame for the incident, and would have to consult a personal injury lawyer.
As far as car accident tips go, you’ll want to avoid admitting to any guilt directly after the accident, even if you think you might be at fault. Why? To be honest, you may not know the whole story. For example, let’s say you rear-ended the car in front of you. What you might not know is that the driver of the car in front of you was driving under the influence at the time. In that case, you might not be held responsible. It’s best to hire the car accident lawyer boston ma to help you out in this situation.
Actually, it’s not really your job to figure out your liability in any crash. That’s up to the experts, who will often scour through witness evidence, look at the police reports, and look at parking lot surveillance systems from nearby. However, you may want to consider getting legal representation if you think you’re in over your head talking to insurance adjusters, or if you haven’t been found liable but are being offered an unappealing settlement offer.
Your Financial Situation
As mentioned before in previous car accident tips, your financial situation may be affected by mounting medical costs such as pharmaceuticals, appointments, diagnostic tests, and perhaps surgery. This doesn’t even consider how you could be affected if you have to purchase a new car, rent a car temporarily, replace personal items lost during the collision like expensive devices, or lose wages because you couldn’t work post-crash.
To help you manage this aspect of getting into a moderate or serious level wreck, you’ll want to first go over your finances. Look into your credit history and make a list of all your debts, including a home or car loan. Then, sift through the expenses on your plate. Are there any that you can put off until later? Could you perhaps stick with your older garage door rather than contact a garage door services provider to buy a new one? Can you get out of your upcoming one-week vacation without losing too many dollars?
Understanding your own financial situation can help you move forward with more confidence and less stress. Hopefully, if the accident wasn’t your fault, you’ll be able to recover some of the damages. That will assist in making you fiscally whole again. However, it can take a long time to get a check from an insurance carrier, so you probably will need to be patient. You may even need to tighten your belt a little in the meantime. It’s not exciting, but it’s a reality when you’ve been in a car accident.
Explore Your Financial Options
Let’s take these money-related car accident tips a bit further and pretend that you’re not in a good place financially. Maybe you’re a college student struggling to get by with a hot plate and Ramen noodles for dinner every night. Perhaps you’re a senior citizen on a very fixed income. If you don’t have much savings to speak of, you may want to start looking for financial help.
If you’re already collecting social security, you may want to talk with a social security advocate who can help you. Or if you’re owed social security and are trying to collect it, you need to speak with a social security representative. Do you have some kind of investments or a retirement portfolio? If you’re in need of cash, you could probably speak with a certified broker dealer to talk about your options.
Another way to boost your finances is to simply take on another job. Obviously, you may not be able to become a third-party driver for Uber or Lyft, especially if you don’t have a dedicated vehicle to get you from place to place. But there are lots of part-time jobs available for people who are interested in working. No, you won’t make huge amounts of money. Nevertheless, you can definitely help yourself take a bite out of your accident-linked bills.
Looking for yet more solutions to your money woes? You can turn to friends and relatives who could loan you money, or get personal loans from reliable companies. Just take these car accident tips to heart and remind yourself that when you exchange dollars between you and buddies, you need to determine upfront if it’s a gift or loan. Your pal might tell you verbally that money is a gift, only to change her mind later. So get everything in writing and have a contract that outlines a way for you to pay her back, potentially with some kind of interest. Doing so will help protect your friendship and reduce the chances of friction down the road, you can look for scratch and dent repair services experts.
Try Avoiding Potential Car Accidents in the Future
As far as car accident tips go, a biggie is making sure that any crash you’re involved in is the last one you need to worry about. Period.
Avoiding car accidents can’t always be done, of course. Sometimes, a wreck isn’t your fault and you couldn’t have foreseen it. However, some crashes are preventable. For example, statistics show that around three-quarters of all cars being driven should really be repaired or at least checked out. Yours might be among them.
To lower your likelihood of getting into a similar collision to the one that left you with all your current woes, be sure to maintain your vehicle properly. Get the fluids replaced and topped off on a regular basis, check your tire pressure, and just take good care of your four-wheeled investment. Additionally, when you’re driving, always pay attention to what you’re doing. Distracted driving causes a lot of crashes and so does speeding. It’s much better to concentrate on what you’re doing and avoid texting while driving as well as driving too quickly.
Get Advice About Your Legal Situation
Did you get hurt because of someone else’s negligent driving behaviors? There’s a personal injury lawyer who can help you recover damages. You might not have considered it, but you could always call an auto accident lawyer for these instances. These types of attorneys represent clients who have been hurt in crashes that weren’t their fault and are experts in car accident law. The more serious your injury, the more likely you’ll find a car accident lawyer who’s willing to take on your case for no upfront fee.
How will your attorney get paid, then? Attorneys who work with car accident victims get paid by taking a percentage of the settlement they negotiate with the insurance carrier that handles the auto insurance policy of those involved. If they cannot reach a settlement, the attorney may petition the court to make a judgment.
Most auto accident lawyer firms who work in this field offer free consultations. You’ll just call in and discuss your situation with them. You may even meet on Zoom or in person instead of over the phone. Be very honest and let them know everything about your case. A decent attorney will be transparent about whether or not you should try to get a better settlement than you’re being offered currently. Victims of motorcycle accidents also have lawyers they can turn to. A motorcycle accident lawyer has the expertise to represent people who have been injured due to motorcycle accidents.
How do you know what lawyer to try? Ask around. Your colleagues or neighbors may have suggestions. You can also check on the Internet for reputable legal representatives, social security disability law,
and car accident lawyer firms that work in this type of law.
Remember to Consider Your Loved One’s Well-Being
Were you the only one hurt in your car crash or were other people in the vehicle with you at the time of the collision? If you had other people with you, make sure you take care of their needs. This could mean anyone from your children who live in your household to your aging parents who reside in assisted living apartments.
In the case of your kids, you’ll want to get them medically examined after the wreck. You’ll also want to talk with them about what they experienced. Youngsters may not be able to fully piece together what happened. They may also worry that the crash was somehow their fault for doing or not doing something. Encourage them to tell you what they’re feeling. This is another of those car accident tips that will pay off handsomely because your children will feel less anxious and more relieved.
Take Care of Your Own Well-Being
You’ve been through a lot, even if the car crash you were in was nothing more than a fender bender and you walked away with a few scratches. Therefore, take some time for a bit of self-care.
What can you do to take away the sting of the event? You may want to take a few hours to just enjoy yourself by doing something you love, like a fun hobby. Or you could ask a friend to join you at a local diner for a slice of homemade pie. Whatever you decide, make sure you let your hair down. You don’t need to spend a lot of money, either, to feel a little less stressed.
Taking care of yourself is one of those car accident tips that you may not hear anywhere else. However, it’s important that you get through this experience without letting it totally get you down. As long as everyone was okay after the wreck, you can count yourself pretty lucky.