(ThyBlackMan.com) Car accidents are as common in Indianapolis as any other part of the country. While the city might be home to one of the world’s most famous raceways, that doesn’t mean that its drivers are always professionals. If you’ve been involved in a car accident in Indianapolis, you know how frightening the entire process can be. You were not only likely disoriented, but possibly in pain and unsure of what to do next. Fortunately, there are ways to prepare yourself for what to do if you get in an accident again.
Below are the five steps that you must take if you are involved in a car accident in Indianapolis.
Take Care of Yourself
The first thing you must do after any car accident is to ensure that you are safe. Yes, you absolutely must do this even if there are other people in the car with you – if you aren’t safe and healthy, you will not be able to help anyone who is with you. Once you are sure that you are safe, make sure that the other people in your car are safe as well. You should always use your best judgment here and make sure that getting an injured person out of the car is actually the safest way to help him or her.
Once the accident is over, it’s essential that you consult a medical professional. Some injuries aren’t as easy to assess on your own, and you want to ensure that you’re not dealing with a potentially serious health problem. Taking care of yourself and those you care about really should be your first priority after any kind of accident.
Contact the Authorities
Your next step should be to contact the authorities. While the other party might want to handle things between the two of you, it’s always in your interest to get a neutral third party’s word on the situation. As such, you should make a call to the police as soon as you know that it is safe to do so. Contacting the police can do a number of useful things at once. First and foremost, it will generally allow you to get quick access to emergency services if anyone is injured. Contacting the authorities will also get you an official record of what the scene looked like at the time of the officers’ arrival. This record will be invaluable if you have to move forward with any kind of insurance claim or lawsuit due to the accident.
Gather Evidence
After the authorities arrive and you know that you are safe for the moment, you should start gathering evidence. In some cases, this will be as simple as talking to the other party, getting insurance information, and finding out how you can get a copy of the police report. In other situations, you might have to dig a little more deeply. The more evidence you can get immediately after the accident, the better. Evidence degrades quickly, so having information from the moment of the accident can give you a major advantage. Take pictures of the scene of the accident and get the phone number of anyone who might have witnessed what happened.
It should go without saying, but you should also get the contact and insurance information from any other parties to the accident. For good or for ill, you’ll likely be in contact with either that person or that individual’s insurance company in the near future.
Speak to an Attorney
Your next move should be to get legal representation. You need to contact an Indianapolis car accident lawyer as soon as possible to prepare for the legal issues that might be involved with your accident. Even if you’re not planning on bringing a lawsuit, having the advice of an attorney can be incredibly helpful. Remember, hiring an attorney does not mean that you’re looking for a big payday or that you’re looking to punish someone. In most cases, it just means that you’re looking to get on an equal playing field with the insurance companies with which you will be dealing in the near future.
A good attorney will also help you to make other relevant choices after the accident. He or she will let you know the likelihood of success if you do bring a lawsuit and the attorney may also help you to figure out ways to deal with other legal issues that might arise from the accident in which you were involved.
Work with Insurance
Though listed last, you’ll likely be working with your insurance company during this entire process. It’s important to remember, though, that your insurance company can be incredibly helpful and incredibly frustrating to your purposes at the same time. As such, you’ll want to make sure that you have proper representation before you work with any insurance company. Try to remember that the other party’s insurance is never going to have your best interests in mind. Instead, it’s going to look to pay out as little as possible to avoid a lawsuit. Make sure you work with a lawyer while you’re talking to the other insurance company and consult with him or her to see if a settlement is fair.
When you’re talking to your own insurance company, try to remember that documentation is everything. Make sure that you provide all the information that you gathered to your insurance company to ensure that you have a better chance of getting the reimbursement you might need. At the very least, you should try to ensure that you document every step of the process so that you can counter any arguments that the insurance company might make if it tries to deny you the coverage for which you are paying.
The most important thing to do after being in an accident is to make sure that you are healthy and safe. From there, though, you will want to work to ensure that the accident doesn’t derail your life. Contact insurance, gather information, and contact a lawyer – doing so will be the best way to help you move forward.
Staff Writer; Ron Carter
