Steps To Be Taken Soon After a Car Wreck

The car wreck situation is a very scary experience. The causes of a car wreck can be due to a high level of traffic, drunk driving, speeding, distractions, or bad weather. It can also happen not because of our own fault. In any of such scary and stressful situations, certain steps and precautions need to be taken to avoid confusion later and not to get wrongly caught under the law. All the family members should be made aware of the steps to be taken that they, in case of an emergency situation during an accident, should act immediately on the following points.

Steps to be taken starts from stopping the car as soon as you sense a car wreck, to keep everyone safe as much as possible for you are the primary requirement. A wreck situation creates panic. Hence, try to console yourself first, to come out of this panic attack, then check for your injuries, and make sure everyone else is safe or needs any urgent care. If you are highly injured not trying to move but waiting for help may be the ideal thing to do.

The following are the steps to be taken immediately to ensure everyone’s safety and security legally:

1. Call the emergency number 911 (common for most of the states)

Call emergency number yourself or through anyone, so that you get immediate help. It is advisable to get a legal report about the accident from the police. The police report is also needed for getting insurance to be claimed later on.

2. Move the car, only if needed

Although it’s always better to move the car only after police verification, you may move it to the side of the road if it’s causing problems for you as well as others. For example, if the position of the car is in the middle of the road, then it could be better if you could bring it towards the side of the road so that other vehicles on the road won’t get affected and also, you will be in a safer position. Then, wait till you receive help.

3. Information to be collected and exchanged

Next step is to collect and exchange the following information:

• Name, gender, address, contact number, and employment of the driver
• Name of the insurance company and the policy number
• Model number, make, year, the color of the car
• Registration number and the license plate number.

4. Take pictures of cars in the accident

Take pictures of the cars damaged from different angle views, with the numbers on the plates visible for records. These can be handed over to the insurance company later.

5. Information to be recorded

The following information needs to be recorded, for future reference:

• Date and time of the accident
• Address of the exact location of the accident, including the nearest street information
• The direction in which you were traveling and the direction of the other car
• Witness information: contact number and address
• Name and contact information of the police officer who has come into the site, if any.
• Weather conditions during the time of the accident

6. Contact your insurance company

If the officials from the insurance company can reach the spot of the car wreck, then the police officials could explain effectively about the accident to them. Moreover, the insurer could get detailed information about the accident at that time.

7. Prepare the accident report

Prepare an accident report and keep it as a record. Ask the police officer from where you could get a copy of their accident report to give to the insurer.

8. Visit the police station to register the accident, if needed.

If the police can't get to the site of the car wreck, then it's better to go to the nearby police station and get the accident registered.

9. Hire an attorney to get the procedure easily done

It’s always better to hire an attorney as soon as a major car wreck as they could work with you to get things sorted out fast. An attorney can guide you through each process of getting compensation and claims. They can plan and develop strategies to get you more value for you and hence, your stress will be reduced greatly.

In addition to spreading awareness, you can take a print out of this information and keep it handy as a checklist in your car.

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