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The Important Steps to Take Following a Motor Vehicle Accident
According to statistics, one crash happens every six minutes in the United States. With such a frequency, you’re probably more likely to get into a motor vehicle accident than you may think. Therefore, it’s best to have a plan for what to do after you get involved in a vehicle accident.
Read on to learn some steps to take that can get you help after car accident complications occur.
Check for Injuries
Car accident injuries can be life-threatening. Therefore, be sure to check everyone involved in the accident as soon as possible. If anyone needs urgent medical help following a car crash, make contacting medical services a priority.
Get Everyone and Everything Out of Traffic
If no one is severely injured, prioritize making the area safe for other people and vehicles. If your car is on the road, do what you can to move it out of the road. You should also get everyone who isn’t severely injured to a safe place.
Make the Vehicles Visible
The accident should be as visible as possible to other drivers. If the accident occurs at night, try to turn your headlights on, light flares, etc. This is especially important if you’re unable to get the cars out of the road.
Report the Motor Vehicle Accident to the Police
The police may or may not arrive at the scene of an accident. It’s still important to report it, however, as you can get information for insurance purposes later. If the police do arrive, be sure to note the officer’s name, badge number, and contact information and ask him or her for a copy of the accident report.
Record Accident Information
For insurance purposes, record as much information about the accident as you can. Take pictures of not just the car damages, but any road names, skid marks, and car positions as well. You should also note the time and date of the accident and any other important information about your car.
You should also make sure that you get the other driver’s name, address, phone number, and insurance company number. Then get vehicle information such as year, color, make and model, license plate number, and vehicle identification number.
Call Your Insurance
Once you’ve gathered all the important information, contact your insurance company. Call them via their phone number or use an app. Your agent should be able to offer you advice after motor vehicle accident situations and tell you what to do next.
Contact a Lawyer
Also, don’t be afraid to search ‘car accident lawyer near me‘ on your favorite search engine after the accident. You may need some help with getting what you’re owed. The best lawyer can help you with that.
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As you can see, these steps are rather easy to follow. As long as you remember what to do, you should be able to get out of a motor vehicle accident with minimal financial damage. If you’re not sure if you’ll remember anything, be sure to write these steps down.
Also, if you enjoyed this article, check out our others for even more useful advice. We’ve got pieces on travel, beauty, real estate, and more.
Kenneth is a proud native of sydney, born and raised there. However, he pursued his education abroad and studied in Australia. Kenneth has worked as a journalist for almost a decade, making valuable contributions to prominent publications such as Yahoo News and The Verge. Currently, he serves as a journalist for The Hear Up, where he focuses on covering climate and science news. You can reach Kenneth at [email protected].
