Car Accidents, Auto Accidents, Truck Accidents. HORSE AND BUGGY?
Indianapolis, Indiana is home of the Indy 500, the Brickyard 400 and Brownsburg, Indiana is home to Lucas Race Track and a lot of car accidents. People in Central Indiana know a lot about auto accidents. Well let’s say there’s a good chance they’ve seen their fair share of car accidents or truck accidents on 465 while listening to Bob and Tom.
Car Accident
What is an auto accident without the gasoline? In horse-and-buggy days flighty stallions sometimes bolted and raced out-of-control down crowded streets. Horses had “horse sense” and rarely drove head on into the next wagon. Without horses to guide us all the foibles of humanity come into play.
Are car accidents necessary? Probably not. Since they are a fact of life in modern America and since “forewarned is forearmed” here are some tips to help you cut your losses if you are involved in one. Hopefully you’re not.
IF YOU’RE IN AN AUTO ACCIDENT. STOP.
Even if you just feel a bump on your car or think you might have hit someone or something, you should stop. Failing to stop could get you in a whole lot of trouble. And there’s no telling what your car accident lawyer or doctor may say. Who knows, they might refer you to a personal injury lawyer near you.
CALL THE POLICE AND REPORT THE CAR ACCIDENT
If there has been an injury or the possibility of injury after your car accident, you should call the police. if the other driver asks you not to involve the police, you should definitely call the police. An auto accident caused by an uninsured motorist could mean
From experience I can tell you that these people often don’t have insurance and try to weasel out of paying you later on.
In twenty five years I have only twice seen at-fault drivers make good on their promise to pay for damage after an accident. One of those cases involved me when I tapped another car on an icy road and was asked to replace the car seat. Buying a new car seat was cheap for me as it avoided an increase in my rates and the best thing, no personal injury attorney’s involved.
If your car accident and the person driving was rendered physically incapable of making an auto accident report, then you, as the owner of the vehicle, should make sure the accident is reported to the police. If another driver causes an accident but does not stop do your best to get the license number.
Call the police. If You’re in an Auto Accident
If you are injured in a no-contact vehicle accident caused by a driver who flees the scene you can be compensated by your uninsured motorist coverage. Your carrier will require “independent proof” that another driver caused the accident.
Exchange Information After the Auto Accident
Drivers must exchange names, addresses phone numbers and insurance information.
Gather Information about the Auto Accident
- Make a diagram of the car accident, showing the positions of the cars before, during, and after impact.
- Measure skid marks (if possible), or make sure the police do it, note the positions of traffic lights and street signs, estimate the respective driving speeds (for your own records), and record details about the weather and road conditions.
- If possible, have photographs taken of the accident scene and of any damage or injury to persons or vehicles damaged in the car accident.
- Pictures of serious damage to your car or other cars can help you if you later pursue a claim for injuries.
On the other hand, minor damage to your car or another car can help you if someone files a claim against you.
Don’t admit fault after the car accident!
- Do not volunteer information or comment on the car accident to the police witnesses, or other drivers. Do not admit any fault for the accident.
- Do not sign any pieces of paper. In some states you may be asked to sign traffic tickets– but this in itself is not an admission of guilt or wrongdoing.
- You must take an alcohol test if requested, or risk losing your license.*
SEE A DOCTOR
As soon after the vehicle accident as possible, it would be a good idea to be checked out by a doctor. Even if there are no initial signs of pain, there might have been damage done to the neck or spine.
Sometimes people get injured in car accidents but because those injuries don’t show up immediately, they don’t seek medical treatment promptly.
If a short time after your auto accident, you or one of your passengers develop pain in the neck or back or you feel you’re suffering from a mental or emotional disability caused by personal injuries to the head, see a doctor.
During an auto accident, head injuries can occur even though you don’t hit your head. At the very least consult a chiropractor with respect to back and neck injuries. A personal injury attorney should always be consulted they can assist with things such as medical records retrieval.
Report the Car Accident to the Insurance Company
After the car accident contact your insurance company to inform them of the accident.
If the other driver was at fault report the vehicle accident to his insurance company.
His company should provide you with a rental car, if needed, and pay to have your car fixed.
If your car is totaled the his insurance company should pay to fix it. Kelley Blue Book and NADA both have web sites where you can get information about the value of your car.
HOW TO DEAL SUCCESSFULLY WITH CLAIMS ADJUSTERS
You will likely be contacted by a claims adjustor from your own or another parties’ insurance company.
Be careful about what you say.
If you feel you have no injuries at the time and tell that to the adjustor, and later on it develops that you had injuries that you were unaware of, (this is very common in whiplash cases,) the adjustor is sure to bring it up, in an effort to keep the settlement as low as possible. Again, explains the value of a
If the adjuster is not promptly providing you what, by law, you are entitled to, ask to speak with her supervisor.
If that doesn’t work well …
Call a Car Accident Lawyer
You may want to talk to an attorney to clarify your rights and discuss questions of liability for the accident. Smart2Mediate is an excellent resource to use when looking for a personal injury lawyer near you.
And you might need help getting a rental car, getting all the damage repaired on your car, or getting fair value for your car if it is totaled.
What to do if you are sued after a car accident?
Auto insurance covers you based on coverage on the date of the car accident. If you changed insurance since the accident your prior insurance still has a duty to defend you. Ask yourself, “is there a personal injury lawyer near me?”. It may be a good time to find
If you were not covered by insurance you should consult a lawyer who specializes in insurance defense. It will be worth paying his hourly fee to have him protect your interests.
You might be able to get the case dismissed by proving you were uninsured at the time of the accident. The injured person can then make a claim under his uninsured motorist coverage.
His uninsured motorist insurance carrier may go after you for “subrogation”. If that happens, your insurance defense lawyer can be a big help negotiating the best possible settlement of the claim.