Accidents happen every day, and you never know when you will be a victim – it doesn’t matter how careful you are on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, at least 6 million car accidents happen in the US.
Whether you’re involved in a minor fender bender or a greasy accident, you may be shaken a lot that you will not know the next steps to take. You should be wary of when is the right time to contact your Chicago Car Accident Lawyer after the accident. Here is what you should do when you involve in a car accident.
- Find out if you are hurt
When you are involved in a car accident, the first thing you should do is find out if any passenger onboard is injured.
That includes determining if you are hurt. You should not leave the scene of an accident, even when it’s minor. The first thing to consider is your safety, and everything else will follow suit. You want to ensure that everyone in the car is safe and you are not hurt too.
- Get out of danger
If the accident was minor and you are not injured, you should get your car outside the road to prevent or block the traffic. You should remember to keep the hazard lights on and set up any reflexive emergency triangles to alert any drivers on the road to slow down. Also, you should leave your vehicles where they are if the accident is severe and everyone is hurt.
Be extra careful when getting out of the car, even when you think you’re not injured that much. If the accident took place on a busy highway road, getting out of your car can be risky because you may not be thinking logically, which puts you in more danger.
- Contact the traffic police
You should contact the area traffic police when you are involved in an accident. In some minor collisions, the police are not likely to respond on time. However, you must report and document the car accident.
When the police arrive at the scene, you should not forget to note down the badge number, contact information, and the officer’s name.
- Note down all important information
If you are involved in an accident, you should not hesitate to note all the important information. If you have your phone intact, you can take pictures of the accident.
Get a notebook and take records of the names and phone numbers of everyone involved in the accident. In case the driver’s name does not match the car’s registration number, you should determine the person’s relationship to the car owner. Gather all the vehicle information like the identification number, color, model, plate number, and year.
Final Thoughts
If you are involved in a car accident, whether minor or serious, you should focus on documenting the scene. Get all the useful information to help you when filing your injury claim. You should also contact your injury attorney to begin processing the personal injury claim on time.