Car Accidents FAQs

Most motorists forget to keep a level head when involved in a car accident. Panic and frustration are a common emotion at the scene because no one knows what to do. To avoid panic, here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions about car accidents.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Car Accidents

1. What do I do right after the accident?

The best course of action is to stop the car, turn the engine off, and check yourself and the passengers for injuries. If you have a mobile phone, call 911 and tell the operator about the car accident. You should tell the operator if there are injured parties as well so that paramedics and rescuers can be sent. Do not leave the accident unless authorities have cleared you to go. Otherwise, you can be prosecuted for walking away from the accident.

2. What information from the accident should I remember to obtain?

You should take all the information that you can. Take note of the location, the weather and road condition during the accident. You should also get the color, model and plate numbers of the cars involved.

If possible, get the name and contact details of the other driver/s as well. If you can, you should also ask of their insurance company and insurance policy.

You should also talk to witnesses and get their contact details. If you need them to support your statements later on it will be much easier to find them.

If you have a camera available, take pictures of the scene from different angles. Include tire skid marks in the photos as it could prove to be a big evidence for the case.

3. If the car accident is minor, should I still file a police report?

To be on the safe side, you should still file for a police report. If you are going to file a claim with your insurance company, the police report will be of big help. Even in minor accidents, resist the temptation to "keep things simple" by "settling up" with the other driver on the spot. You should make sure that you have not suffered injuries which do not develop symptoms until days or even weeks after the accident, and you should always consult with your doctor and an experienced attorney to make sure that you are aware of all of the avenues of recovery available to you.

4. Should I see a doctor?

Right after a car accident, it is important that you see a doctor. You may have suffered injuries that are not visible which can only be determined through series of tests. You should tell the doctor everything you are feeling even if you feel it is unrelated to the accident. Dry mouth, dizziness, nausea may not seem to be caused by the accident but it may be symptoms of a more serious injury.

It will also be beneficial to your personal injury case. A doctor’s report can be presented as evidence to show the extent of the injuries you sustained.

Furthermore, not consulting with a doctor can be used by insurance companies to prove that your injuries are not as serious as you claim. They will argue that if your injuries were as bad as you say then you should have needed medical treatment.

5. Should I contact my insurance company?

Yes. Most insurance companies require their plan holders to report a car accident as soon as they can. But be careful about making statements or agreeing to anything. Most insurance companies will use incriminating statements to avoid paying your claim.

Insurance companies of the other drivers may also try to contact you to get you to agree to certain statement. Politely decline and never talk to them about the accident without your lawyer.

6. Should I contact a lawyer? 

Yes. It is important that you contact a lawyer especially if you are injured in the car accident. If you are planning to file a personal injury case, you will also be going against the insurance company and they will have lawyers to defend their own side.

7. Is there anything special I should tell my doctors?

When you are reporting your injury to police, paramedics, hospital staff, and doctors, take extra care to identify specific complaints, and do not omit any complaint you may have, no matter how minor. If something does not feel "right" your doctor needs to have this information order to render an informed medical opinion. Even if you feel it is "no big thing" or not related to your accident, you still should recite all of your complaints. A dry mouth, a light headache, and a little dizziness may be evidence of something more serious. Anything that is out of the ordinary is a symptom and should be reported to assist your doctor in making an informed diagnosis.

For example, a patient who has very slight tingling in the fourth and fifth fingers and a minor crick in the neck, may not report the tingling sensation, which could be the sign of major disruption to a cervical disk. If that disk becomes a complete rupture that requires major surgery, it would have been far better to have had the initial medical diagnosis at the time of the accident in order to prove when the onset of the fracture to the outer wall of the disk occurred. Otherwise, the defense will argue that it could just have well occurred picking up a bag of groceries three weeks after the accident.

8. Do I have to take photos right away or can I wait?

It is very important to take photos as close in time as possible to the time of the accident. This is particularly important when it is necessary to photograph "impending" skid marks. Tires do not immediately lock-up and change from rolling tires to skidding tires. During the braking process, a tire begins to leave an imprint on the roadway before actually skidding. These marks are "impending" skid marks and are faint marks that can normally be seen on the roadway for only 24 to 48 hours after a collision. An impending skid and a skid mark, when taken together, give a more accurate record of the actual speed of a car before braking. Lay a shoe or other easily measured item next to impending skid marks while photographing them so an accident reconstructionist can later compute actual distances based on the photographs.

9. What about preserving other evidence besides photos?

In many cases, even though it may not seem important at the time, it later becomes vitally important to have access to the physical evidence of an accident. For example, in cases where a passenger is ejected from the vehicle, it is necessary to examine the seatbelt to determine if it was functioning properly. If the seatbelt is lost because the car which contains it is sold or destroyed, it may be impossible to bring a claim against the seatbelt manufacturer and/or the car manufacturer - something which can make or break the recovery of damages in cases where there is little or no other adequate insurance coverage available.

If the evidence is removed to another location, it is important to put everyone on notice by certified mail, including owners, tow operators, wrecking yards, police impounds, and the like, that they must take every step to preserve important evidence, and the failure to do so will subject them to being sued for allowing evidence to be destroyed. In some cases, we are required to go to court quickly to get a restraining order and preliminary injunction in order to avoid alterations or destructive handling and testing of potentially incriminating evidence.

10. Should I talk to the other driver’s insurance company? What if they call me?

Never give an oral statement to the other side’s insurance company. If you do, you will regret it. If you are contacted, be polite, but decline to talk. Insurance companies' claims adjusters are professional negotiators, with extensive experience in using every psychological technique to maneuver you into giving information which can hurt your claim, including discouraging you from using the professional services of a lawyer.

Claims adjusters are hired because they sound good over the telephone, but they are well trained by insurance company lawyers to ask questions in a manner designed to hurt you and help them. You cannot beat an expert at their game. Do not try it. Simply say "thank you for calling but I am not prepared to discuss this matter with you at this time." You should seek the advice of an experienced personal injury attorney, who can determine the best way to proceed with the adverse insurance company.