Personal Injury Attorney Discusses What To Do After Car Accident

Claim Your Justice Live Session January 25th 2022

What To Do In The Event Of A Car Accident

Hello, good afternoon, attorney Keith Shindler coming to you for our second Facebook Live. The purpose of these live sessions is to give our viewers and the rest of the Facebook community valuable and useful information on personal injury cases, and personal injury topics. We welcome positive comments and questions, you can always call us to Claim Your Justice™ at 1-888-88-Keith. We are here to help you Claim your Justice™.

Last week, we covered the topic of who pays for the cost when a client has to pursue a personal injury case, it was basic information, but we’re going to start basic. So we covered that item. Today we’re going to cover what to do in the event of a car accident. What’s the first thing necessary to do, you’re going to be shaken up, in pain, concerned about your injuries, and so on.

Make Sure Your Surroundings Are Safe

The first thing you want to do is make sure that your surroundings are safe. Sometimes when an accident happens, there’s a secondary accident because the parties didn’t secure their safety. I do not recommend that you move your car. If you can exit the car and walk out of the car, under your strength, I suggest you do that. If you can, make sure your hazards are on, and you’re giving approaching traffic any possible notice that there’s an accident ahead.

Of course, if you’re injured, the first thing you need to do is call the ambulance. The second thing you should do, if you can, is call 911. I understand these are all very basic pieces of information, but I need to relay this information to you. Although we know what to do in this calm setting that we’re in now, sometimes when there’s an accident, you’re nervous, you’re not going to remember what to do.

Hopefully, my reminding you of these things will help penetrate them into your memory so that you’ll know what to do in the event of an accident. Once the ambulance comes, they’re going to give you the medical attention you need. Of course, if they take you to a hospital because you’re injured, you’re not going to be able to do this next piece that I’m going to talk about.

Take Pictures If Possible

It’s very important to take pictures of the area where the accident happened. If you could take pictures of the car that struck you, or the truck that hit you, do that. Take pictures of any important street indicators, if they’re under construction, you may want to get a brief couple of pictures of the construction site.

Why is that important? Sometimes the car that hit you may move, and you may not be able to secure the pictures, or the mechanics of how the accident happened can be reconstructed through the pictures that you take.

Don’t Worry About Your Car

My job is to make sure my clients get the treatment that they need. So if you need to go to the emergency room, you should go to the emergency room. The ambulance, of course, will ask if you need to go to the emergency room? How do you feel? Many times a client will say I don’t need to go to the emergency room. In part maybe because they’re not injured, but they’re also very worried about their car.

Clients have asked me in the past if I go to the emergency room, what’s going to happen in my car, it’s going to get towed, I’m not going to find it, that was a new car, and so on. Very real-life things. However, your health, and dealing with your injuries are critical. If you don’t go to the emergency room with the ambulance, then you may go after you secure your car. Sometimes if you’re injured, the ambulance driver may not give you the choice because they’re going to make the assessment you need to go.

Let’s say the accident happens and you tell the paramedics that you don’t need to go to the emergency room. A couple of hours later at night, or the following morning, you’re in a lot of pain. You can either go to the emergency room then or if you can get in to see your doctor, you can get the follow-up treatment that way. Sometimes clients call me and say what do you think, I had an accident happen, should I go to the doctor? That’s not a decision for me to make, that is a decision for you to make. If you’re injured you should go get the treatment that you need.

Don’t Talk To The Other Party’s Insurance Company

Sometimes after an accident happens, you’re going to get a call, it could be the same day, it could be the next day, it could be a couple of days later from the responsible party’s insurance company, be very careful here. They’re going to ask you how you’re doing, they may offer you a $500 settlement right away to settle your case. They’re also going to ask you to give a recorded statement.

I do not suggest or recommend that you give a recorded statement.

Get Experienced Legal Representation

Of course, the final thing you should do is make sure you get the proper legal representation. That’s where the attorneys at Claim Your Justice™, come to your rescue and help you prosecute your case. Again, you can reach Claim Your Justice™ at 888-88-Keith, my name, Keith Shindler.

One of the other things I want to do with each Facebook Live session on the 2nd of each month, is I want to talk about a real case. So I’m going to start with that today.

It’s cold, it’s snowy, it’s windy. Lots of ice. Well, slip and fall cases happen all the time. Many of them are very difficult to prosecute, and many of them aren’t eligible for recovery because you may have to watch where you’re walking, you may slip and it was no one’s responsibility.

However, we recently signed up a new case two days ago, where a client tripped and fell over an uneven sidewalk. It was about four inches separated, and it was at night. Interestingly enough, around the sidewalk were painted indicators of upcoming construction. However, there was no warning, no construction lights, there was no indication to walk on the other side of the street. Our client tripped and fell at night. It was not a well-lit street.

The client had surgery on her broken wrist and also had to have staples in her head. So I’m going to track this case as it goes along through the prosecution. I will keep you updated. It takes a lot of time, but we’ll have lots of time to share.

Remember, if you’re injured in any type of accident, car accident, trip, and fall, medical malpractice, or wrongful death. Let us help you Claim Your Justice™, call 847-434-3555. Thank you. This has been Keith Shindler, have a successful rest of your week.