3 Things To Do When You Are In A Car Accident

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If you get into a car accident, there are things that you need to do as soon as possible. Doing those things protects you and will hopefully mean that your insurance company and the other driver's insurance company will pay out. Doing these things will also help you if you end up in court because of the accident.

Call the Police

You should immediately call the police. It doesn't matter if it's just a fender bender; you need to make sure that the police come out so that there is a record of the accident. That can help you in your court case, and your insurance company may require you to turn over the police's report of the accident. You can generally get a copy of the responding officer's report a couple of days after the accident. 

Take Pictures

Take pictures of as many things as possible, including what the road conditions were like and any things that could have blocked driver's sight lines. You especially need to take pictures of the damage done to the other car. Take as many pictures of that damage as you possibly can, from as many angles as possible. Too many people will try to pass off already existing damage on their cars as damage that was caused by your accident, which can cost you more money. People should be able to tell from your pictures which damage is new and which is pre-existing. Pictures that you took of the road conditions and things that may have blocked people's vision can also be a great help, since you may not remember them as well a few days or weeks after, and the conditions are never going to be exactly like that again. 

Contact Your Insurance

Many insurance companies now have apps that you can have on your mobile devices. With those apps, you can contact your insurance company immediately and let them know what happened. Some insurance companies have rapid response teams, so they may be able to send someone out to your location as soon as you report the accident so that they can see for themselves what happened. Even if they don't, the sooner you report the accident, the sooner you can get an adjuster out to look at your car and get the process going. 

Getting into an accident can be very scary. What comes after can be really stressful. Planning ahead can help with those things. For additional advice, contact an auto accident attorney at a law firm like the Salley Law Firm PA.


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