A car accident is an event that anyone, at any time, can experience. The drawback of the first time is that we do not have accumulated experience, and therefore, we do not know how to act or what to do, which is why it can become one of the most difficult situations of our lives. Hence the importance of being prepared and knowing what can and should be done after a car accident. We are aware of the irreparable damage that a car accident can cause and how difficult it is to recover for some advice to take into account many of the victims and their families. Therefore, here are some tips to keep in mind:
Calm down, after the accident:
After a traffic accident, the first thing we should do is check the state we are in. If we do not have physical injuries that prevent us from acting, reacting or moving, maintaining calm is essential. Being impatient or letting anxiety dominate us does not help to solve the most immediate issues or to think clearly. We must bear in mind that irritation and nervousness increase tension, even generating situations of violence with the other people involved in the accident. To remain calm in such a complex situation, there are simple actions that will help reduce stress and agitation, such as:
• Count to ten
• Take deep breaths
• Understand that the other parties affected in the car accident are just as distressed or more distressed than you are.
• Resort to dialogue and listen to the other party.
Signal the traffic accident:
It is important to initiate an action protocol that begins by marking the affected area well. Although it may seem hard to believe, it is essential to mark the affected area first to prevent further collisions. Once the car is stopped, we will put on the emergency lights and we will put on the reflective vest. Before leaving the car to help the injured, we must take the warning triangles and place them correctly. You can use the resources available to you to take care of yourself and alert others to the situation. Turn on emergency lights and flares, and use other items like cones. It is essential to be seen, since in this way we will avoid more accidents or new collisions. Quick action is required when placing the approved triangles. If the road has a double meaning, we must place two triangles. The first one in the front part 50 meters from the car and the second one in the back part 100 meters away. The key is that other vehicles can see you in plenty of time and slow down. If the road has only one direction, it is necessary to place the triangle at the rear.
If possible, and if the car accident was minor, it is important that the cars involved in the accident move to a safer place so as not to impede traffic.
Investigate if there are injuries:
When the area is drawn, it is time to help the wounded. First confirm whether you have an injury and whether anyone was injured. Contact the competent body regarding requesting medical help, despite having doubts about the seriousness of the injuries and the state of health of other people. In no case should we move the seriously injured unless there is a risk of fire or the vehicle is on the edge of an embankment with the danger of falling. It is important that all the people involved in the accident, even if they do not have serious injuries visible on the moment, because some manifest days or weeks after the incident and are treated by a doctor, which will be helpful if there is a trial.
Stay at the scene:
This advice may seem obvious, but never hit the road or leave the scene after a car accident. Remember that doing that is a crime. If possible, stay until the police, parties involved, and other drivers have left.
Who to call in case of an accident:
Call the authorities. Regardless of the type of accident, always contact the authorities as soon as possible. The police or the institution in charge of traffic or transit of vehicles will initiate an investigation of the incident. Regardless of who was responsible for the car accident, it is key to have an official report from the authorities because it can be of great help. When the police arrive on the scene, work with the officers, take note of the officers’ names and patrol number, and ask where you can get a copy of the report.
To proceed correctly, these will be the following steps to follow:
1. It is important to call the police to write the corresponding report, the witnesses: possible recordings, the license plate number and photos of the damage to the respective vehicles, etc. The document is important since it will constitute a very important proof in the claim of compensation to the insurance companies.
2. After carrying out the appropriate paperwork, we must go to the hospital emergency department so that they review our condition and provide us with a “medical assistance report” in which the damages that have occurred as a result of the accident appear.
3. Contact a specialized lawyer who is in charge of the complete processing of the process, such as the communication to the responsible insurance companies, and in case of discrepancies, presentation of the corresponding demand or complaint.
4. If you are responsible for the accident, it is important to inform the insurance company within seven days. The property damage, the data of the other driver and the injuries suffered as a result of the accident must be specified in detail. If, on the contrary, you are not responsible for the accident, you have up to 1 year to claim for damages from the insurance company of the deceased.
5. Keep each and every one of the invoices that may have been caused as a result of the accident as well as expense tickets, for example, taxis or objects that have been broken, whether or not there are discrepancies between those involved.
6. Memorize everything that happened and collect all the data we need, especially the data we need, especially the other people involved.
Examine the situation, take notes and record the damage
Stay alert and take notes about the car accident. Get the data of the other people involved and try to obtain information about the drivers’ licenses (if someone does not own the car, ask for the relationship and data of the owner). Talk to potential witnesses in the area so they can give you their phone numbers, emails, and addresses. And if you can, take photos of the accident scene. The data and images that you record will be very useful for the claim that you will present to your insurance company, future investigations and when you contact a specialized lawyer to help you with your case.
Don’t take blame ahead of time:
A car accident is a confusing situation, so you should not jump to conclusions and take responsibility for the facts. If you think you are at fault and caused the accident, don’t tell anyone. Let the authorities determine what happened after evaluating the evidence of the facts. If you are afraid or nervous try to stay calm. Be cordial and kind, but never take blame that may not be yours. Just be cooperative and help to report the facts to the police and your insurance company, which you should also report what happened immediately.
Compensation claim in the event of a traffic accident
The compensation includes:
• Personal damage: The compensation must cover the recovery, in economic terms, of all the injuries suffered, but also for the consequences or difficulties that we may encounter in the future. For example, if we are diagnosed with neck pain, we would not only be paid for the neck injury but also for the difficulty in movement. There is also compensation for aesthetic damage when we suffer a cut or surgical operation and we have a scar. Finally within this category, we find compensation for injuries suffered as a result of the accident.
• Material damage: includes damage to belongings and we can claim repair or compensation for breakage or destruction. For example, it is common for glasses or mobile phones to break. In these cases, we can ask for the payment of the arrangement or the economic value of the object.
• Medical or rehabilitation expenses: If we have needed medicines, crutches, tests or medical visits, we can also claim them. In this way, it is not necessary to take charge of the medical expenses or treatment derived from the accident. It also includes rehabilitation or physical therapist.
Lost profit expenses
These are the expenses that the injured person (businessmen, self-employed, etc.) has as a consequence of the profit that he is failing to receive for not being able to use the vehicle or for being injured.
Calculation of compensation for personal injury in a traffic accident
It is recommended to apply the law for the assessment of damages caused to people involved in traffic accidents. The norm determines that the amounts of personal damages will be calculated based on different variables: the location of the sequelae, the days of hospitalization or the age of the victim at the time of the accident. This calculation is complicated and, for this reason, it is necessary to have the advice of a lawyer. It is important that you provide all the documentation you need.
If there is an injury law to calculate compensation, why is it often claimed? The table for calculating compensation consists of many interpretable variables and, in addition, it may happen that the company considers that the claimant was the cause of the accident.
In a traffic accident, any person who has been injured or has had any damage in the traffic accident can claim, be it a driver, occupant of the vehicle, pedestrian, motorist, cyclist, etc.
There is a term to claim the injuries suffered in a traffic accident, which is a limited term of 1 year to claim all the damages and losses from the insured company of the deceased.
Help from a Car Accident Lawyer
Lawyers specializing in traffic, traffic and road safety law are in charge of processing and personalized advice on all kinds of legal issues that arise. They are trusted lawyers who make any type of claim on behalf of the client. Once you have suffered an accident, in case of damage or injury, the most important thing is to quickly contact a law firm for possible claims, which offer urgent help, offering instant legal solutions according to the client’s needs.
The lawyers who are experts in traffic law will offer you personalized assistance and comprehensive advice throughout the process until a favorable resolution is achieved for the person represented. They are experts in defending the interests of clients and working in search of the greatest possible benefit for each person.
Role of the lawyer during a traffic accident
The role of lawyers appears when the insurer and after a traffic accident decides to pay an amount of money below what it should be, this being a very common behavior of these companies.
Lawyer for traffic accidents
A lawyer has enough knowledge to help you deal with insurers, he guides you, tells you what requirements to follow, they accompany you during this process and if he is very specialized, he will tell you how each insurer works, so that in this way you obtain fair compensation. according to the damages and losses caused during the traffic accident.
Lawyers also have an important role when making a claim, since they also ensure that in both cases there is compensation for damage and injuries caused during a traffic accident.
The lawyer for these cases can be insurance or private, there is not much difference between them, there are already experts in the field of traffic accidents, the only difference is that the insurance lawyer is paid by an insurance company, so they usually do not gives a lot of interest to your compensation, while a private lawyer charges a percentage of the compensation, so he always places the amount of compensation money high.
Importance when hiring a traffic accident lawyer
Currently in the world there is not only a large number of lawyers who manage compensation claims for traffic accidents; There are also many companies that operate in this market, processing said compensation without adding value, for commissions that reach up to 25% of each operation. The entry into force of the reform of the system for the assessment of damages caused to people in traffic accidents in different parts of the world advises injured parties to process their claims through people who are used to handling this tool with “some looseness” That contributes to the management of the claim file a knowledge of the aforementioned standard, much more extensive and detailed than the previous one, and of its tables for calculating compensation. In addition to the evaluations of temporary and permanent injuries, procedural changes and the requirements for the exercise of claim actions, a lawyer who knows the norm in depth and in all its details is advised.
For this reason, hiring the services of a specialist lawyer can provide you with added value that, otherwise, another type of professional lawyer does not guarantee. The main reason is the dominance of the market, knowing its ins and outs and idiosyncrasies, and providing the client with the assurance that all their needs will be covered in case they need help for home adaptation, vehicle adaptation, etc.
However, the most popular decision that most people opt for is not to hire the services of a lawyer, but to leave the resolution of the imposed claim in the hands of the insurers, which usually determine the client’s compensation in based on your own criteria. However, in many cases this implies the risk of receiving compensation that is not adequate for the scope of the damage, both personal and material, suffered in the accident. However, when the situation requires hiring a lawyer, the choice of who will be your legal representative is not so simple. It is in this context when a lawyer specializing in traffic accidents takes center stage ahead of the traditional lawyer.
The main difference, the most valuable thing, is that law firms specialized in traffic accidents are not dedicated to “taking cases.” Their job is to examine each case completely independently, which is why they do not offer quick resolutions. Unlike the so-called “accident specialist companies”, whose job is to reach an agile and clear agreement without the need for a medical expert, or fight in the negotiations. How? Knowing, through a collaboration with the insurers themselves, the amounts for which they are favorable to reaching a deal.
Lawyers in traffic accidents are of great importance, since they are in charge of defending the rights of the people involved in the accident and try to obtain fair compensation for the most affected party, thus avoiding much inconvenience.
Regardless of whether the traffic accident involves a car, motorcycle, or even a cyclist, the lawyer sues, advises you, and helps you manage the procedures so that you can get the maximum compensation for the damages, injuries, or sequelae caused.
What lawyers mainly do after a traffic accident is legally advise the affected person and if the injured person requests it, he must provide medical specialists, physiotherapists or rehabilitators.
These are the duties of a good lawyer specializing in traffic accidents.
The law firm offers complete legal advice in all procedures that have to do with problems arising from road accidents, providing you with a complete legal team, as well as giving you peace of mind and comfort by having accredited professionals with knowledge and experience in this field. ensuring that the process was carried out in the best possible way.
These lawyers take into account the priority of the client’s needs, the only thing a traffic accident lawyer needs is to know the part of his client, in order to proceed with the claim for fair compensation.
The compensation that lawyers claim is compensation for damages, lost property, injuries or negative changes that are generated in the life of their client and the types of compensation that can be obtained are future medical expenses, medical expenses, loss of salary, loss of production capacity or income generation. The work of a lawyer professionally specialized in traffic accidents is based on assessing what type of damages really affect a person injured in a traffic accident. The same injury can
affect various people differently, whether physiological, economic or emotional. In cases of quantifiable non-economic damages, these may include pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of spousal benefits. However, the success of the development of a professional in the effective solution of these cases of traffic accidents lies in the fact that the client has enough confidence in his injury lawyer, facilitating and showing him all the documents collected from the accident to facilitate him proving that the other party was at fault when solid evidence is presented and in this way the client is satisfied with the defense of the case, which is the objective pursued, therefore, below we list some of those documents that you must show your lawyer to assemble Their case:
Police report, police records
When an accident occurs, someone on the scene calls for help. When the police arrive, he takes the complaint and issues a preliminary ruling on what may have caused the accident. While this determination can be modified or reversed with evidence that may later emerge, it is a powerful tool in establishing whether the other party was at fault for the accident. It can help the person in negotiations or when the case goes to trial.
Fines or citations related to the accident
In some cases, one or more drivers involved in the accident may be ticketed. This can happen if a driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs or was distracted at the time of the crash. You can also be ticketed if you were speeding or driving unsafely at the time of the accident.
All drivers involved in the accident may be cited for moving violations or other violations. This can be used against the driver who suffered the injury in the accident. However, a lawyer can review the ticket and argue that this does not necessarily have to be grounds for increasing the driver’s liability for the crash.
Photographs of the insurance policy
In many cities, it is illegal to drive without a valid insurance policy. If the accident occurred outside of your place of residence, the policy is considered valid if you have made your premium payments on time. If the policy is expired or has not met the minimum standards in your state of residence, this may be used against you. The legal counsel of the injured victim can put together a defense related to why the policy was expired or did not meet the minimum standards for the client to obtain the highest possible compensation.
Proof of premium payments
Those seeking compensation in a car accident lawsuit have many ways to prove that they paid the car insurance premium. For example, they can show copies of checks sent to the insurance company. Th
Medical records
Medical records can indicate whether the person sought medical treatment after the crash and what type of treatment they received. They can also indicate whether the person had underlying medical problems before the crash that may have been exacerbated by the accident.
ey can also show bank statements with the date the last payment was made and the amount of the payment. If the payment was made by credit card, they can use the credit card statement as evidence.
Information exchanged at the scene of the accident
It is important that people know what to do after a car accident. One of the most important steps after calling the police is exchanging information at the scene. Drivers typically exchange insurance information and give their name, address, driver’s license, and phone number.
In some cases, it may be appropriate to exchange email addresses or social media contact information instead of physical address or phone number. Whatever information you exchange, keep it in a safe place and pass it on to your lawyer during the legal process.
statements
After an accident, one or two declarations may have to be made before the corresponding institution. At a minimum, the drivers involved will give officials their version of events at the crash scene. They may also have to declare to their insurance company. Later, those who witnessed the accident may also testify to the police to describe what they saw. All of this information is likely to be relevant in a personal injury lawsuit, and the original statements can be especially helpful when someone later changes her story. When a statement is especially powerful, it can be used as the basis for summary judgment.