First Things To Do After a Car Accident in Maryland

Below are the first things you should do after getting into a car accident according to a Maryland car accident lawyer. If you believe you may have a basis for a claim call today and schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.

#1 Seek Any Emergency Medical Help You Need

After an accident, the first thing you should always do is seek any emergency medical help or treatment you need. Call 911, and ask for an ambulance for yourself, passengers, or the other driver. Your health is always the top priority.

#2 Get all the Information From Other Vehicle

The second thing that they should do is get down all the information from any other vehicle involved in the accident because if the police do not come, which sometimes they do not, or they don’t write a report you are going to need to be able to figure out who the other parties involved in your accident are.

#3 Take Pictures of the Damage

The second thing someone should do would be to take pictures of the damage to each of the vehicles involved and the reason for that is it will be proof that there is an impact between the vehicles. This will be helpful if any vehicles leave the scene. It will also be used as leverage in your case to show the extent of the damage to your vehicle.

#4 Seek Out Medical Treatment

The third thing someone should do is to seek out medical treatment immediately for any injuries that you may have as a result of the accident. The reason for that being that the sooner you seek out medical treatment the easier it is to prove that your injuries are causally related to the accident that happened.

The Biggest Mistakes to Avoid After A Car Accident

Some of the biggest mistakes are –

(1) Leaving the scene of the accident before police arrive or getting the information from the other driver.

(2) Not documenting the identities of the vehicle by getting down the license and the description of the vehicle and the driver or the driver’s information of any other vehicles involved.

(3) Waiting to get medical treatment for your injuries or hoping it will just get better on its own.

(4) Giving recorded statements to an insurance company.

What Are Some Of The Ways To Avoid These Mistakes?

Making sure you know the information of the vehicle and the driver of any other vehicles involved in the accident, documenting photos of the damage to your car and any other vehicles, taking out immediate medical treatment for an injury you might have and also following up with your medical treatment. Another thing would be to not speak to an insurance company until you are represented by a lawyer, especially do not give a recorded statement to an insurance company without being represented by an attorney.

Why Do You Think People Make These Mistakes?

People make these mistakes because they are caught up in a traumatic event and are not thinking about the practicality of documenting the accident that they were just involved in. They might even be in some sort of shock or trauma or they might not know that it is not wise to talk to an insurance adjustor and give a statement without having an attorney present. The insurance companies prey upon victim’s unfamiliarity with these situations to take advantage of you and your loved ones.