After a Pedestrian Accident in Leesburg
After an individual is in an accident involving pedestrians in Leesburg, there are a number of steps that should be taken in order to ensure that all injured parties get proper medical treatment, as well as to preserve all pertinent evidence, should you decide to bring forth a pedestrian accident personal injury claim.
Request Medical Attention
If you are the pedestrian that is injured, the first step is to call 911 and request emergency medical treatment. This should be done before taking any consideration regarding what happened or how the accident occurred. The most important aspect of a pedestrian accident is to make sure that everyone involved is taken care of, okay, and receiving the emergency medical treatment they need.
A nice perk of requesting emergency medical treatment is that often the police will arrive and potentially be documenting the scene with appropriate speed as you receive necessary medical treatment. If the police do not come, it is really important to notify the authorities as soon as possible.
First Steps for the Driver
If you are the driver that is involved and you hit a pedestrian, there are important steps that you need to take as well. Make sure the pedestrian is okay and then if anyone needs medical assistance, make a call for emergency medical treatment as soon as possible.
Obtain Evidence
Some other things that are important are that you, if medically able, obtain as much information as possible. Try to get names and contact information for all parties involved. Try to find out what happened from eyewitnesses and how that can be reported. Document the location of the accident, look around the scene, and see whether there are cameras or other recording devices in place, any private businesses that were open, or any person that may have witnessed the accident and videoed it on their cell phones.
If a Hit and Run
If the driver flees the scene, the first thing the pedestrian should do is call 911. Try to recall, for documentation purposes, as much about the driver as you possibly can in order to give a detailed description.
Contact An Attorney
After the emergency requirements are taken care of and the injured party has notified all medical providers, notified the police that the accident occurred, and exchanged information with the at-fault driver, the next step the individual should take is to figure out what they are going to do about their rights to an attorney.
The individual should anticipate, that immediately following a pedestrian accident, they may be contacted by a multitude of insurance companies. Additionally, the insurance company may follow up with the injured party, ask what happened, and other questions. Absolutely cooperate with your insurance company. However, the other driver’s insurance company, the at-fault insurance company, will almost certainly contact the injured party as well. It is important to refrain from speaking to them about the accident, your injuries, or receiving a settlement without an attorney present to ensure you are getting the most value possible out of the settlement.
