What to do After a Car Accident in Prince William County

Car accidents can be a traumatizing experience; because of this it is crucial to know what to do before an accident so that you can better conduct yourself in the event that you find yourself in a car accident. A Prince William County car accident attorney can help you in the event of an accident by clearly explaining the process, ensuring as smooth of a process as possible, and by helping to mitigate damages through a tailored defense to your case.

Call Prince William County Police

The first thing you should do after an accident is to call the police so that they can document the scene of the accident, any witnesses who observed it and any security footage that captured the accident on video. That way, police can identify the parties involved, document the positions of the vehicles where they came to rest after the accident and get the story of how the accident happened.

Document the Accident

If you’ve been in an accident and you’ve already called the police, the second thing you should do is make sure you write down the license plate of the other car involved and get the identification of the other driver. This is important because even though Prince William County police were called, that other driver might leave the scene for any number of reasons and then you might not be able to find the person again. It is vital to get the license plate of the vehicle in the event of a hit-and-run. Then, if the driver will give you the information, you should also get his or her name, insurance information and the name of the owner of the vehicle. That way, you will be able to locate the person who hit you and contact his or her insurance company in order to bring a claim against him or her.

The third thing you should do after being in an accident if possible is take photographs of the scene of the accident as well as the damage to each vehicle. If a vehicle leaves the scene before you take photographs, that person might repair his or her car and then you won’t be able to get photographs of the damage. Also, the person may get into another accident, and then you won’t be able to distinguish what damage was from the first accident and what was from some new subsequent accident. It’s always important to take pictures of your car and the other car right away because only the picture can truly describe the extent of the impact, and it can give other people a better sense of the driver’s version of the story and how the accident happened.

Get Medical Assistance

After an accident, if you are feeling any amount of pain, you should call for an ambulance. That way, you can get checked out by a medical professional and get any treatment that you might need.

Regardless of whether the ambulance arrives, if you’re feeling any pain, you should go to either an urgent care or an emergency room to tell a doctor, nurse or physician’s assistant about any injuries that you sustained in the car accident. You should let medical professionals check you over to make sure that whatever injuries you’re feeling are taken care of and monitored right away.

Contact Your Insurance Company

After you seek medical attention for injuries sustained in a car accident, you should call your insurance company and let them know that you’ve been involved in an accident. You should provide your insurance company with the information that you’ve obtained at the scene, including any photographs you’ve taken, as well as any medical treatment you have received. If you provided your insurance information to the other driver in the accident, hopefully the insurance company for the other driver will contact your provider and start a claim. If you’re severely hurt, you should also contact a Prince William County car accident lawyer so the attorney can initiate a claim with the other party’s insurance company.