4 Things To Do After A Catastrophic Car Crash

Car crashes can be overwhelming and traumatic. If you’ve been into such an unfortunate situation, you might have mixed emotions, confusion, and uncertainty about what’s going on. In short, you might be at a loss of what you should do, especially if you’re an injured victim.

Unfortunately, when this happens, you might be unable to protect your rights and interest in recovering the proper monetary compensation you need. Given these circumstances, it’s essential to know how to act quickly to minimize your losses.

If you’re involved in a catastrophic car collision, below are the four things you should do from the get-go:

1. Seek Medical Care Promptly

In most cases, car accident injuries don’t become apparent immediately. It might take a few days before you can actually feel pain and other signs of hidden injuries. For example, the signs and symptoms of a brain or spinal cord injury caused by a massive impact might not be visible following the crash. However, it might require significant medical attention later on to avoid more severe complications.

For this reason, it’s crucial to prioritize your health after what happened. Seek immediate medical care to treat your injury and speed up your recovery. Also, you need to get yourself checked so the attending doctor can document your injury and your treatment plan. Doing so can help you protect your right to recover compensation for your injury and other losses.

2. Protect Your Rights

If you have no idea what legal steps to take after being involved in a serious car accident, then you need an experienced lawyer to guide you through the process and protect your rights. This is especially true if you’re planning to file an injury claim to get compensated. Hence, to protect your rights and interests from the start, make sure to call a legal professional for valuable legal advice.
Typically, they’ll advise you on the following:

• Documenting the accident: A trustworthy lawyer will ask you to document everything at the accident scene. These can include the names and badges of the attending police officers, a copy of the police report, pictures of the accident scene, names and addresses of the parties involved and the witnesses, and many more. These documents can be used as evidence to substantiate your claim and increase your chances of obtaining proper compensation. So, make sure to maintain a case file and keep it ready whenever you need it for your case.
• Avoiding discussions about liability: Since you’re involved in a car crash, the police officers might ask you some questions regarding what happened. To help you handle this situation properly, the lawyer will advise you not to talk about liability or admit fault. What you can do is explain your side of the story and avoid answering incriminating questions. Doing so can protect your right to receive compensation.

As you can see, there are many ways a lawyer can help you. With them at your side, you can navigate a car collision without getting into legal troubles. If you want to understand your case better, you can ask questions to a legal professional, click for source to get more information.

3. Call The Police

Dealing with a catastrophic car collision can be frustrating enough to handle by yourself. Whether you’re seriously injured or not, it’s imperative to call the police to check the accident scene. Since the accident was disastrous enough to cause significant damage, you need the assistance of the law enforcement officers to investigate and determine who might be at fault for what happened.
You can use the official police report from the officers to improve the credibility of your injury claim in case you decide to file one later on. Also, some insurance service providers might require you to submit a police report to support your claim.

4. File An Injury Lawsuit

Another thing you should do after a catastrophic car crash is to file a personal injury lawsuit. It can be the best way to safeguard yourself against the emotional, financial, and physical turmoil caused by the accident. With a claim in place, you’ll have better chances of getting compensated for your injury and all other losses.

However, you need a reliable lawyer for solid legal representation unless you know how this legal proceeding works. For instance, they know how to help you navigate the following steps:

• Discovery: This stage allows all the parties to obtain evidence from each other. At this point, your lawyer will utilize some tools to access all information relevant to your case. These can include interrogatories, depositions, requests for production, and many more.
• Pre-Trial Negotiations: Before the trial pushes through, you’ll be given a chance to settle your case without court intervention. This is where pre-trial negotiations come into play. At this stage, both parties will meet together to discuss the matter and try to come up with an amicable settlement. In case the negotiation fails, the trial will proceed.
• Trial: During this stage, the judge or jury will examine the evidence to determine whether the at-fault driver should be held liable for the losses you’ve sustained as a result of the car crash. As such, your lawyer will prepare their opening and closing arguments to convince the court that the collision and your injury were the results of someone else’s negligence. Hence, you should be compensated for the damage done.
• Judgment: After the trial, the judge or jury will decide the case and issue a verdict. If the decision is in your favor, the court will order the payment of compensation for all your losses. The settlement covers medical bills, lost wages and capacity to earn, pain, suffering, and many more. However, if the decision is against you, you can appeal it to the higher court. You might still need the assistance of a lawyer to handle the case properly.

Bottom Line

A catastrophic car collision can happen unexpectedly, and the effects can stick for a long time. Depending on the extent and severity of your injury, you can experience mental, financial, and physical burdens. Thus, you need to be prepared when this unfortunate incident happens.

By keeping the things mentioned above in mind, you’ll know what to do following a collision. The more familiar you are with what steps to take after an accident, the more you can save yourself from unnecessary worries.