What to Do After a Car Accident That Was Not Your Fault?

t should you do

fte c

ccident th

t sn’t you

ult? You’ll find

lot of

dvice flo

ting

ound the inte

net th

t is me

nt to p

ovide you

ith

to th

t question

hethe

s solicited o

unsolicited.

t’s good

dvice?

t’s so-so

dvice?

t’s utte

ly dis

ous

nd te

ible

dvice? Lucky fo

you,

e’

e he

e to help you so

t th

t out.

Im
gine
C
ccident

It’s difficult to expl

t you should do follo

ing

ccident

ithout fi

st setting the scene. Conside

the follo

ing hypothetic

l: Im

gine you come to

full stop

fou

–

y inte

section. You put on you

left blinke

nd check fo

ossing t

ffic. Eve

ything looks good. You pull out into the inte

section

nd stt to tu

n left

hen suddenly you c

tch

glimpse of

t you’d seen in youevie

hen you c

me to

full stop. Unlike you, th

t c didn’t stop

nd didn’t

it fo

you to m

ke you

n. Inste

d, it comes

ight up behind you

nd t

ies to s

ve to the left,

ound you

ont bumpe

, to get ound you befo

e you complete you

n. No luck. Inste

d, the speeding c plo

s into you

ive

-side qute

nel. The l

st thing you

emembe

is the sound of sc

eeching met

You

ke up in the hospit

hou

s l

ith you

spouse

nd kids

t you

bedside. Uh, oh, this isn’t good, you think.

t h

ppened?

young docto

steps up to give you the ne

s th

t you’ve sust

ined seve

e d

ge to you

spin

l column,

ushed left femu

nd some b

in t

ith luck, you

on’t be pe

nently p

lyzed, but it’s too soon to tell.

t is cle

is th

t you f

ce months of ext

emely p

inful

ecove

ong possibility of pe

nent physic

l imp

ment,

isk of long-te

m effects on you

cognition

nd memo

t you c

n tell, the

ccident sn’t you

ult,

lthough you don’t h

cle

memo

y of it,

nd you p

bly neve

ell.

Fi
st, St
bilize Th
ough Medic
l
nd Self-Ce<
h2>
e chose the ex
mple
bove bec
use so m
ny of the “
h
t should I do
fte

c
ccident?” blogs out the
e give
ll so
ts of
dvice th
t seems to imply th
t you should t
y
nd
o
k
s you
o
n p
iv
te detective. M
ny ticles tell you to get to
o
k immedi
tely follo
ing
collision: t
ke
ccident scene photos, collect
itness info
m
tion, give
st
tement to the police,
s if you’
e on<
h
ef="https:
/
.cbs.com
sho
s
csi/episodes/53618/” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
no
efe

e
"> CSI<>.
hile these

e sm

t steps to t
ke if you’
e physic
lly
ble, you’
e y
he
d of the cu
ve. But
lot of the time, people
ho h
ve suffe
ed se
ious c
ccident inju
ies end up in some ve
sion of the scen

io
bove. They’
e not going to be visiting the
ccident scene
ny time soon. They’
e in no condition to tde cont
ct info
m
tion
ith byst
nde
s o
to hunt do
n closed-ci
cuit TV c
mes. They’
e l
id-up,
nd they’
e going to be th
t

y fo
quite some time.
h
t should those
ccident victims do?

ns
e
: they should st
bilize thei
physic
l, emotion
l,
nd ment
l he
lth th
ough
pp
op
i
te medic
l
nd self-ce. Befo
e doing
NYTHING ELSE, they should follo
thei
docto
’s o
de
s
nd do
h
teve
is needed to st
bilize thei
he
lth condition. They should not t
y to cut co
ne
s on
ecove
y. They should not t
y to do
npl
y thei
p
in. They should do
h
t it t
kes to
ecove
to the point
he
e, even if they’
e not fully he
lthy o
he
led, they

e st
ble enough to h
ve
sense of
he
e theiecove
y is he
ded.
hy is this so impo
t
nt?
ell, the
e is nothing mo
e impo
t
nt th
n you
he
lth. But th
t’s not the only
e
son. Eve
ything else
e t
lk
bout in this post
equi
es
pe
son to be g
ounded enough to m
ke
esponsible decisions. Th
t stts
ith t
king ce of you
self.

Ok su
e, you might be thinking, but
h
t if the
ccident victim is too b
nged up to think stight foeeks, months, o
eve
? Good question,
nd
e’
e gl
d you
sked. The s
me
ule
pplies to f
mily membe
s onyone else on
hom the
esponsibility f
lls to look
ften
ccident victim’s
ff
i
s
hen the victim c
n’t. This is
n emotion
lly difficult time.
nyone
ho might m
ke decisions
ffecting the
ccident victim’s c

e needs to t
ke ce of themselves he
lth-
ise fi
st, physic
lly, emotion
lly,
nd ment
lly.

Next, T
ke Stock<
h2>
hen
n
ccident th
o
s you
life
nd he
lth into ch
os, t
y to c

ve out time to t
ke stock of you
immedi
te
nd sho
t te
m
esou
ces
nd needs. You should p
io
itize you
fin
nci
l
nd othe
oblig
tions so th
t you c
n do you
best to
void
o
sening you
situ
tion
nd to identify
esou
ces th
t m
y help c
y you th
ough this
ough spot. Getting
h
ndle on you
fin
nci
l
esou
ces
nd needs is impo
t
nt, but so is t
king stock of
h
t
e’ll c
ll life
esou
ces
nd needs. Beloe discuss
h
t
e me
n.

Fin
nci
l
esou
ces
nd Needs

This is p

etty stightfod. To p

event you

inju

y f

om c

ting

n immedi

te <

ef="https:

.investopedi

.com/

ticles/pf/11/p

epe-fo

–

-fin

nci

l-c

isis.

sp" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

efee

“>fin

nci

l c

isis<> in you

life, you need to dete

mine ho

much money o

othe

fin

nci

l suppo

t you

ill need to c

y you th

ough this pe

iod in you

life.

hen it comes to

esou

ces,

evie

the money you h

ble to p

y fo

you

immedi

nd sho

t te

m expenses, such

You
liquid
ssets (b
nk
ccounts, stocks,
nd bonds)
ny income you c
n continue to e

n
hile you e
ecove
ing<
li>
ny insunce coveges
v
il
ble to p
y fo
you

ecove
y o
needs
ny public o
p
iv
te fin
nci
l
ssist
nce potenti
lly
v
il
ble to help c
y you though<
li>

hen it comes to needs, think th

ough the follo

ing:

Ho
much h
ve you
inju
ies imp
cted you
income?<
li>
h
t expenses th
t existed befo
e you
inju
ies do you need to keep p
ying?<
li>
h
t ne
expenses e you f
cing bec
use of you
inju
y?<
li>

Life
esou
ces
nd Needs<
h3>
Money isn’t the only p
oblem th
t c
ops up
hen you find you
self
ecove
ing f
om
se
ious c
ccident inju
y. You
lso need to t
ke stock of
he
e othe
life p
io
ities st
nd. Do you need help c

ing fo
you
child
en, oith tending to you
home, o

ith t

nspo
t
tion?

e the
e f
iends, f
mily, o
se
vice o
g
niz
tions
v
il
ble to help pick up the sl
ck
hile you
ecove
? Just
s
ith you
fin
nci
l
esou
ces
nd needs
bove, put togethe

list of you
life p
io
ities,
nd
nything th
t c
n help meet them
hile you he
l.

Next, Seek Help<
h2>
It’s likely th
t
hile you focus on
ecove
ing, you
ill need help meeting you
fin
nci
l
nd eve
y d
y needs. F
iends
nd f
mily c
n help p
ovide suppo
t. You
docto
s
ill h
ndle you
immedi
te medic
l c

e. Beyond you
f
iends, f
mily,
nd docto
,
ho else should you
ttempt to connect
ith to help you meet you
needs
nd ensu
e th
t you h
ve the
esou
ces to
etu
n to
no
m
l life?

You
O
n Insu

nce

You (o

youep

esent

tives) e p

bly not going to be

ble to

void de

ling

ith you

insu

nce c

ssuming you h

ve one. Yes, you

medic

l p

ovide

usu

lly h

ndles submitting cl

ims to you

lth insunce,

t le

st initi

lly. But m

ny people

lso c

uto insu

nce cove

nd long-te

m dis

bility covege, both of

hich m

y offe

essenti

l benefits to you

hile you

ecove

ccident. You

ill need to notify these c

s of you

ccident

nd inju

ies. In doing so, be c

eful not to m

ny suggestion th

t you be f

ult fo

youccident. Th

t is not fo

you to judge. If

n insu

nce

djuste

sking you difficult questions th

t you don’t kno

efe

the

djuste

to youtto

ney (see belo

C
ccident Inju
y L

ye
<
h3>
H
ving
n <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
se
vices
c

–
ccident-
tto
ney-houston
“>expe
ienced c
ccident inju
y
tto
ney<> on you
side c
n p
ove ext
emely benefici
l
hen seeking compens
tion fo
you
inju
ies. Immedi
tely follo
ing
c
ccident in
hich you suffe
ed inju
ies, you should seek
n
tto
ney
ith plenty of expe
ience
ep
esenting people just like you.
h
t ex
ctly c
n
n
tto
ney do fo
you? Let’s count the ys.

n
tto
ney c
n help you intect
ith
nyong> insu

nce c
ie
o
soci
l
o
ke
<
st
ong>. In otheo
ds, you

tto
ney c
n be you
st
nd-in
hen you need help de
ling
ith some issue o
difficulty th
t ises, fo
ex
mple,
ith pu
suing
n insu

nce cl
im f
om you
o
n c
ie
o

pplying fo
benefits
ith the help of
soci
l
o
ke
.<
li>

n
tto
ney c
n ong>identify the pties
ho

e leg
lly li
ble ong> fo
you
inju
ies. This t
sk c
n p
ove complex
nd
equi
es
tho
ough unde
st
nding of pe
son
l inju
y l,
hich is
hy you should
lso seek out
n
tto
ney
ith
p
oven t

ck
eco
d of
esults
nd the kno
-ho
to investig
te
nd litig
te even the most complic
ted c
ccident c
ses. Figu
ing out
ho o
es both leg
l li
bilities to you
nd
ho h
s the
ll-impo
t
nt
bility to p
y is one of the most impo
t
nt se
vices th
t
n
tto
ney c
n p
ovide.

n
tto
ney c
n ong> c
lcul
te you
d
m
ges ong>. Believe it o
not, c
lcul
ting d
m
ges is not
s simple
s just
dding up you
unp
id medic
l bills. Yes, in most scen

ios in
hich someone else’s celessness c
used you
c
ccident inju
ies, you
ill h
ve the
ight to seek compens
tion fo
you
p
st
nd futu
e out-of-pocket expenses. But th
t’s not
ll. You m
y
lso h
ve the
ight to
ecove
subst
nti
l d
m
ges fo
you
p
in
nd suffe
ing, the imp
ct th
t you
inju
ies h
ve h
d on you
life
nd
el
tionships,
nd even
s
fo
m of punishment fo
the p

ty
hose
ctions h

med you. You need
n
tto
ney
ho c
n get this numbeight, bec
use it
ill be
h
t you dem
nd f
om the pty
ith li
bility. You don’t nt to lo
b
ll you
self o
be un
e
listic.<
li>

n
tto
ney c
n ong>negoti
te ong>
ith the leg
lly li
ble p

ties, thei
lye
s,
nd thei
insu

nce comp
nies, to
chieve
f
i

nd
e
son
ble settlement fo
you. If settlement isn’t possible,
n
tto
ney c
n litig
te you
cl
im
g
inst those pties in cou
t,
he
e he o
she
ill
ttempt to p
ove to
judge
nd ju
y
hy you dese
ve m
ximum compens
tion.<
li>

onde
ing
h
t You C
n Do to Help?<
h2>
So, ou

dvice is p
etty simple. Get
s he
lthy
s you c
n, figu
e out you
immedi
te needs, so th
t you
situ
tion doesn’t get
o
se,
nd seek help. E
sy,
ight?

Not so f
st. Nothing
bout
ecove
ing f
om
seve
e c
ccident inju
y c
used by someone else is e
sy.
lot of ou
clients t
ke comfo
t, du
ing th
t difficult time, in kno
ing th
t they’
e doing something—othe
th
n getting bette
—to help themselves, thei
f
milies,
nd thei
leg
l c
uses.
e get th
t.
nd so, belo

e discuss
fe
things th
t, if you’
e up to the t
sk, you c
n do to help ensu
e you h
ve the suppo
t
nd
esou
ces you need to pull th
ough this difficult time:

s
e mentioned
bove, if you someho
c
n ong>collect info
m
tion<
st
ong>
bout
h
t c
used youccident, do it. It c
n’t hu
t. But don’t stin you
self o
put you
self in d
nge
. You
lye
kno
s ho
to investig
te c
ccidents.

ong>Keep good
eco
ds<
st
ong>. Don’t th
o

y
nything h
ving to do
ith you
c
ccident o
you
inju
ies, such
s insunce st
tements, medic
l bills, police
epo
ts,
nd mo
e. Keep eve
ything in
file o box,
nd don’t delete
ny em
ils. O
g
nizing eve
ything is g
e
t, but just ensu
ing to not th
o
things
y c
n put you
nd youtto
ney
he
d.

ong>St
y positive ong>. This l
st tip is e
sie
s
id th
n done,
e kno
, but
emembe
,
ith the
ight suppo
t
nd
dvice, you
ill pull th
ough this difficult time.<
li>

If you still h
ve questions
bout
h
t to do
hen someone else c
used
c
ccident th
t inju
ed you, <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
cont
ct-us
/”>
sk
n expe
ienced c
ccident l

ye
<>!
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gine
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ccident

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nci
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esou
ces
nd Needs

You
O
n Insu

nce