If You Have an Accident in Which Someone Is Injured You Should Follow These Steps

ften Inju

y-Involved

ccident

h

t Should You Do?<

h2>
No one

kes up in the mo

ning

nd expects to get in

n

ccident. Even mino

ccidents c

n c

use

g

e

t de

l of st

ess, loss of

o

k,

nd costly medic

l bills. 

fte

n

ccident, you might be

onde

ing

h

t to do next. In this ticle the <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

c

–

ccident-

tto

ney-houston

“>

uto

ccident

tto

neys >

t <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

“>Ste

t J. Guss<>

ill expl

in the p

ope

steps you need to t

ke to get you

self b

ck to

he

e you

e

e befo

e the

ccident.

The

y you

e

ct

t the time of the

ccident

nd

fte

the

ccident ong>M

TTE

S<

st

ong>. Kno

ing

h

t to do,

nd sometimes mo

e impo

t

ntly,

h

t ong>NOT<

st

ong> to do, c

n m

ke

ll the diffe

ence in

pe

son

l inju

y c

se.

hile minoccidents m

y be nothing mo

e th

n

n

nnoy

nce,

ccidents involving inju

ies e se

ious. So,

h

t ex

ctly should you do <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comh

t-to-do-

fte

–

-c-

ccident/”>

fte

you’ve been in

n

ccident >?

1. St

y

t the Scene<

h2>
Fi

st

nd most impo

t

ntly, ong>DO NOT LE

VE THE SCENE ong> of the

ccident unless you

e seve

ely inju

ed,

nd ong>NEED MEDIC

L

SSIST

NCE IMMEDI

TELY ong>. Even if you don’t think you e going to file

cl

im, neve

le

ve the scene of

n

ccident. Numbe

one, le

ving the scene of

n

ccident is illeg

l

nd c

n get you in t

ouble, especi

lly if

nyone s inju

ed.

In most st

tes,<

h

ef="https:

/st

tutes.c

pitol.tex

s.gov

Docs/TN/htm/TN.550.htm” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

no

efee

“> le

ving the scene of

n

ccident<>

ithout stopping

nd checking fo

inju

ies is

g

inst the l.  It is c

itic

l th

t you st

y

he

e you e, c

ll the police,

nd

llo

them to conduct

n investig

tion. In

n

ccident involving inju

ies, evidence

ill be

c

itic

l component in dete

mining not only f

ult but

lso the v

lue of

cl

im. If you le

ve the scene of

n

ccident, the police

ill not h

ve

n oppo

tunity to investig

te

nd p

ovide the evidence needed to est

blish f

ult. Don’t jeop

dize you

c

se befo

e it even gets stted! If it is s

fe to do so, move you

c to the side of the

o

d follo

ing

n

ccident. Don’t st

y out in the middle of the

o

d. Not only e you

nnoying d

ive

s

ho must t

y to get

ound, but

lso, in such

position, you m

y be c

e

ting isk fo secondy collision.

2. Check

ll P

ties fo

Inju

ies

If the

e e p

ssenge

s in you

c

, check to see if the

e e

ny inju

ies. Next, go to the othe

c

(if you c

n s

fely do so)

nd check

ith

ll p

ssenge

s. If the

e

e

ny se

ious inju

ies, c

ll 911

ight

y. Eithe

y, you should

epo

t the

ccident to the police.<

h

ef=”https://

.txdot.gov

d

ive

/l

s/c

sh-

epo

ts.html”>  >

3. T

lk to the Othe

D

ive

<

h2>
If the

e e no life-th

e

tening inju

ies, this is

good time to exch

nge info

m

tion

ith the othe

d

ive

. The quickest

nd most efficient y to do this is to pull out you

sm

tphone. T

ke

pictu

e of the f

ont

nd b

ck of the othe

d

ive

’s insunce cd. M

ke su

e you get the comp

ny n

me, policy numbe

,

nd cont

ct info

m

tion fo

the comp

ny.  Othe

th

n the simple exch

nge of info

m

tion though, you should limit sm

ll t

lk. ong>NEVE

<

st

ong>

pologize o

ccept bl

me in

ny

y.

Don’t fo

get to get the othe

d

ive

’s pe

son

l info

m

tion

s

ell. The n

me on the insunce cd m

y not be the n

me of the pe

son d

iving the c. Get the d

ive

’s fi

st

nd l

st n

me

s

ell

s his o

he

phone numbe

. Sto

ing the numbe

on you

phone is

g

e

t y to m

ke su

e the info

m

tion doesn’t get lost; in most c

ses, you’ll be ong>VE

Y H

PPY YOU DID THIS<

st

ong>.

4. G

the

s Much Info

m

tion

s You C

n

The ide

of collecting evidence m

y m

ke it sound like you e

t

c

ime scene.

hile

e

on’t go to th

t ext

eme, you must

emembe

th

t

pe

son

l inju

y c

se is

ong>LEG

L CL

IM<

st

ong>. If you e filing

cl

im fo

d

m

ges fo

n inju

y o

you think the othe

pty might, evidence

ill be

c

itic

l pt of you

c

se. Even if you don’t think th

t

nyone

ill m

ke

cl

im, collect evidence. Inju

ies m

y not be

pp

ent

t fi

st, but symptoms c

n

ppe

hou

s, o

even d

ys l

te

. The

efo

e, you should

l

ys m

ke su

e you h

ve eve

ything documented. This

on’t

equi

e b

gging up evidence CSI-style. The best

y to document the scene of the

ccident is by t

king photos of the d

m

ges

ith you

phone.

So,

hy ex

ctly is this needed? If

leg

l cl

im does come out of the

ccident, you’ll need evidence th

t

ill p

ove

hen,

he

e,

nd ho

the

ccident h

ppened. Think

bout ho

you

ould p

ove

h

t h

ppened to

complete st

nge

bec

use the

e’s

good ch

nce youtto

ney

ill ong>H

VE TO DO EX

CTLY TH

T<

st

ong>!

bsolute must-h

ves include:

• ong>Pictu
  es of vehicle d

  m

  ge<

  st

  ong>: M

  ke su

  e you get pictu

  es of both c

  s. Comp

  ing the d

  m

  ge to e

  ch c c

  n sho

  ho

  the

  ccident h

  ppened. They don’t h

  ve to be p

  ofession

  l qu

  lity pictu

  es but m

  ke su

  e the photos e cle enough to be

  ble to tell

  h

  t they

  e. T

  y to get pictu

  es of the

  hole c

  s

  ell. This

  ill p

  otect you in c

  se

  ddition

  l d

  m

  ges

  ppe

  fte

  the

  ccident.

• ong>

  pictu

  e of the othe

  d

  ive

  ’s license pl

  te<

  st

  ong>: You

  ouldn’t believe ho

  m

  ny people cl

  im they

  e

  en’t d

  iving thei

  c o

  th

  t thei

  c

  s neve

  in

  n

  ccident.

  lthough, it’s h

  d to deny pictu

  es of

  d

  m

  ged c

  combined

  ith pictu

  es of the license pl

  te. Bonus points if you c

  n get the license pl

  te

  nd d

  m

  ge in the s

  me pictu

  e.

• ong>N

  mes

  nd cont

  ct info

  m

  tion of

  itnesses<

  st

  ong>: People LIE, especi

  lly

  hen it comes to money.

  hen

  d

  ive

  sees

  n inc

  e

  sed insu

  nce bill st

  ing them in the f

  ce, they m

  y quickly

  emembe

  the events of the

  ccident much diffe

  ently th

  n you do. If you h

  ve

  itnesses to suppo

  t you

  cl

  im, the othe

  pty

  ill h

  ve

  h

  de

  time getting

  y

  ith thei

  lies.

• ong>Othe

  physic

  l evidence<

  st

  ong>: e the

  e

  ny skid mks? s the

  e

  ny p

  ope

  ty d

  m

  ge? Is the

  e

  stop sign lying on the g

  ound? T

  ke

  pictu

  e of

  nything th

  t you think might help you

  c

  se.<

  li>

5. Get Medic

l Ce<

h2>
ss=”

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ight

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ge-39395″ s

c="https:

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ccident-Steps-300×181.jpg”

lt="Inju

y

ccident Steps"

idth=”439″ height=”265″ />The fi

st,

nd most impo

t

nt

e

son to seek medic

l ce

fte

collision is bec

use NOTHING is mo

e impo

t

nt th

n you

he

lth

nd

ellbeing. If you think you h

ve

b

oken bone,

concussion, o bin inju

y, you

ill likely be di

ected, o

even tnspo

ted by

mbul

nce, to the E

. Even if you don’t need

n

mbul

nce, m

ke su

e you go to

n eme

gency

oom o

u

gent ce cente

to

t le

st get checked out.

In

ddition to getting t

e

tment, the

e is one impo

t

nt thing you should

emembebout seeing the docto

. This is the fi

st time th

t you

inju

ies

nd you

side of the sto

y

ill be documented. This info

m

tion

ill be used by insunce comp

nies. Be 100 pe

cent t

uthful

bout you

inju

ies. Don’t ove

st

te o

unde

st

te the deg

ee of p

in. Mention eve

ything. This is

lso not

time to t

lk

bout bl

me.

hethe

o

not you think you cont

ibuted to the

ccident, this

ould not be the p

ope

time to discuss th

t. T

ke c

e of you

inju

ies

nd it to so

t th

t out l

te

.

Unsu

e

hethe

You

e Inju

ed?<

h3>

ften

ccident, it’s no

m

l fo

people to igno

e signs of

n inju

y. Some people

ccept

little p

in bec

use of the

ccident. But “

little” p

in c

n be

sign of

mo

e se

ious inju

y. If you e suddenly expe

iencing p

in

fte

n

ccident, even if it’s

couple of d

ys l

te

, you

e

lly should be ev

lu

ted by

medic

l p

ofession

l. PLUS, the soone

you

e seen

ften

ccident, the mo

e se

iously the insu

nce comp

ny

ill t

ke you

cl

im. He

e

e

fe

common inju

ies

fte

n

ccident:

• ong>Soft Tissue Inju
  ies<

  st

  ong>: Soft tissue inju

  ies

  e often mocked

  s

  “m

  de-up” inju

  y

  fte fende

  bende

  . Ho

  eve

  , soft tissue inju

  ies

  e ve

  y much

  e

  l – just

  sk

  nyone

  ho h

  s expe

  ienced neck

  nd b

  ck p

  in

  fte

  c

  ccident.

  soft tissue neck o

  b

  ck inju

  y is most often the

  esult of

  e

  -end

  ccident.

  hen you

  e sitting in you

  c, you

  he

  d

  nd you

  b

  ck

  e

  ligned p

  llel to the se

  t. But

  hen you

  e hit f

  om behind, you

  he

  d s

  ings b

  ck

  nd then violently fo

  d. If this sounds p

  inful, IT CE

  T

  INLY IS. Soft tissue inju

  ies c

  n stin the muscles in you

  neck

  nd b

  ck

  nd c

  use subst

  nti

  l p

  in foeeks o

  months follo

  ing

  n

  ccident. Se

  ious c

  ses of soft tissue d

  m

  ge c

  n

  esult f

  om t

  um

  tic

  lly inju

  ed bulging o

  he

  ni

  ted discs.

• ong>Tum

  tic b

  in inju

  ies<

  st

  ong>:

  ny b

  in inju

  y is se

  ious. Most of the time, these inju

  ies h

  ppen

  hen you

  he

  d is sl

  mmed

  g

  inst

  n object in the c. This m

  y include the

  indo

  , the se

  t, the stee

  ing

  heel, o

  the

  i

  b

  g. In seve

  e

  ccidents,

  penet

  ting

  ound to the he

  d c

  n c

  use

  bin inju

  y. Unless

  n object ente

  s you

  skull o

  you lose consciousness, you m

  y not immedi

  tely

  e

  lize you h

  ve

  b

  in inju

  y. You should seek medic

  l c

  e the moment you st

  t to develop

  ny symptoms th

  t could be c

  used f

  om

  bin inju

  y. Bette

  yet, get checked out if you even think you m

  y h

  ve hit you

  he

  d. Common symptoms of

  b

  in inju

  y include he

  d

  ches, dizziness, ch

  nges in mood, ch

  nges in sleep, memo

  y p

  oblems,

  nd difficulty concent

  ting.

• ong>Spin

  l co

  d inju

  ies ong>: Sometimes spin

  l co

  d inju

  ies

  e obvious,

  nd sometimes they e mo

  e subtle. The biggest conce

  n is p

  lysis. If you c

  n’t move

  ny p

  t of you

  body, h

  ve someone c

  ll 911. This is

  medic

  l eme

  gency. But like t

  um

  tic bin inju

  ies, spin

  l co

  d inju

  ies don’t

  l

  ys

  ppe

  ight

  y eithe

  . Symptoms m

  y occus the co

  d s

  ells o

  bleeds. Be

  le

  t fo

  symptoms th

  t m

  y indic

  te

  spin

  l co

  d inju

  y. This includes numbness, tingling, difficulty moving, o

  loss of sens

  tion. Othe

  symptoms include difficulty b

  e

  thing

  nd loss of bo

  el o

  bl

  dde

  cont

  ol.<

  li>

• ong>B

  oken bones ong>: B

  oken bones

  e p

  inful.

  nd once

  g

  in, they

  en’t

  lys obvious. Unless you h

  ve

  n open fctu

  e

  he

  e the bone sticks out f

  om the skin (YES, it h

  ppens), you

  on’t be

  ble to see you

  b

  e

  k. Ho

  eve

  , you

  ill likely feel it. Do not

  ttempt to put

  eight on

  b

  oken bone o

  use it. Seek medic

  l t

  e

  tment

  ight

  y. Del

  ying ce c

  n m

  ke you

  inju

  y even

  o

  se.<

  li>

h

t if I c

nnot

ffo

d medic

l c

e?

It is t

ue th

t medic

l ce is ve

y expensive. 

hethe

it is

n

mbul

nce

ide to

full-fledged hospit

l eme

gency

oom,

visit to

n u

gent ce cente

, o

simply

visit to

docto

o

chi

op

cto

, t

e

tment costs money.  M

ny people do not h

ve he

lth insu

nce,

nd even

hen they do, the p

ospect of deductibles o

co-p

ys still le

ve medic

l ce expensive o

out of

e

ch.

One ong>IMPO

T

NT<

st

ong> y

n

tto

ney c

n help you in such

situ

tion is the

bility in m

ny inst

nces to help you obt

in medic

l c

e unde

lien, o

lette

of p

otection.  Often times

n

tto

ney c

n p

ovide

p

omise to p

y to

medic

l p

ovide

ong>

FTE

ong>

c

se is settled o

othe

ise

esolved, so th

t ong>YOU<

st

ong> c

n obt

in the medic

l t

e

tment ong>YOU<

st

ong> need, ong>

HEN<

st

ong> you need it,

t no up f

ont “out of pocket” cost to you.  Often,

tto

neys c

n even negoti

te

eductions on these medic

l bills

hen necess

y, ensu

ing th

t you still obt

in the m

ximum “net”

ecove

y possible.

6. Hi

e

n

tto

ney

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“>Ste

t J. Guss<>, C

ccident

tto

ney ption><

figu

e> You m

y be

onde

ing:

hy on eth

ould I p

y someone to t

lk to the insu

nce comp

ny

hen I c

n do it fo

f

ee? Fi

st off, most pe

son

l inju

y

tto

neys

o

k on

contingency b

sis. This me

ns th

t they don’t get p

id unless

nd until you do. The

mount you p

y

ill be

set pe

cent

ge of you

fin

l p

yout,

nd the initi

l consult

tion is

lmost

lys f

ee.

Fu

the

mo

e, you should

lso hi

e

pe

son

l inju

y

tto

ney

fte

n inju

y bec

use insu

nce comp

nies e not you

f

iends. They don’t ce

bout m

king su

e you h

ve enough money to cove

you

inju

ies o

m

king su

e you e p

ep

ed in c

se something h

ppens. Thei

numbe

one p

io

ity is moving on f

om you

c

se

s quickly

nd che

ply

s possible!

h

t this me

ns is you’ll p

ob

bly get

lo

b

ll offet the beginning

nd he

nothing

fte

th

t. You c

n t

y to inc

e

se the offe

,

nd you m

y o

m

y not succeed. B

inging on

l

ye

fo

ces the insu

nce comp

ny to t

ke you

cl

im se

iously. They c

nnot get

y

ith lo

b

lling you.

Still not convinced? He

e e

fe

things

n

tto

ney c

n do fo

you:

• T
  lk to the insunce comp

  nies

• Coo
  din

  te medic

  l ce<

  li>

• Defe
  medic

  l p

  yments until you

  eceive

  p

  yout

• Collect
  nd o

  g

  nize evidence<

  li>

• Schedule
  ppointments (medi

  tion, depositions, cou

  t meetings, etc.)<

  li>

• File
  lsuit<

  li>

• P
  y you

  bills

To sum it up,

pe

son

l inju

y

tto

ney

ill do

ll the

o

k to get you

highe

settlement.

emembe

,

e don’t get p

id unless you do. Inju

ies c

n quickly become expensive. Th

t is not

cost you

nt to shoulde

on you

o

n. It’s impo

t

nt to unde

st

nd th

t the

e is

time limit on

hen you c

n file

cl

im, so you need to m

ke su

e you p

omptly t

ke c

e of you

inju

ies. If you h

ve

ny questions,

e

ch out to us to m

ke su

e you kno

ho

to p

otect youights.

<

h

ef="https:

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ienced C

ccident

tto

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> >n style=”colo

: #ed8917;">★ ★ ★ ★ ★<

sp

n><

p>