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

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

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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

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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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yvictims.comp-content

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y-

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.

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sp

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How to Claim for Whiplash After a Car Accident 10 Jan

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