An automobile accident is one of the most devastating experiences that one can ever have. The victims are often shaken, shocked and in disbelief that such a thing has occurred. However, the accident victim must try to take care of himself or herself by contacting the appropriate members. The following is a list of people that an accident victim should contact. It provides some tips to be mindful of during that contact, as well.
The police are the first persons that an accident victim should contact after he or she assesses the accident site. The accident victim should first make sure that all passengers are safe and neither vehicle is in danger of combustion or explosion. The accident victim should also take pictures or videos of the site that he or she can use when the time comes to speak to an attorney.
The police can provide documentation in the form of a police report. The police report gives detail of what happened to cause the accident. It also describes briefly the damages that occurred. Insurance companies often ask accident victims to provide them with copies of the police report to aid their investigation.
An accident victim should call the insurance company as quickly as possible to get the claim started. The person should collect all relevant information before attempting to contact the insurance company. The individual will need to collect driver’s license information, license plate information, and other information that the insurance agent may need to collect for its investigation.
The next step in the process should be calling the attorney. The person can contact the attorney whether the police have charged him or her with a violation or not. The driver can contact one of two types of attorneys: personal injury or criminal law. The personal injury attorney is the person who fights for compensation when a client is a victim of neglect. A criminal law attorney helps the person who causes an accident.
The person should always be honest with the lawyer, but he or she should be careful with the speech in front of police officers. In fact, the accused driver should always remain silent until the lawyer comes to the rescue.
The step that involves calling the ambulance depends on the devastation that that accident causes. The ambulance should be the first contact if anyone has obvious signs of a need for a hospital visit such as bleeding, broken bones, burns and the like. A mild accident will not require an ambulance, but the victim should still visit a medical professional as quickly as possible.
An accident victim will have to call his or her boss eventually, especially if the injuries are going to cause that person to lose time from work. The individual should contact the boss as soon as things calm down. Alternatively, the victim could ask the attorney or a police officer to make the call.
Deciding on the appropriate time to call friends and family members depends on the victim’s personal situation. The accident victim can contact friends and family members at any time to notify them of their plight. There is no set time to this part of the process. The victim can contact such people whenever that person feels the need to notify them of the occurrences.
Accident victims should always be sure to contact an attorney whether they feel as if they are responsible for the accident or not. A personal injury attorney can assist a person even if that person is partially responsible for an accident.
Steve Roberts founded the Law Office of Steve Roberts, LLC. By sticking to his principles of protecting the rights of people injured due to another, provide honest hard work, maximizing client recovery, and that clients always come first, he has developed a strong relationsip with the Colorado Community. If you have been injured, check out Colorado Roberts Law to speak to an attorney today.
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