Tips for your vehicle following an auto accident

Automotive crashes can be incredibly stressful and traumatic, but it is vital to get the compensation you deserve if you’re not to blame for the accident.

Traffic accidents on roadways occur every day and occur based a variety of reasons, including ignoring road signs, careless and/or reckless driving, driving too fast, following too closely and the all-too-common using a mobile phone while driving.

Compensation from an automotive accident will assist in covering the costs of repairing your vehicle and help reduce the chances of an accident from happening again.

For example: Your auto accident was caused by someone who was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. In most legal processes, that person would — on a case-by-case basis — face fines, jail time and potentially put in DUI classes as a part of their guilty plea. It is important to receive justice for what happened to you and be compensated properly.

To properly secure compensation, you need to be able to validly claim that someone else is guilty for causing the accident, whether it was for any of the previously mentioned factors or other factors which caused the accident.

There are several steps to take in making a claim for an auto accident:

1. Take pictures of the accident scene.
2. Take pictures of vehicle damage.
3. Take pictures of any bodily injuries. If injuries are severe, call 911.
4. Exchange contact and insurance information. This may be harder to do in the case of hit-and-run accidents.
5. Exchange contact information from any witnesses present.
6. Keep an account of everything that occurred in the accident, from factors prior to leading up to the accident. It may be helpful to keep track of anything that occurs after the accident, if possible.
7. Keep an expense record of all expenses incurred as a result of the accident, including medical costs.

An important thing that should be done is to hire a top-quality “no win, no fee” personal injury lawyer. With a lawyer representing you, there will be a significant degree of monetary protection as you will not have to pay any legal fees if the case is defeated.

This allows for some benefits, such as not having to make a large retainer payment up-front to begin the claims process. This allows for better client service as the lawyer’s pay is based on performance in the case as they’re not wasting their time on cases that have little to no chances of winning.

The following statement is incredibly important, as there is an epidemic of insurance fraud: you are not eligible to file a claim on an automotive accident if you caused the crash.