If this is your first experience with accidents and injuries, it can be a terrifying time. The process of making your injury claim is not as daunting as you think. By getting the right legal advice at the right time, you are already on your way.
This article will help you understand how to make an injury claim after a car accident. You’ll find out what not to do as well as how to make sure everything goes smoothly from start to finish.
What to Do if You’ve Been Injured in a Car Accident?
If you’ve faced injuries in a car accident, you need to take the following steps.
Make Sure You’re Okay
Check yourself and any other person involved in the accident for apparent injuries such as cuts or broken bones. In some cases, people can become so focused on making sure others are alright that they lose track of their injuries. By checking yourself first, you can be sure to get the proper medical treatment if necessary.
Get Witness’s Details
This includes asking the other person involved in the accident for their insurance information and vehicle registration number.
If you’re not comfortable asking them yourself, a witness will hopefully be able to do it for you. At the same time, you stay with your vehicle or help any injured parties until paramedics arrive.
Exchange Insurance Details in Person
Exchange insurance information with the people involved in the car accident, so no one feels taken advantage of or gets charged with a driving offence. Do this in person as soon as possible to make sure everything goes smoothly, and you can get on with your day.
This is also the right time to let the insurance companies know what happened, so they don’t think you’re trying to hide anything from them. In some cases, the other party involved in the accident may try to report their vehicle stolen or switch out their number plates if they have been drinking and plan on leaving without facing the consequences of an accident.
This is where having witnesses, getting contact information and exchanging insurance details will come in handy because it will show you acted responsibly.
Seek Medical Attention Immediately
If you’ve sustained any injuries at all after being involved in a car accident, seek medical attention immediately. You don’t want to risk your injuries getting any worse or developing into something more severe if you’ve only just sustained them.
Keep Track of Your Medical Expenses
Your next step is to keep track of all the medical expenses you’ll be incurring due to your car accident. Make sure to get copies of medical reports and invoices so you can send them over to the insurance company with your injury claim.
They will reimburse you for these expenses, so it’s essential they know exactly how much money they are dealing with on your part. This step will speed up the process because otherwise, they may try making deductions from whatever settlement offer they make based on what they think should have been spent instead of what was needed.
Hire a Lawyer
Do not try settling this on your own or waiting too long to get legal advice – significantly if you have been injured.
It’s very tempting to try saving some money by avoiding lawyers, but when dealing with an injury claim, especially when injuries are serious, doing things yourself will not get the best outcome for you. This is because insurance companies know that they can offer less in certain circumstances where they don’t feel a case will stand up in court.
Be smart and contact a lawyer as soon as you can to learn how to make an injury claim after a car accident. This will give you the best chance of getting the settlement amount that covers all your expenses and makes up for all the inconvenience you had to go through.