Eight Important Steps That Will Help You After a Car Accident
No one expects to be in a vehicle accident. They happen without warning at what might be the worst time possible for you and your family. If one happens to you, you must make the best of a bad situation, limit the harm you suffer, and protect your legal rights.
Attorney Domingo Castillo worked as an insurance claims adjuster and senior claims examiner, so he knows how insurance works and how insurance companies operate. If you or a loved one is injured in a car accident, speak to a knowledgeable car accident attorney today.
Here are eight suggestions to help you recover from a vehicle accident.
- Be sure you and your loved ones are safe. If necessary, drive your car away from oncoming traffic if you can do so safely.
The health and safety of you and your passengers is paramount. It’s bad enough you were in an accident. Ensure you’re safe from traffic to prevent another vehicle from crashing into you again.
- Call 911 to call the police and a paramedic to treat you or take you to the hospital if you are injured.
Get medical attention as soon as possible. After a car accident, you will be so keyed up and stressed out you may not feel or notice the injuries you suffered. The faster you’re examined, the quicker you may get treatment, reducing the chances of worsening your injuries.
This also helps with your insurance claim because the longer you wait to see a healthcare professional, the greater the chance an insurance company will deny your claim because they’ll accuse you of seeking money for an injury that wasn’t crash-related.
- Go to the emergency room or hospital and request emergency medical attention immediately after the accident to report all injuries. We will negotiate and have the insurance adjuster pay that portion after we negotiate it down to a smaller amount.
You may not have health insurance, or if you do, it may not be very good. Don’t let that stop you from getting medical attention immediately. Your health is the most important thing. We’ll deal with the medical bills later.
- Use your smartphone to record and video the entire area, the accident scene, the cars involved, license plates, your injuries, and the other person’s ID and insurance information.
Car injury claims and lawsuits are built on facts. Your smartphone camera can provide critical information that can substantiate your side of the story while rebutting an insurance company’s attempts to blame you for the accident. Accident scene photos and videos may be critical to your case.
- Do not make any statement to the other party or argue with them. Pictures are better to prove you’re fault-free.
Remain calm and avoid the blame game. Don’t accuse the other driver of wrongdoing or admit to making mistakes before the accident. Check to see if those in the other vehicle need help, and call 911 if no one else has. If the other driver starts yelling at you, don’t yell back at them. De-escalate the situation until the police arrive.
- Do not give an insurance adjuster a verbal or recorded statement before speaking to us. As past insurance adjusters, we know they will only ask questions that benefit the insurance company, not you.
If they talk to you, ensure they have your contact information, and tell them you’ll speak with a car accident attorney before calling them back. Be professional and don’t complain about the other driver, discuss your injuries, or discuss the accident.
- Have full insurance coverage, including coverage for uninsured motorists and underinsured motorists (UM & UIM). It will protect you if the other party doesn’t have insurance or their policy won’t cover all your losses.
Car accidents can cause severe injuries that are extremely expensive to treat and recover from. You may also lose income because you can’t work. If the other driver has no or minimal coverage, or you’re the victim of a hit-and-run, you can use your policy to get the financial help and compensation you need.
- Call our office if you’ve been in an automobile accident. We will help you get transportation, medical attention, fair and adequate compensation for your pain and suffering, loss of earnings, and much more.
Castillo & Associates has more than 35 years of strong and positive results of over $700 million in settlements for our personal injury, car accident, and workers’ compensation clients. This includes disability payments, rehabilitation costs, and medical benefits. We’ve helped thousands of people in your situation. We can help you, too.
After an Inland Empire Vehicle Accident, Protect Your Rights by Speaking to a Skilled Car Accident Attorney
Castillo & Associates Inland Empire car accident lawyers are highly skilled in California’s most complex vehicle accident cases. We have more than three decades of legal experience and are equipped with the resources and knowledge necessary to take the most challenging accident cases. For a free, no-obligation consultation, speak to an experienced lawyer at Castillo & Associates by calling us at 800-497-9774 today.
Attorney Domingo Castillo handles workers’ compensation, personal injury, family law & immigration throughout Southern California from our 5 offices: Indio, Pomona, Riverside, San Diego & Cathedral City. We help clients file injury claims, obtain residency & citizenship, and we assist families through divorce, child custody and all family law matters.
