The Top 10 Things to Do After an Auto Accident

1. Whenever you are involved in an auto accident. DO NOT get out of the vehicle if it is a busy street! Call 911 for help. If you don't have a cell phone, someone driving by will normally call for help. The reason why, you could get ran over by another vehicle! Wait until the rescue workers arrive at the scene. If you are not severely injured, the rescue team will have the traffic blocked, by then, you can get out and talk to the police officers and paramedics.

(If you are not injured, be sure to get the other drivers full name, phone number and the name of their insurance company, policy number and the insurance companies claim phone number (if available).

Also, try to get a name and phone number of anyone(s) that witnessed the accident. Normally, police officers don't do this, unless it's a severe accident with major injuries or fatalities and that also really just depends on how much time they have. Police officers will fill out an accident report, but if it's a minor accident, a lot of the important details could be missing if you have to go to court years later regarding this accident).

(Part 1 continued:) If you have a camera phone or any camera available, take any photos you may think that would be relevant to this claim, especially your vehicles and possible injuries. Ironically, if your vehicle is drivable, you could get hit the very "next day" and the insurance adjuster will try to dispute your property damage. Take photos of your vehicle as soon as possible.

The body shop, insurance appraiser and insurance inspectors will take photos, especially if you have filed a personal injury claim. DO NOT TELL THE INSURANCE COMPANY that you have these photos in your possession. This is what attorneys call "keeping an ace in the hole" If you hire a law firm to handle your claim, they will explain the reason why?

2. Personally, I would go ahead and call the other drivers insurance company to find out if they have a "valid" insurance policy, even if your at the emergency room. The reason why, is because there are so many drivers without valid insurance. You can always file a claim with your insurance company for an un-insured motorist accident, if this is included in your insurance policy, unfortunately, you will have to pay the deductible. "Hit and Run" accidents are treated in the same manor. If the other driver does not have valid insurance, you should report this to the police department and your insurance company immediately!

3. Go ahead and file your claim with the other drivers insurance company, be sure that you give them the exact phone number where you can be reached night or day. These adjusters will normally only call you once and it's literally impossible to call them back without getting their voice mail! DO NOT VOLUNTEER a lot of unnecessary information when filing your claim, I don't know this for sure, but the CSR claims taker could possibly be recording your conversation for the claims adjuster to analyze whenever they do finally call you. These adjusters get paid good money to keep their cost of expenses down. Unfortunately, because there are so many false or fraudulent claims, adjusters are forced into this situation.

4. Write down immediately what happened on a notepad the events that took place regarding this accident or place it on a computer file. Be sure to write down every detail you can possibly think of such as: Was it raining? What time of day was it? Was there a lot of traffic? How were you struck? Was the other driver helpful? Did you have any witnesses? Was your vehicle drivable? Did you go to the emergency room? What happened in the emergency room? Also, if you have to hire an attorney, the first thing they will ask for, is to see your notes.

5. What documents do you need to keep after this accident? All medical bills, rental car receipts, gas card purchases, time of expenses driving back and forth to the doctors office, loss of wages check stubs, photograph receipts. Also, get a copy of the value of your vehicle, such as the N.A.D.A book that banks often use or the www.nadaguides.com in the consumer section. Majority of the time, the adjuster will only offer you the wholesale value or the lowest price if your vehicle has been declared totaled. This is what claim adjusters call "Fair Market Value" versus expense of repairs.

6. Whenever the insurance adjuster does finally call you, they will most likely also offer you the lowest price for repairs to your vehicle. This is standard procedure. "Do Not scream at these people!" This will only make matters worse and they might not call you back for a month! You can always decline their offer and wait a couple of weeks, to see if they may up the offer especially if your vehicle has been totaled!

Also, if you have personal injuries, they may assign a different claims adjuster that specializes in personal injury claims. This usually happens in the bigger insurance companies like State Farm and Allstate from what our attorneys have told us. Be sure to also get the adjusters fax number, and you can fax them your decision. DO NOT send them unnecessary statements, they can and will use this against you in court! We found this out the hard way with State Farm Insurance!

7. If you have a personal injury, you can always use this as leverage to get a rental car, especially if your vehicle has been totaled, by telling them you need a vehicle to drive back and forth to the doctors office. If your vehicle needs to be repaired, I would recommend getting an estimate from someone that is NOT affiliated with the insurance company. Some of these insurance appraisers will try to cut their losses on repairs and you may have to end up paying the balance. Some insurance companies will issue you a check and some will make out the check to the body shop once your vehicle has been repaired.

8. If you settle your property damage claim without using an attorney, be sure that the contract does not have any words like "injury" or injuries sustained" anywhere in their contract, especially if you filed a personal injury claim. You will have to give them the title and of course the vehicle, before they can give you the check, if your vehicle has been declared a total loss. The larger companies will just give you a check without a contract, that's what State Farm did with us. Over all, most attorneys do not handle property damage claims.

9. If you have the time, you can always get a copy of the accident report at the courthouse in the same city normally within 3 days. Some of these insurance companies will take up to three weeks to get this report and until then, they will normally offer you absolutely nothing! Simply because they want to find out who's fault it was! If you hire an immediate attorney, this is also very good to have on your initial visit.

10. The best way I have found to hire an attorney, is to check with friends and family members. My advice, if you have sustained personal injuries that will be permanent, I would use an expert trial attorney. You can always interview different attorneys. Be sure to choose an attorney that you feel comfortable with. These people can sometimes stay with you for years and years!

I would also recommend viewing this attorney in court to see what kind of tactics they are using against these insurance attorneys. In most states, you have a minimum of 1-2 years before you have to file a lawsuit to recover your losses and expenses. Insurance companies like State Farm and Allstate are notoriously acclaimed about waiting until the last week to settle your personal injury claim. Remember also, lawsuits are filed against the other driver and not the insurance company! Go to your local library and research personal injury books.

Thanks for reading,

Phillip Chambley.