If you are in a car accident, especially if your kids are in the car with you, it is important for you to keep your cool. We do our best to plan safe trips and keep everyone safe, but accidents can still happen. Keeping calm and knowing what to do will help you to feel less anxious in a nerve-wracking situation, and it will also help your kids to stay calm too. Here are a few things you should do if you are ever in a car accident.
Check on Everyone
The first thing that should happen is everyone in both cars should be assessed for any injuries. Any major injuries should be treated immediately by calling for an ambulance. If everyone seems fine, then you can proceed, but make sure everyone involved gets a check-up to make sure there are no underlying issues that go unnoticed.
Initial Reactions
Once you know everyone is safe, you need to start thinking about the next steps. That means protecting the scene of the accident by putting up cones or flares or initializing the hazard lights on your vehicles, so no other cars get involved in the accident. As long as it is not interfering with the flow of traffic, you should keep all vehicles where they are to preserve the integrity of the scene. You should also call the police to come and document the accident. Even if it seems minor, this may be necessary in order to file a claim with your insurance company.
Make a Record
The police officer will ask a lot of questions, so you will have to answer them to the best of your ability in order to make an accurate record of the accident. You shouldn’t guess about what happened or speculate about anything. Tell him or her what you know and say you aren’t sure if you don’t know. Even if you think no one is injured, you should say you don’t know if you are asked. Sometimes injuries can show up hours after the accident once the adrenaline has worn off, so you don’t want to seem contradictory.
Take Pictures
Your insurance company will need to see pictures of the accident. You should take as many as possible from many different angles. Be sure to get any damage caused to the vehicles in the pictures in great detail. You should also try to get a broad view of the scene of the accident. You should also photograph injuries if any are apparent.
Insurance
You should file a claim with your insurance as soon as you can, following the accident. This will help you be able to get through the process much faster and back to your normal life as soon as possible.
Legal Help
If you get into a situation where you were injured in the car accident, but insurance is unwilling to pay, you may need to consider getting a personal injury lawyer. A lawyer will help you be able to get the settlement you need to pay for medical expenses, loss of work, or other problems that arise from your injuries.
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