Are you injured?
If you are bleeding and have access to a lavatory wash the wound or punctured area gently with soap and water. If accessible apply pressure with a clean towel to the injured or punctured area to stop any bleeding. Apply a sterile bandage to the wound.
If bleeding doesn't stop after ten or fifteen minutes of pressure you may have a cut artery, fractured or broken bone, nerve damage, or another serious injury. Call your doctor and get immediate medical attention.
If you bumped your head, as a result of an auto collision, see a doctor. Try not to move around more than you have to until an ambulance arrives.
Call or see your physician if you have any other health concerns. Until then, try and remember these ...
"Post Accident Rules of the Road"
- Seek medical attention immediately after your accident for any injuries
- Never admit fault immediately after an accident
- Follow through with all medical treatments!
- Never answer any questions from the other driver's insurance company agent, representative, or attorney or sign any forms or documents without getting legal counsel from your attorney
- Never settle your case until all necessary medical expenses, present and future, are known
- Keep copies of everything most notably documents, bills, and medical records.
ACCIDENT LOG
Keep record of the following to organize information that you will eventually use to discuss your claim with an insurance company representative or review your case with a personal injury attorney.
- Duration, scope, and degree of your injury pain and suffering; emotional distress, fatigue, tenderness, inconvenience, and so on. Your accident log can include your thoughts, experiences, and interactions on a day-to-day basis. This documentation can help show how your accident injuries have interfered with your family life, social life, and workplace
- Exchange information with all other drivers involved or who witnessed the accident, basic information such as name, license number, vehicle ID number, insurance company name and policy number
- Take photographs of your injuries and the damage to all vehicles at the scene of the accident. Continue to take pictures of your injuries at different times after the accident. If your camera does not do so automatically add (on the back of the photo) the date to the photo
- If police responded to your accident scene get a copy of the police report
- Record of all pedestrian names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses that witnessed the accident
- Log all office medical visits, and include prescriptions written, over-the-counter medicines purchased, laboratory services rendered, physical therapy visits, hospital visits, treatments, medical documents, and x-rays. Include the names doctors and technicians you see, dates you were treated, amount you were charged and reasons for the medical treatment
- Log all time taken off from work because of the accident including time off for medical and physical therapy treatments. If you are unable to function properly at work due to your injuries you should document this on a day-to-day basis and.get a note (on business letterhead) from your employer verifying that you lost pay and because lost time at work
- Log all lost school time lost due to the accident that may include you inability to continue your school work since the accident
- Revisit you witnesses by contacting them for written statements, if you did not get them at the accident scene, before too much time elapses.
- Get your car, truck, or motorcycle fixed. The estimates provided by your insurance company's recommended "repair shop" can often be lower than the best automobile repair craftsman required or available to fully restore or fix your vehicle. In California you have a legal right to take the automobile to a certified mechanic for another estimate. Whichever vehicle repair specialist you decide upon be sure to save all of the invoices, paperwork, and receipts for any work done.
- Keep tabs on all receipts and invoices of everything you have paid for out-of-pocket expense for pertaining to the injuries you suffered due to the accident. This may include parental or child care expenses, a canceled vacation you had planned, soiled clothing due to the accident or its aftermath, ambulance service, car rental, and so on.
This web site is compliments of the Law Offices of Jack Bloxham. Disclaimer: The information on this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.
We invite you to contact us, welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Do not send any information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established.
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