Reputable Injury Lawyers Provide Car Accident Tips to Parties Injured in South Florida Car Crashes
When tips for safety and the prevention of car accidents fail, it can be just as important to understand what will happen following the crash so that you can take steps to ensure everyone’s safety and protect your right to future compensation if you or a loved one have sustained injuries. Understanding some basic car accident tips for what to do and what to avoid after a car crash can go a long way in protecting your legal right to a compensation package that fully and fairly accounts for any injuries you sustained in the crash.
Post-Accident Tips for South Florida Car Crash Victims
Although it may be difficult to remain calm and collected after a car crash, staying calm and thinking logically about what steps to take next can be important to protecting your right to future compensation and making sure everyone is safe following the accidents. Apart from this, some post-car accident tips include:
- Seek medical help. If you are severely injured, it is likely that a witness or someone else involved in the crash will be the person calling for medical help. If you are not severely injured, it remains important to seek the advice of a physician to rule out any internal injuries.
- Help others who are injured. If you are able, check with others involved in the car accident for any apparent injuries and help any injured parties get medical attention as soon as possible.
- Call the police. Under Florida law, you must report a car crash resulting in over $500 in injuries or property damage. Aside from this, it is always advisable to report the accident so that the police can create a formal report of what happened, remembering that police are trained to make observations regarding the scene and potential cause of the crash that the average person might miss.
- Document the scene. Use your smartphone to take photos and videos of the vehicles involved in the accident, as well as the area surrounding the actual crash that may have influenced the accident or could prove useful at a later date—including photographing any debris on the road, any skid marks or damage to property both before and after the vehicles are moved, if possible.
- Look for cameras. In this day and age, video surveillance cameras seem to be everywhere—on telephone poles, in front of businesses and even attached to doorbells on private residences. Take a moment to survey the area and identify whether any video may have captured the accident.
- Exchange contact information. Obtain the contact information of both the driver and any witnesses to the accident who may have paused at the scene to help. It’s also important to get the driver’s insurance and vehicle information (you can take photos of the insurance card and license plate with your phone).
- Contact an experienced injury lawyer. While protecting your health by seeking immediate medical care is the most important post-accident tip we can give, if you sustained injuries in the crash, one of the most significant tips is to get the advice of our experienced car accident injury lawyers as soon as possible. We offer a free initial consultation, so you take no risk in getting our opinion.
Trusted Injury Lawyers Provide Tips to Protect Your Right to Compensation After a Fort Lauderdale Car Crash
While tips as to what to do after a car accident are vital, it can be equally important to understand what not to do after a car accident. Some important “negative” car accident tips include:
- Refrain from making a statement. Insurance adjusters can arrive quickly in some cases, and could even visit you while you’re still being treated for your injuries. Refrain from making any statements without first speaking to a lawyer, remembering that even seemingly innocent statements can be used against you at a later date.
- Don’t admit liability. It can be difficult to know what actually caused a car crash, so one important tip is to refrain from accepting responsibility before a full investigation has been completed.
- Avoid social media. Posts on social media can come back to haunt you if it eventually becomes necessary to pursue a claim for compensation for injuries sustained in a car crash.
- Don’t sign anything. As with verbal statements, signing any documents presented to you by the insurance company—even if it’s your own insurance company—without first talking to a lawyer can be damaging to your case down the road.
Call Experienced Fort Lauderdale Car Crash Lawyers Lawlor, White & Murphey for a Free Initial Case Evaluation Today
When you remain calm and follow basic car accident tips after a crash, you help protect your health and financial future following any injuries. At Lawlor, White & Murphey, our South Florida car accident lawyers are dedicated to helping you recover the monetary damages that you need to pay your medical expenses and even living expenses while you recover physically. Call us today to schedule a free initial consultation to see how we can help in your case.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tips for How to Proceed After a Florida Car Accident
FAQ: Why does one important car accident tip indicate that I refrain from making statements to even my own insurance company after an accident?
While you pay your insurance premiums to an insurance company that you believe is there to protect you after an accident, in reality, the insurance company is motivated to minimize the amount of compensation that they have to pay you after the crash. This means that even your own insurance agent may be looking for ways to minimize your injuries and the company’s own financial exposure.
FAQ: One post-car accident tip involves looking for surveillance cameras. How can I even get that footage to show what happened?
Our lawyers can make the request for copies of the footage or we can even subpoena the surveillance footage in some cases. For example, if the other vehicle had a “dashcam” installed, that driver may be reluctant to release the video footage, potentially rendering legal action necessary to obtain that data.
The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.