After getting into an accident, it’s crucial to immediately take the necessary steps to secure both your health and your legal rights. Beyond seeking medical attention, the next most important thing to do is to document your injuries as well as any property damage; this will significantly affect your ability to seek compensation. Here’s a look at 8 essential things to document before leaving the scene of an automobile crash.
Why Documenting Your Injuries Matters
Proper documentation is key to building a strong personal injury case. Without it, it’s hard to prove how injured you were or establish the accident as the cause. Here are 3 reasons why documenting your injuries matters:
- It proves your injuries: Insurance companies notoriously argue that injuries are exaggerated, but it’s impossible to deny the hard data in your medical records, photographs, and written evaluations from health providers.
- It establishes causation: Compensation requires proving that your injuries came from the accident rather than a pre-existing condition, which documentation helps with.
- It strengthens your claim: Together, all your documentation provides indisputable evidence of the impact of the accident on your health.
What to Document
1. Evidence from First Responders
If you need medical attention, call an ambulance right away. This will also establish a medical record for evidence in your case, and first responders can also be witnesses to injuries sustained at the accident.
If you don’t need immediate medical attention, call the police instead. Take note of their badge numbers to establish which specific officers responded to the scene. The police report can also serve as evidence of the accident and those who were involved.
2. Driver’s Name and Contact Info
The driver’s contact information reveals who was driving the other car and how to get in touch with them. You will also need to share this information with the other driver.
3. Insurance Information
The other driver’s insurance has information on contacting the insurer, which may be necessary to coordinate repairs. To that end, you will again need to exchange your respective information with each other.
4. Vehicle Description and License Plate
Taking photos of the other car’s make and model, as well as the license plate number, establishes which specific vehicle was at the scene of the accident.
5. The Accident Itself
Specifically, you’ll want to take photos of the final positions of the vehicles after the accident. This reveals a surprising amount of information about the impact, including the speed the cars were going and what angle they collided.
6. Damages
While you’re photographing the vehicles, take special focus on the damage to both cars to add supporting evidence.
7. Road Conditions
Road conditions can also play a role in uncovering the true cause of an accident. Be on the lookout for any oil slicks, potholes, or obstructed or missing signage that might have played a role in causing the accident.
8. Skid Marks
The presence of skid marks reveals whether or not a driver tried to brake. If there were no signs of braking, the driver might have been distracted.
Having a wreck can be scary and overwhelming, but it’s important to document these 8 things before leaving the scene.