A car accident can have serious repercussions, and hasty actions and decisions jeopardize your health, finances, and right to seek fair compensation. Today, we explore the most common mistakes injured drivers make after an accident and what you can do to avoid similar pitfalls.
Why Your Actions After an Accident Matter
What you do after a car accident can have a lasting impact on your health, finances, and potential compensation. Insurance companies, attorneys, law enforcement, and courts will scrutinize your actions to help them determine the responsible party and award damages. There are specific actions you must take after an accident to avoid denied claims, reduced settlements, and liability disputes.
Top Five Mistakes Injured Drivers Make
After an accident, your primary goal is to remain calm and composed. Becoming frantic will only increase the risk of saying something you shouldn’t or forgetting an important detail. Let’s discuss the top five mistakes to avoid after being involved in a vehicle collision.
1.Failing to Report the Accident
One of the most frequent mistakes is not calling the police after an accident. Some drivers think it’s unnecessary if there isn’t severe property damage. It’s advisable to contact the police independently, even if the other driver insists on handling the accident privately or contacting the police themselves.
An official police report provides an unbiased account of the accident scene, the drivers, and the officers’ observations. When filing an insurance or personal injury claim, the first documentation you will be asked for is the police report. Without it, claims often become a matter of your word against the other driver’s, and details can be disputed or misrepresented.
Always contact law enforcement, even if your accident seems minor. Unless your injuries require emergency care, stay at the scene until the police arrive. In California, you are legally required to report an accident if it involves injury, death, or property damage over $1,000. No matter how insignificant your injuries appear, you may be fined for not reporting the accident to the DMV within 10 days.
2. Not Seeking Medical Attention
Many accident victims assume their injuries are insignificant or that they are unharmed. A combination of stress, adrenaline, and shock can mask pain, so some injuries only become apparent hours or days after the accident. Delaying or skipping a medical assessment can affect your future in two ways.
First, untreated injuries such as whiplash, concussions, internal trauma, and brain damage can become worse over time, eventually leading to potentially life-threatening emergencies. Second, insurance companies may argue that your injuries aren’t as serious as you claim or that your injuries aren’t related to the accident.
It is imperative to consult a medical professional after an accident to make sure you have no underlying injuries. To avoid undermining your case, complete all diagnostic testing, follow-up appointments, and treatment plans to demonstrate that you are serious about your recovery. Seeing a doctor also creates a record of your physical and mental state after the accident.
3. Forgetting to Preserve Documentation
In the chaos after an accident, it’s easy to overlook the importance of thorough record-keeping. You must gather information immediately by taking photos and videos of the accident scene. Capture the road conditions, skid marks, vehicle damage, and visible injuries. While police will do the same, it’s vital to collect the names and contact information of witnesses for your records.
Write down or record everything you remember about the accident as soon as possible. Your memories will fade, and the police report only covers what officers could see after the accident. Record how the accident occurred from your perspective, what happened beforehand, and anything notable about the other driver’s behavior. If you saw them holding their phone or drinking alcohol, write it down for proper investigation.
The weeks and months following a vehicle collision are often filled with countless conversations, documents, bills, and repair quotations. It is crucial to preserve all this information so that it is easily accessible for claims you may file. We recommend storing all physical evidence related to the accident in a secure location, such as a filing cabinet. For added security, take photos of all paperwork and upload them to a cloud-based server, such as Google Drive or Dropbox.
4. Apologizing for the Accident
It’s human nature to want to soothe other people in a stressful situation, even if you’re not at fault. However, saying “I’m sorry” to the other driver or passengers in your car can be misinterpreted as an admission of guilt. Do not discuss fault with anyone while you are still at the accident scene. Take a quick photo of their driver’s license, write down their insurance policy number, and add their name and number to your contacts.
5. Accepting a Quick Settlement
After an accident, insurance companies tend to offer quick settlements, often before you even know the full extent of your injuries. Insurers are even more likely to offer settlements immediately if they know that their client is the at-fault party. Accepting an early offer without consulting a legal professional can result in thousands of dollars in medical bills, lost wages, and property damage.
Quick settlements are an intentional tactic to limit the insurer’s financial liability. But the compensation is usually less than you deserve. Once you sign a settlement agreement, you will not be allowed to file another claim for anything relating to the accident, no matter how expensive your medical care becomes. Consult an attorney first, who can evaluate your case and negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf.
Protect Yourself by Avoiding Common Mistakes
While the aftermath of a car accident is overwhelming, your actions still matter. Failing to report the accident, skipping medical care, neglecting evidence preservation, apologizing at the scene, and accepting a quick settlement are just a few of the common mistakes that injured drivers often make. If you’ve been in an accident, contact HHJ Trial Attorneys for expert guidance and professional legal representation.
