What to Do If You Are Injured in an Accident

CLEVELAND, OHIO. At some time many of us will have the unfortunate experience of being involved in a car accident. If and when that moment comes and you are injured, what you do in the first hours and days after the accident will have a profound impact on whether you obtain fair and reasonable compensation for repair of your vehicle and your injuries. This publication will provide some common sense advice to assure that you are not taken advantage of and to help you protect your rights when you have been injured because of a negligent, careless or drunk driver:

1. REPORT THE ACCIDENT TO THE POLICE. It is important that you document the accident through a police report. A police report will confirm the time, date, and location of the crash as well as the identity of the parties and the insurance companies involved. Since some cities do not make police reports available for several days try to get the identity of the other driver(s) before you leave the scene of the accident. If there are any witnesses get their names and telephone numbers. When talking to the police make sure you give an accurate description of the accident and if you're hurt make sure you tell the police. If possible take pictures of the cars and the accident scene on your cell phone.

2. GET MEDICAL TREATMENT IMMEDIATELY. If your injuries are serious allow the police, fire department or ambulance to transport you to the nearest hospital. If you do not require an ambulance you should seek medical treatment as soon as possible at the emergency room, local medical center or at your family doctor. When talking to the doctor and nurses provide an accurate description of how you were injured in the accident and explain all the injuries you sustained.

3. PRESERVE IMPORTANT EVIDENCE. If you have any visible injuries such as bruises, lacerations, stitches or any other visible evidence of injury photograph them. Also take pictures of your car, the other cars and if possible any other evidence you can photograph such as skid marks and location of debris on the roadway.

3. DO NOT SIGN ANY DOCUMENTS OR ALLOW ANYONE TO RECORD YOU. You have no obligation to provide a written or recorded statement to anyone immediately and you should not do so. You never have an obligation to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company. You may be required to give a recorded statement to your own insurance company but you should not do so without first consulting with an attorney specializing in personal injury litigation.

4. IF YOUR INJURIES PERSIST GET FOLLOW UP MEDICAL CARE. In the unfortunate event that your injuries last more than a few days seek follow up medical care with a doctor. When talking to your doctor or therapists it's important to provide accurate descriptions of your injuries as well as the severity and frequency of your symptoms.

5. CALL A GOOD PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. As soon as the other driver's insurance company is notified of a potential claim its adjusters, attorneys and investigators go to work trying to protect itself and limit your ability to obtain the compensation the law provides for you. Your attorney needs to take certain action immediately in order to preserve your rights. Over time, evidence disappears, memories fade, witnesses move and deadlines expire. An experienced personal injury lawyer will track down the witnesses, preserve all physical evidence and make sure you receive everything the law provides including compensation for property damage, wage loss, medical bills, pain, lost opportunities, rental car, towing, storage etc.

6. FINDING A GOOD PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER. Just like finding a good doctor, plumber or auto mechanic, word of mouth is still one of the best ways to find a good injury lawyer. Your local bar accociation and the internet are also effective. Since more and more of these cases are ending up in court make sure your lawyer has civil trial experience and has the means to fund the up front litigation expenses that will be necessary to properly handle your case. Also, be advised that these cases are usually handled on a 33-40% contingency. Generally you should not need to come up with any up-front money for your lawyer.

Accident Lawyer - Tips You Must Know If You've Been Injured

If you have been involved in an accident where you were injured, an accident lawyer can answer your questions and help you understand the compensation you may be deserving of. It seems like most people who are injured try to speculate and decide if they think they have a case and if they are deserving of compensation.

I have seen hundreds of people who contact an accident lawyer after a year or two following the accident because their injuries have adversely affected their increasing debt and loss of earnings.

The problem is that most do not realize that even if they have medical insurance, their medical bills and other debt can very quickly get to a point where they simply can not handle them. Than comes the real shocker when many times injuries lead to loss of income because the injured are unable to continue in the job they are accustom.

So if you have been injured what do you do?

The most important thing you should not do is talk to anyone about your accident or injury other than a lawyer. Realize that the person, business or property owner where you were injured is probably already setting up a defense.

Their insurance company has probably already been contacted and they may even try to contact you. They will sound innocent enough and very non-threatening but their intentions are anything but. They want nothing more than to get a statement from you that will be used at a later time to slow down or significantly reduce any compensation you are deserving of.

If they have contacted their accident lawyers they are already getting statements and setting up a defense. If the police or other official agency was involved where the accident was documented, a lawyer is able to obtain all the documentation and contact any witnesses to obtain the necessary statements.

More important is the fact that witnesses stories change over time as they simply do not remember the details of the accident. Again a lawyer is able to obtain all the necessary statements from any witnesses or anyone that may be indirectly involved with your accident and injury.

Another problem we see is that most people will look at their case and decide if they were at fault and from there not move forward in contacting an accident lawyer. That though is exactly why there are lawyers who specialize within specific types of law.

Lawyers know the law, codes and case law and find the specific details about your accident that many times will favor compensation for your injuries. Regardless of your injury there is an accident attorney who specializes within that specific law.

Here are just a few examples of accident lawyers who specialize in a specific type of law:

Car accident lawyer
Traffic accident lawyer
Pedestrian accident lawyer
Hit and Run Accident Lawyer
Boat Accident Lawyer
Construction Accident Lawyer
Personal Injury Lawyer
The above of course is just a few of the many types of accident lawyers who are specialist in their field. There have been many who never expected to receive compensation and yet have won settlements well in excess of $500,000.

The most important fact is not to delay. Compensation in many accidents that have caused injury are deserving of settlements. Don't allow what we have seen so often with loss of homes, increasing debt and family disputes. Most lawyers will offer you a free consultation with injury cases.

Most importantly contact an accident lawyer who specializes in the specific law your case requires. Those lawyers have a much higher winning percentage and larger settlement amounts for their clients.

Personal Injury Checklist - What to do if you are injured in an accident

Here is a brief list of what to do if you have had an accident anyway. It is not intended to give legal advice because every case is different and each case may give rise to a separate legal issues. Regardless, you should have a lawyer to move immediately to protect your interests.

Report the incident to the police if the impact was significant. Then get your lawyer to report to the police if necessary.
Receive immediate medical care if you are injured. Failure to obtainDecrease immediate medical treatment that your application following the injury.
Take pictures of damages that are not involved in a car / property - to be carried out before repairs or improvements. Not digital images, such as from a disposable camera, pictures are better than digital, because digital images in response to demands for change are sensitive.
Take pictures of your injuries immediately. Images can be easily and accurately describe the lesions.
Not oneStatement by a representative of insurance without consulting a lawyer. These statements may be against you in your attempt to be fully compensated for the injuries may be used.
To visit a list of all doctors, hospitals and care centers you.
Keep a log of all jobs will be lost because of your injuries and treatments. Lost wages are recoverable, and can contain a large amount of your recovery.
Keep a record of all other out-of-pocket expenses (rent, car, medical care, co-payments, etc.).
Keep a recordhow your life has been particularly affected as a result lost the injured, including the personal involvement and events.

I hope you find this list useful to obtain full compensation for injuries.