Following the correct steps after an accident helps you when you file your insurance and helps you stay compliant with state traffic laws. In California, you must report your car accident within ten days regardless of who was at fault if:

• There was over $1,000 of vehicle damage

• There were any injuries

Request a police report

After the accident has been reported, the 911 dispatcher will send out a highway patrol or other law enforcement officer who will write and file a report after speaking to all of the drivers involved in the accident as well as any passengers and witnesses. Sometimes. on the police report, the officer writes who they believe was at fault for the accident. However, don’t assume that you should not have any hope in your case just because they wrote their professional opinion on the report. You should still speak to an attorney about your accident.

Your attorney will need a copy of that police report. If you did not receive one at the scene of the accident, then you will need to contact the records department for the law enforcement agency that responded to your accident.

What To Say After An Accident

What you say and what you don’t say after an accident are both vital to your case. It is important to maintain decorum on the side of the road and to only exchange legally required information with the other driver involved. It’s best not to discuss the accident or how you think it happened. The police are going to get a statement from all of you as well as from any witnesses. When the police ask you to recall what happened, only give them exactly what you remember happening. Do not provide any of your personal beliefs as to how you think the accident happened.

Most importantly, you should not accept blame or cast blame on the side of the road. This could hurt your personal injury case before it even gets heard in court. You actually want your case to be investigated thoroughly by your attorney and the experts that they bring on. You do not want to treat the side of the road as a courtroom. Instead, call an experienced attorney to represent you.

Seek Medical Treatment

Even if you don’t initially think that you were injured in the car accident, it is still wise to get checked out by a doctor following your crash. Sometimes adrenaline can mask the symptoms of serious injuries. Some injuries do not show for several hours. Internal bleeding, for example, is often reported several hours later when the bleeding is sufficient enough to cause the victim pain. But at the time of the accident, they may have felt fine. Always accept medical treatment when offered after an accident.

Speak To An Attorney About Your Rights

Personal injury attorneys know that usually, the insurance company will try to encourage the victim to accept a lower settlement. They may also argue that you share some fault for the accident, which is one common tactic they use for justifying lower compensation. Personalinjuryattorney-fresno.com reminds victims that there is a statute of limitations on how long they have after their accident to file their claim before it’s legally too late.