How to Handle a Car Accident Injury
You must take certain steps after being injured in an Austin car accident. Some of them are to address your legal responsibility and others are to help you build a solid personal injury case from the start.
Reporting A Car Accident Injury
The Texas Department of Transportation recommends that you identify and tend to any injuries immediately after a car accident. If you have been injured in an automobile accident and you are conscious, either call or make sure that someone else calls an ambulance.
Whenever possible, exchange the following information with the other drivers:
- Names
- Addresses
- Phone Numbers
- Driver license details
- Insurance details
- License plate numbers
- Vehicle identification numbers
You must report every car accident injury and fatality to the police. They will want to take your statement at the scene, if this is possible. If your injury is not severe, stay until the police excuse you.
See a doctor about your car accident injury
It is important to get medical treatment as soon as possible after a car accident. If you wait, the insurance company can argue that the accident did not cause your injury.
Also, follow all the directions that your doctor gives you. Getting the recommended tests, medication, and rehabilitation shows that you did everything possible to limit the effect of the injury on your life.
Keep records of your car accident injury
Documents go a long way to strengthen your accident claim. Keep records of the following (with dates):
- Accident and police reports
- Correspondence with insurance companies
- Doctors’ reports, including diagnosis and prognosis
- Information about anticipated future medical costs
- Information about work missed
- Insurance coverage
- Medical bills
Simply taking a few daily notes about your car accident injury and its effect on your life can make the claim process faster and easier.
Call an attorney about your injury
Many personal injury attorneys offer free consultations where clients can receive an honest, straightforward assessment of their cases. When you arrange for a consultation, you are getting a professional opinion about your chances for compensation without taking any financial risks.
Information provided by Austin car accident attorney Steven A. Gibbins at:
Law Offices of Steve Gibbins
1411 West Avenue #200
Austin, TX 78701-1537
(512) 474-2441
Copyright © 2011 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.