What To Do And What Not To Do After A Car Accident

The number of traffic fatalities in Georgia has been growing since 2015, with a total of nearly 1,600 traffic deaths in 2016. Immediately after experiencing a car accident, you may be shaken up, suffer injuries, and feel frazzled.

However, it is important to stay as calm as possible and not let your emotional state affect your ability to recover damages for your injuries. Here are some key tips on what to do and what not to do after a car accident.

What To Do After A Car Accident

The first thing you’ll want to do after being involved in a collision is to call the police . Sometimes the other party involved in the accident may try to convince you to settle on your own rather than get law enforcement involved. However, Georgia actually requires all residents involved in a car accident to call the police if there is over $500 worth of property damage.

Furthermore, you will want police officers to help you investigate the case and take down all relevant notes, especially if you are feeling shaken up and not thinking as clearly as you normally do.

You’ll also want to call for medical help right away if you or anyone around you is injured. Even if you do not feel any pain on your body, make sure you comply with the medical professionals’ orders and advice for getting a comprehensive check up to confirm that you’re healthy.

If the medical professionals recommend a trip to the hospital, comply with their requests and go to the hospital. Ultimately if you do discover that you were injured in the car accident, you will want to have all these records on file as proof that you were really injured in the accident.

Finally, make sure to document the scene of the accident well. Use your phone to take clear and detailed photographs and video footage of the interior and exterior of both vehicles, any physical injuries, and surrounding road conditions. Try to do this as soon as possible after calling the police and ambulance, in case the vehicles are moved or conditions change between the time of the accident and the time the police officers arrive at the scene of the accident.

What Not To Do After A Car Accident

Don’t panic! You’ll need to have a clear and calm mind to navigate through the next steps of clearing up an accident.

The most important thing you do not want to do after a car accident is you do not want to give any statements to the other party or to anyone else other than the police officers at the scene. Do not admit guilt to anyone. It is understandable that you might feel bad for what happened after a car accident, especially if it resulted in serious injuries, but the last thing you want to do is to channel that sympathy into an unnecessary and false admission of guilt.

Along those same lines, you also do not want to sign any documents until you have a chance to speak with an experienced car accident attorney.

Other things you should not do after a car accident include accepting money from the other party as settlement or hiring a lawyer or doctor who contacted you after the crash, as this practice is illegal. You also do not want to wait to seek medical treatment, as discussed above.

With over 25 years of experience in personal injury, the attorneys at Cohen & Sinowski are well versed in car accident cases and know how to get you the compensation you deserve. If you have been injured in a car accident, call us at (404) 383-8835 or contact us online today for your free case review.