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Auto Accident Attorneys - Auto Accident Instructions
in Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Nassau County, and Suffolk County
Steps or actions that you should generally consider after you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident:
- Stop your car, no matter how minor you may think the accident may have been. New York State law requires that a driver of an automobile involved in an accident must stop and exchange information with the other driver. If property damage is estimated to exceed $1,001, all drivers are required to fill out an accident report. If any person appears to be injured to any degree, the police must be notified immediately and failure to do so may carry criminal penalties.
- Assist any injured person by calling for an ambulance. Unless you have specific medical or EMS training, you should not move an injured person. Do your best to make the injured person comfortable while you wait the arrival of emergency medical technicians to the accident scene.
- Call the police. The State of New York requires that drivers of a vehicle involved in an auto accident resulting in personal injury, death or a certain amount of property damage, must contact the police and report the accident by the quickest means available.
- Identify the driver or drivers of the vehicles involved in the collision. Be certain that you get the other driver's address, telephone number and insurance information. Also, be sure to write down the license plate numbers of the other vehicles.
- Identify any witnesses to the accident. As soon as possible, get the names, addresses and/or phone numbers from any witnesses to the accident. Many times witnesses will stop at the scene to see if they can be of assistance. When they understand that the police and ambulance have been called, they have a tendency to leave the accident scene without leaving their names or phone numbers. These witnesses may be critical to your claim and obtaining their identity would be very helpful in the event that legal action is taken.
- Protect the scene, if it is safe to do so. You are usually best off not moving the vehicles until the police have arrived. However, in the State of New York, if a car poses a safety threat to other traffic if it is not moved, the law requires you to move it. In this regard, use common sense.
- While you are waiting for the police to arrive and before you leave the scene of the accident that day, and to the extent that your medical condition allows you to do so, you or someone from your family, should as soon as possible write down the time and place, the weather and road conditions and even a diagram showing the relative positions of the vehicles and the directions from which they were coming or located at the time of the happening of the accident. This type of information or any writing that you create should not be given to anyone other than your attorney.
- Do not make any comments at the scene of the auto accident to other persons as to how the accident happened, estimates of speeds or any other comments concerning the matter. Comments by you at the scene of the accident will never be helpful to you, many times may involve speculation and will always be used against you in the event of a lawsuit.
- Cooperate with the police at the scene of the accident. Answer questions posed by a police officer honestly and concisely.
- If you are not removed from the scene of the accident by ambulance, make sure that you go to an emergency room or to a physician for an evaluation immediately. Even though you may think you are not hurt from the accident, you may actually be hurt. Sometimes the adrenaline that is released from the stress caused by the accident can hide the full extent of injuries. There may be internal injuries that you are not aware of. Be certain when you arrive at the emergency room or when you see a physician to tell the physicians and nurses that you have been involved in an auto accident and describe anything that you are feeling that you think is unusual no matter how minor you think it is. Doctors may recognize your complaints as a symptom of a more serious problem. Be sure to let physicians and nurses know of any older injuries that you might have that may have been aggravated by the trauma of the accident.
- Listen carefully while at the scene of the accident. Listen to anything and everything that the other drivers or witnesses say. What they say can be information that might ultimately help you in any lawsuit. IF they admit they are at fault in the accident in words such as "they did not see you", "they were driving too fast" or just a simple apology for being at fault, make sure you make a written notation of that as soon as practically possible.
- Photographs of the damage to vehicles are very important. If possible, have someone from your family take photographs of your automobile and the areas of damage to your car. Take photographs from a number of different angles, close up, and from a distance. There is no such thing as using too much film to document the damage to your automobile. Take photos of all parts and all sides of the vehicle and if necessary, use up an entire roll of film.
- If possible, take photos of the accident scene. As soon as practical, you or your loved ones should go back to the accident scene and take photographs if traffic conditions make it safe to do so. Be sure to include landmarks such as signs or buildings so that it can easily discern what the pictures show later. If there are skid marks, damages to trees or shrubberies or if there are any parts of the car that is still left on the ground, take photographs of all of these areas. Again, don't be afraid to use film.
- Take photographs of the other driver's car. Most of the time, the police accident report will identify the destination to which both cars have been towed. If both cars have been towed and if they are at a certain body and fender shop or towing shop, if possible, take photographs of the automobiles.
- Report the accident to your insurance company. Call your insurance company about the accident even if you think the other driver is at fault. In order to protect your rights to insurance coverage, your insurance company is entitled to be notified by you of the happening of the accident, about the extent of injuries to you or your passengers and the damage to the automobile. It may be advisable that you speak with an attorney before you provide your insurance company with recorded statements or written statements. In any event, please know that you have a duty to notify your insurance company.
- Never, never give a recorded statement to the insurance company that insures the other driver's automobile. No recorded statements ever, to employees, representatives, or investigators for the insurance company that insures the car that collided with you.
- CALL AN ATTORNEY. A consultation with a lawyer can be helpful to you in the State of New York. There are strict deadlines now placed by the Pataki Administration that severely limit your right to medical reimbursement and lost earnings under our no-fault law. The regulations have been rewritten by Governor Pataki's Administration to favor the insurance companies. Most other States do not have these pro-insurance company regulations. In order to be properly advised, you should consult with an attorney as soon as possible.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident, call or e-mail us today. One of our experienced accident attorneys will evaluate your case for free and help you get the compensation you deserve.
