More than 175,000 people around the country work in the personal injury lawyer and attorney industry of the United States. As these legal professionals help people resolve car accident injuries and other issues, they provide more than $53 billion worth of value every single year!
But why is there so much demand for the services of quality car accident lawyer options? After an accident in Houston, Texas, many people are not sure how to proceed.
As bad as the situation is after a car accident, things can often get worse if you cannot find the right help to help you get through your recovery period. On top of that, not everyone is prepared to know what to do right after a car accident.
If you know which steps to take, you can help keep a bad problem from becoming worse. Read on to learn all about the most important things to be ready to do after a car accident injury!
Make Sure You Are Safe in the Short Term
Right after your accident, the most important thing to focus on is your immediate safety. Of course, what you can do will depend in large part on how serious your injury is.
If your injuries are serious enough, the best thing to do might be to stay still and wait for help. This is especially true if you have suffered any kind of spinal damage.
In such cases, moving or allowing anyone else to move you might make your injuries worse. That means it is important to be ready to tell people not to move you until the trained authorities arrive.
In other cases, your injuries will be mild enough to allow you to take certain important steps to help ameliorate the situation. If you are able, you can make sure that you are away from anywhere that might expose you to further accidents.
If possible, you can put up traffic cones or anything else that can help establish a perimeter around you and your car. You may also want to follow safety practices like turning on your hazard lights to help people spot you and navigate around you.
Call 911 for Help
If at all possible, you should call 911 for help right away. In some cases, people have such mild injuries that they consider not calling 911. However, calling 911 provides benefits whether or not your injuries are serious.
First of all, you can explain the situation to the professionals on the other side of the phone. They can help you decide if the situation is serious enough to M=merit dispatching an ambulance or police vehicle.
Calling 911 also helps establish a record. It can be hard to think of the future in the immediate aftermath of an accident, but establishing a record can be invaluable in the long term. Once you are out of immediate physical danger, you will have to contend with the legal situation after a car accident.
At such times, it is often helpful to be able to obtain records that prove that you called 911 in the immediate aftermath of the accident. The content of your phone call may also be recorded, so that can provide further information that can help resolve any legal uncertainties that arise down the road.
Consider Speaking With the Other Driver
If your injuries are mild enough, it can be helpful to speak with the other driver while you wait for the authorities to arrive. It can also be helpful to speak with anyone else who was involved in the accident or witnessed it.
Right after an accident, it can be difficult to remember exactly what happened and why. However, people may also be more likely to be honest and apologetic if they contributed to the accident.
Getting on the same page about what happened and why can help simplify the legal situation later on. For example, if you end up in court, someone might try to avoid responsibility or shift the blame to you or someone else. If you spoke with everyone involved at the time of the accident, that can make it more difficult for them to change their story.
Receive Medical Attention
Even if your injuries are mild, make sure to receive treatment for them as appropriate. Sometimes, injuries take time to develop and symptoms do not manifest for hours or even days. If your injuries appear mild enough that you forego a trip to the hospital right away, remember to keep an eye out for developing symptoms.
If you start to experience whiplash, headaches, or other symptoms, then make sure to update your plan and visit your doctor to make sure that you receive the necessary treatment.
Gather Evidence
The evidence that you gather after an accident will affect your legal situation more than most other factors. In the immediate aftermath of an accident, you might want to get pictures or videos of as much of the scene of the accident as possible.
You can collect this evidence yourself or ask someone to help you if possible. It is a good idea to get videos of the damage done to the vehicles as well as any marks on the road or environment. It may also be a good idea to gather evidence regarding your injuries.
Depending on the situation, it can also be helpful to have a record of any discussion you have with the other people involved in the accident.
Later on, you can collect medical and psychological records related to your treatment after an accident. If you end up working with a car accident lawyer, they can help you with more difficult evidence gathering.
For example, they might be able to help you gather testimony from witnesses who saw your accident. A great lawyer may also be able to call on the help of expert witnesses. Expert witnesses might include doctors or scientists who can testify regarding the technical nature of your injuries or the damage done to vehicles involved in the accident.
Choose a Car Accident Lawyer to Speak With
But first, it is important to speak with a car accident lawyer about your general situation. Depending on the details of your accident, it may or may not be appropriate to hire a car accident lawyer to help you pursue compensation. The sooner you can speak with a car accident lawyer, the better your chance of winning a case for compensation if you decide to pursue one.
Before that, you can ask a car accident lawyer to assess the viability of your case. They can tell you if your case is almost guaranteed to receive compensation or if you have almost no chance of winning. In many cases, the answer will be somewhere in the middle, and you might want to hire a lawyer to help you take a case from viability to success.
Decide if You Need Help With Your Insurance Company
Whether you pursue a case or not, you might also benefit from the help of a car accident lawyer with your insurance company. Some people find that their insurance company hesitates to provide them with appropriate assistance after a car accident injury. In such cases, insurance companies are often hoping that customers will give up and deal with their injuries without appropriate assistance.
However, you can often get insurance companies to change their tune by involving a car accident lawyer. Your lawyer will be able to prove how much your insurance company is obligated to help you.
Decide if You Will Hire a Car Accident Lawyer
If you do have a viable case, you will need to find a great car accident lawyer to help you pursue compensation. Your car accident lawyer will help you with all of the necessary documents to file. They will also help you prepare all of the evidence that may affect the outcome of your case.
When it comes time for them to represent you in court, the effectiveness of their presentation will have a huge impact on how much compensation you receive or whether or not you receive any at all. A great car accident lawyer can also help you if the other side proposes a settlement of some kind.
Find the Best Car Accident Lawyer to Win Your Case
Take a look at ratings and reviews online to help you choose the right car accident lawyer. The more satisfied past clients have been, the better the chance that a given car accident lawyer is the right choice for you.
Understand How a Car Accidents Lawyer Can Help After a Crash
After a car accident, the stakes are high, so it is important to do your due diligence. Finding the right car accidents lawyer may affect the outcome of your case more than anything else.
To learn more about how the right Houston, Texas car accidents lawyer can help you, reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!