Being involved in a car accident can be very frightening. Knowing what to do before an accident can help you ensure that you get all of the right information to help with your legal claim down the road. You can use the following tips and information as a roadmap for what you should be doing after an accident.
Who Should You Call?
It’s a good idea to make a few phone calls after you are involved in an accident. These include:
- Emergency medical services: If you need medical care, you should get it right away. Do not be afraid to make the call to 911 to get an ambulance on the scene. If you are unsure if you or anyone is involved in the accident needs medical care, err on the side of caution and contact a medical professional.
- The police or sheriff: It is also a good idea to call the police so they can make a report about your accident. In fact, you are required to report most accidents in Georgia, so getting the police involved is not only a good idea, but it may also be legally required in most situations.
- Your insurance company: You should also make a call to your own insurance company after a collision. You may not need to do this right away, but generally, the sooner you make this call, the better. Even though Georgia is a fault state and the other driver is required to reimburse you for your injuries and losses, your own insurance company may become involved if the other driver does not have insurance. Many insurance companies have timelines that you must follow to file a claim, so acting quickly is critical.
- A personal injury attorney: Although you do not need to make this call immediately, involving a lawyer soon after your accident can be helpful so that you can investigate the accident properly. In fact, the sooner you engage a lawyer, the more likely you are to get a favorable result.
Of course, you may also want to call spouses, children, or other loved ones to let them know about the accident and how you are doing as soon as possible.
How Does an Insurance Claim Work?
The other driver should report the accident to their insurance company right away. Then, assuming they are at fault for the collision, their insurance company will likely reach out to you within a few days or weeks after the accident to get your statement about what happened. You can provide the insurance company with general information about the collision, such as when and where the crash occurred, but it is not a good idea to talk to the insurance company without your lawyer present.
Insurance companies may try to get you to admit fault or trick you into saying something that you did not mean. Having an attorney available when you talk to the insurance company significantly decreases the chances that an insurance company will try some of these more underhanded methods.
GA Injury Advocates can help with this process. We will ensure that an insurance company does not take advantage of you after a crash. Give us a call at (770) 766-0555 to schedule your free consultation today.
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