What, When, How To Document Your Car Accident
If you’ve just found yourself in a car accident, the last thing you might think about is how to document the entire situation. However, the immediate instance probably has the most detailed evidence available you can use later to identify responsibility. Here is what to do when you get in a car accident, and Baltimore car accident lawyers can help too.
1. Check Yourself First
The first thing to do in any car accident is to see if you have any visible injuries. Don’t be so quick to get up and move. Instead, confirm you can move without pain or difficulty and that you have no visible signs of being hurt. If you are, stay put, wait for medical help, and don’t move any further, as it could aggravate your injury and worsen it.
Do the same for any passengers with you. If they need immediate medical help, call 911 and try to provide first aid if needed.
If the car you are in or one that is near is a threat, burning, or presenting a serious risk, try to move to safety quickly. Leaking engine oil and fuel can spread erratically.
2. Don’t Wait for the Police – Call
The police do more than just respond to an emergency. They also provide objective reporting for car accidents in Baltimore that become essential in any legal proceeding on an accident after the fact.
What the officer puts down in their report often trumps what is provided by the parties involved or witnesses. They will also document their technical assessment of what the vehicles were doing before the accident, which also becomes useful for Baltimore car accident lawyers in assessing responsibility.
3. Get the Other Party’s Information
If you can do so, and the other party is not being aggressive or uncooperative, try to get as much contact info as possible from them. At a minimum, you want their driver’s license number, license plate number, insurance provider, and name. If doable, get their phone and address contact as well.
Sometimes, the easiest way is to photograph their license and car with your mobile device. Make sure to provide your contact information and insurance as well.
If you can look around, you’ll also want the immediate area and location details. Again, your phone works well for this situation, catching all sorts of details, even ones that are not obvious to you. Try to make sure you have photos of their car and the damages as well.
Things tend to disappear in cleanup, but your photos preserve what happened before it was changed.
4. Accident Documentation
When you can, after the fact, try to get the officer’s report from the local police station. That document will become important in any pursuit of legal recovery. Also, while the officer is present, try to get their name or at least the officer’s badge number too.
5. Track Witnesses But Be Careful Approaching Them
Witnesses are tricky. Some may be very helpful, but others can be aggressive, stating they saw the whole thing and already know who’s at fault. In fact, they only know and remember a fraction of what occurred, and memory can be faulty over time.
If the witness is helpful, get their name and contact info and leave it at that. Your Baltimore personal injury attorney can follow up with legal requirements later, so you don’t need to ask plenty of questions on the spot.
6. After the Accident
Once you’ve reached a stable location or at home, you want to make sure you’ve contacted your insurance provider and provided the basic details, as well as filled out any reporting you need to take care of with the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). Accidents usually have to be reported within a certain number of days, regardless of who is responsible. Keep copies of your insurance and DMV paperwork so you can prove to report later on as well.
The Law Office of Kim Parker, P.A. Is Here To Help
If you’re confused about the above, disabled due to injuries, or want representation right away because of insurance demands and police questions, the Law Office of Kim Parker P.A. can help. A car accident in Baltimore triggers all sorts of legal consequences. Having a Baltimore personal injury attorney on your side is key to successfully navigating the risks involved. Having a Baltimore personal injury attorney like Kim Parker on your side can make all the difference in full recovery – call our office to find out more today!