You’ve probably heard it a million times before – always be careful while driving. Till date, you’ve followed this rule to a T. You’ve always maintained speed limits, signaled before changing lanes and put away your phones to avoid unnecessary distractions. Unfortunately, not everyone is as traffic conscious and when other drivers multi-task while driving, they put you at risk for a major accident. You are already in a ‘risk-zone’ if you reside in a place like Florida where rate of fatal car crashes is among the highest in the country. If the situation takes a turn for the worse, you should be prepared to take appropriate action. Of course, you’ll call a car accident attorney in Tampa or wherever the collision occurred, but there are other people whom you must contact as well to alert them about the events that transpired.
Urgent Medical Care
When you are involved in a major accident, you immediately realize that something is wrong by virtue of the numerous scrapes, cuts, bruises, broken bones and sprained muscles you’ve sustained. You become aware of the need for urgent attention and rush to the emergency room for the necessary medical help. However, the damage is less evident in minor accidents. You feel shaken, but every part of your body seems to be in working condition, right? Wrong! It is often seen that several kinds of injuries, like whiplash, take several days to show up and if you delay treatment, you might be in serious trouble later on. This is the reason why it is important that you seek urgent medical care soon after the crash. You should ask the physician to document any and every injury that he treats at the time of your examination.
Police
Irrespective of the severity of the collision, you should notify the authorities. Even if your injuries are not severe, you should not hesitate to dial 911 and report the incident. Once they arrive on the scene, you should offer your full cooperation. It is advisable that you refrain from blaming other drivers or admitting your own fault in the accident. Leave that stuff to your accident attorney. In case the police do not arrive on the scene due to negligible damages or lack of injury, you should make it a point to file an accident report at your closest DMV center.
Family
Alert your family about the situation. If no damage has been caused, assure them that you are alright. They will obviously be worried, so make sure you keep them in the loop. However, if you are considerably injured, stay with them on the phone; their soothing and familiar voices might keep you distracted until medical help arrives.
Your Insurance Provider
It is important that you exchange insurance details with the other driver involved in the accident. Try to find out as much information as you can like the first and last name, contact number, insurance company, policy number and license plate. Neither the police nor the insurance firm will require your Social Security number, and so you should not mention it. As soon as you’ve gathered all the details, get in touch with your insurance provider and tell them about the crash. State clear facts along with any injuries you might have suffered. Never admit fault, mention traffic violations or make guesses about your speed – if they find any kind of discrepancy between the police report and what you’ve mentioned, they might attempt to wiggle their way out of providing coverage.
Mechanic or Tow Company
Your vehicle might absorb a lot of the impact and still stay functional. However, the longer you drive that car, the more damaged the surviving parts become. This in turn increases the risk of additional accidents. You might consider scheduling an appointment with your mechanic for repairs. Fender benders might appear harmless but they slowly affect all parts of your vehicle, from the air conditioning to the hood to the headlights. If your vehicle has been damaged beyond repair, call a towing service and have them drop it off at a salvage lot so that you can sell the parts.
The initial reaction of every person after a crash is to reach for their phone and call up their attorney. You could only imagine how many people call up a car accident attorney in Tampa since the city ranks so high among the accident-prone places in the US. However, what’s more important is to assess your own condition before you do so. Your lawyer can wait; your health cannot. Moreover, you can use the injury and health reports from the doctor to strengthen your case. Once you’ve got a handle on the situation and have alerted the right people, you can seek legal recourse.