What To Do If You Been Involved In A Motor Vehicle Accident
Stop. As simple as that sounds, it is amazing how many people will drive on. Usually, the person leaving the scene is the person at fault. Therefore, leaving the scene may be considered an admission of fault. What is more, there is a legal requirement to stop after accidents in which there has been damage or injury. As a result, if you do not stop, you may be charged leaving the scene of an accident. It is important when you stop that you make sure that you are in a safe place and that you are not obstructing traffic. Ultimately, you want to stop as close to the collision site as you can, without obstructing traffic or leaving yourself in harm’s way.
Check for Injuries. Before you get out of the car, and before you speak to anybody, you want to make sure that you and your passengers are not in distress. Obviously, if you or one of your passengers requires immediate medical attention, the very first thing you should do is call 911 if you have a cell phone, or flag down somebody to call 911 for you if you do not. Tending to the injured takes priority over everything that comes after this paragraph.
Call the Police (in most cases). If it is a love tap or a very minor accident in which you do not believe that there is any property damage (you cannot always trust your eyes on this one) and you feel confident that you and your passengers were not shaken up and will not require medical attention in the future, it is possible simply to exchange information and move on. You should always get the other driver’s information, just to be on the safe side. However, it is generally better to have the police come. First of all, the police will document that the accident has happened and make sure that all the proper information is obtained. In the event of the injury, the police will make sure that an ambulance comes. In a hit-and-run situation, the standard auto policy requires that you notify the police immediately. In addition, if there is serious property damage, the police will arrange a tow and to have whatever debris on the road cleared. Documenting a debris field can be a very important police function. We actually had a case once where the insurance company was trying to accuse my client of insurance fraud. The responding police officer came in and said that he saw the 2 cars, saw how their positioning and the damage lined up, and that there was broken glass right where it should have been from the broken taillight on my client’s car. That ended the fraud allegations.
Exchange Information. Generally speaking, the drivers will hand each other their licenses and registrations. If you are not to sure what to write down, then write down everything. The important thing is to identify the driver, the vehicle’s owner, and vehicle’s insurance company. Check the license plate on the car and make sure it matches the registration. It is very important that you get the license plate. Here in Massachusetts, if we have the license plate then we can get all the other information about the car, including the insurance company. However, in many states it is difficult to run a license plate. In some states, such as New Hampshire, the Registry will not have the insurance information. As result, it is important that you take from the registration the name and address of the owner of the vehicle as well as the insurance information. If there is no insurance information, you need to ask the other driver. A New Hampshire driver is likely to have an insurance card and you should ask for that. In terms of the driver’s license, it is important to get the operator’s name and address, the driver’s license number and date of birth. These are the most important things. Getting the year, make, model and color of the car is nice. The other driver’s license information such as height and whatnot is unnecessary but getting it causes no harm. If the other operator says anything, it is a good idea to write that down, especially if it is in the nature of an admission.
Keep Conversation to a Minimum. The old rule that everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law applies in this situation as well. “I’m sorry” is generally considered an admission of fault in these circumstances, not a common courtesy. Basically, after asking if the other operator and passengers are okay, conversation should be kept to the business at hand.
Document the Scene. Pretty much everybody now travels with a digital camera. Even a cell phone is now a camera. As a result, it is easy to take pictures of the accident scene. It is very good to get pictures of the other car and of the damage to that car. Unless the car happens to be towed the same tow yard as yours, you will not get another opportunity to take your own pictures of that car. We may get the pictures from the insurance company, but insurance company photographers are very skilled at making sure that their pictures show as little damage as possible. Also, it is good to take pictures showing the relationship of the two vehicles, especially if they have not been moved appreciably from the point of impact. For a rear ender, this is not so important. However, accidents do occur in all kinds of strange configurations, and it is not uncommon for the two operators to have differing versions of what happened. A photograph of the two cars where they finally rested after the accident may be very helpful in determining who is telling the truth, and who is more than a little bit off. For these kinds of pictures, it is necessary to step back so that there is some context for the picture coming from the surroundings. We once had a case in which the two operators had conflicting versions of what occurred and my client had taken pictures at the scene. However, the pictures were all close ups of the contact point and it was very difficult to determine from the pictures what had happened before the cars made contact.
Get in the Ambulance (if needed). I am amazed by how many seriously injured people have come into my office having refused treatment at the scene. Some are concerned about what will happen to the car, while others are worried about who is going to pay for the ambulance. As for the car, let the police worry about that. It will be towed to secure tow yard. If the other car is at fault, that insurance company will pay for your tow. If you have towing coverage, your own insurance company will pay for your tow. Your own car insurance will pay for the ambulance, even if the accident was your fault. Do not neglect your health and well-being because you are concerned about bills that will be paid.
Identify Witnesses. It is important that if somebody witnesses the accident, you get their information. In particular, you need the name, address and telephone number. I cannot tell you how many times a client has told me that there were witnesses to the accident, but that they cannot identify the witnesses. I have to tell them that those witnesses might as well not even exist. It is sad when you have, for example, a red light/green light case where you know one car had a green light and the other car had a red light and there is a witness who says ‘I saw everything; the other car ran the red light’ and you cannot identify that witness. Very rarely do people admit that they ran a red light. As a result, that case is quickly going to boil down to a he said/she said. Each driver will claim the green light, and there is no real way to tell who is telling the truth.
What To Do After A Car Accident If You Have Been Injured
Seek Medical Attention. If you took the ambulance to the emergency room, this process has already begun. People, often feel worse later in the day, and very commonly feel worse the day or days following the accident. Also, it commonly occurs that the main feeling that you have at the scene of the accident is a feeling of anxiety because you have just been in a car accident. Thus you are not really recognizing the physical problems that the accident was caused. As a result, you did not take the ambulance to the emergency room, but now wish you had. If your doctor’s office is open, then by all means contact them. But if it is closed, be aware that the emergency rooms are open 24/7 and in this area there are a number of walk-in clinics that are open into the early evening and on Saturday, so it may be possible to go to one of them. This is something that would be covered by the automobile insurance.
Contact your Family Doctor. You want to contact your family doctor as soon after the accident as possible. Admittedly, if the accident occurs on Friday night and it is a three-day weekend, most doctors’ offices will not be open until Tuesday. In that case, seek immediate treatment elsewhere and call your doctor on Tuesday. Understand that even if your doctor does not treat car accident victims, and many of them do not because they do not like dealing with the car insurance companies, it is still important that you call. Many times, your health insurance requires that you contact your family doctor. Most specialists and physical therapists will not see you unless you have a doctor’s referral. What is more, often times you will not receive the first appointment with a therapist or a specialist until several days or even several weeks after you receive the referral from your family doctor. Your family doctor will not always see you right away, so if you delay contacting your family doctor, you just added another layer of delay to your getting the treatment that you need, and to your ultimate recovery.
Contact an Experienced and reputable Massachusetts or New Hampshire Motor Vehicle Accident Attorney. Seeking immediate medical attention and contacting your family doctor are things which need to be done immediately. There is no reason to wait until you have seen a lawyer before doing those two things. Everything else that you need to do is much easier if you have already seen an experienced accident attorney. Everything about dealing with car accidents is aggravating. Dealing with the insurance companies tops the list of aggravating things. However, finding appropriate medical care is also challenging, because so many doctors would prefer not to deal with car accident victims as they find dealing the automobile insurance companies so repulsive. Many providers will insist that you find an attorney, although it is a very bad idea to let them recommend one to you. If you do, have an attorney who is working for your provider, not you.
Dealing with the body shops and the car rental companies is certainly not my idea of a good time. It is good to have some help there as well. It is remarkable how many little things can go very wrong in the auto repair process.
Get the Police Report (if there is one). If the police came and made a report you want a copy of it. You can get it by simply going to the local Police Station during business hours and asking for It. However, it is not necessary to wait until you have this report to see a lawyer. Sometimes, you may need the lawyer’s help in getting this report, especially if it was prepared by the State Police. State Police reports have a terrible habit of disappearing altogether. In most cases, however, you can get your police report quicker than your lawyer, especially if the accident occurred far away from your lawyer’s office.
Do Your Operator’s Report. You are required to file an operator’s report with the local police and the Registry of Motor vehicles. My experience has been that manypolice officers do not know how to fill out this report properly, even though they write hundreds of them. As a result, there is no reason to assume that you will have an easy time writing yours. Whatever you do, do not let your insurance agent fill out your operator’s report for you. They rarely get the information accurate, nevertheless, you are responsible for their inaccuracies. Reports are supposed to be done in five days. However, there is no penalty for turning it in late.
Contact Your Insurance Company. You do need to notify your Insurance Company, especially if you want them to fix your car or pay your medical bills. The Insurance Company is going to want to take a statement from you. As a result, it is a good idea to see your attorney as soon as possible so you do not give your statement alone. Your attorney can and often should contact your insurance company for you.
Get Your Car Repaired at a Registered Shop. The Insurance Company will actually give you a list of registered body shops. Since the list came from the Insurance Company, there is some temptation to avoid these shops. In this case, that is a mistake. The Insurance Companies are required by Law to give you a list of every registered body shop in your county. The shops that are highlighted are the “preferred shops” and whether or not you want to go to one of these can be a subject of some discussion. The difference between a registered shop and an unregistered shop is that a registered shop can force the insurance company to send the Appraiser back to the body shop and write a “supplement”. Unregistered shops must fix the car for the price that is on the appraisal, no matter how much bond they have to use. If it cost more to repair, you have to pay the difference. Because of the way cars are made these days, most of the damage to the vehicles is often not immediately visible. Because of the way Insurance Companies do things, the first appraisal is always less than the actual cost of repairing the car. The Insurance Companies are hoping that you will get the check and not repair the car or that you will go to an Unregistered Shop. Either way, the Insurance Company saves a lot of money. In my experience, the supplement is often as much, if not for more than the original appraisal. Getting the car fixed at a registered shop is important for a number of reasons. First, the damage you do not see, will be readily visible to the dealer when you trade the car in. The dealer will deduct every dime of that damage from the value of the car. It is also important because the Insurance Company will try to argue, based on the initial lowball appraisal, that there was not enough force for you to have been injured as badly as you were. Every insurance adjuster knows that argument is based on a lie, but they do it anyway, because they get away with it. However, if the car went to a registered shop and a supplement was done, then that game is taken away from them.
Save your Bills and Receipts. If you have gone by ambulance to one of the local hospitals and they took x-rays, that trip will generate at least 4 separate bills. Some of these bills are not easy for your lawyer to get. However, these bills will be mailed to you. In addition, when you spend money to buy prescriptions as a result of the accident, these prescription co-payments will be reimbursed by the car Insurance, if you save the receipt. Give your lawyer all of your health insurance information. There is a mythology out there that because the car insurance pays medical bills, you should not use your private health insurance. This is wrong and backwards and contrary to the law. Massachusetts Law requires that you use your private health insurance after your first $2000 in medical bills are paid by the car insurance. What is more, it is better to use your private health insurance if you have it. Also, if you have any government plan, such as Masshealth or Medicare, it is important to let your attorney know. These plans must be paid back when you settle the case. If you have Masshealth, you are likely to use it when you purchase prescription medicine. It is also possible that some providers will bill Masshealth even though they are not supposed to. However, if your attorney is aware that you have Masshealth, then your attorney can deal with these issues before, rather than after, your case settles. Dealing with Medicare reimbursement is an aggravating and time consuming process. What is more, the insurance company will put Medicare on the check, so you cannot be paid until Medicare is paid. If you have Medicare, it is extremely important that you make your attorney aware of it, so that he can begin dealing with these issues long before the case settles.
Make Sure That All Car Rentals Are Direct Billed to the Insurance Company (Where Possible). There are so many traps for the unwary where car rentals are concerned. Car rental companies are very aggressive about selling you their insurance, which is very expensive. Most charge $15.99 per day. If you have collision coverage on your car, there is no reason to be purchasing any extra insurance. Your insurance follows you into the rental car. What is worse, no one will reimburse you for the extra insurance.
The other issue that comes up with the car rental is that it often takes longer to fix the car than the appraiser said it should. Massachusetts requires that on many vehicles, the body shop must use after market parts, rather than original equipment manufacturer’s parts. There can be a considerable delay in getting an after market part. As a result, the vehicle is not always fixed within the time frame originally allowed by the appraiser. When the rental bill is submitted to the Insurance Company, they only want to pay for the time allowed by the appraisal. The body shop has already been paid and is not always so helpful at that point in explaining why the car was not ready on time. However, if the rental car company is direct billing the insurance company, they are very aware of how much time the insurance company is allowing them. When that time elapses, there is a three way conversation involving the rent-a-car company, the insurance company, and the body shop concerning why more time is needed. The insurance company will then approve the extra time. The best thing about that three-way conversation is that it does not involve you. The Rent-A-Car Company, the Body Shop and the Insurance Company are figuring it out by themselves.
Follow the Instructions of Your Health Care Providers. It is not uncommon for your family doctor to send you to a specialist or a physical therapist for treatment. Even family doctors who are comfortable seeing car accident patients are often not so comfortable treating them. Remember, a family doctor treats everything. A family doctor’s day is usually spent dealing with people who have various colds and infections, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and a host of other physical maladies that do not involve the bones, nerves or muscles. However, there are other doctors such as orthopedists and neurologists, who treat these injuries all day everyday. It is very common therefore for your doctor to send you to one of those doctors. Similarly, besides ordering tests and giving you medicine, there is not much else that a family doctor is going to do for you. On the other hand, a physical therapist will spend a lot of time working with you, massaging you, helping you with exercises, electrical stimulation and heat packs or whatever your particular condition requires. So if the doctor refers you to the physical therapist you should go. This is where you are going to get healthy again, and you should complete whatever course of therapy the doctor and the therapist agree that you need. In this way, you are unlikely to run into problems later.
Remove the Car from the Tow Yard. You want to remove your car from the tow yard as soon as possible. From the moment the car is towed, it is incurring storage fees. If you have collision insurance, or if the accident is the other car’s fault, then the insurance company will pay reasonable storage fees. There will come a time when the insurance company argues that the fees are unreasonable. So the better thing is to get the car out of the tow yard and to the body shop that is going to repair your car. Some body shops will tow your car at no cost to you. A second advantage to having the car tow quickly from the two yard to the body shop is that the initial appraisal is then done at the facility that is going to repair your vehicle. As a result, it may be possible to avoid the necessity of making the appraiser come back a second time to write a supplement. The body shop and the insurance appraiser can haggle the price right then and there. A tow yard will not remove the bumper cover to show the true damage to the bumper assembly, but the body shop will. The tow yard is not going to raise the car or crawl underneath the car to see what kind of structural damage there is, but the body shop will. The tow yard will not put the car on the frame machine to measure the frame damage and that will need to be pulled out, but the body shop will. As such, necessary repairs that will not be appraised in a tow yard, or when the appraiser comes to look at the car in your driveway or parking lot, will be appraised when the initial appraisal is done at the body shop.
Arrange to Have the First Appraisal Done at the Facility That Will Be Repairing Your Car. As discussed above in the section on removing the car from the tow yard, things always work out better if the initial appraisal is done at the body shop that will be repairing the car. Very often, the true price of repairing the car can be figured out at that time without the need of the appraiser returning to the body shop to write a supplement. Supplements are necessary to make sure that your car is repaired properly, but are often times a source of delay in getting a car repaired. Avoiding that delay is a good thing.