What to Do Immediately After an Accident to Protect Your Legal Rights

Most people walk away from an accident thinking the hard part is over. It isn’t. The choices you make during the first few hours after a crash, fall, or workplace accident will determine what your case is valued at, and in some instances, more so than the actual facts of the event.

Document the Scene Before it Disappears

Physical evidence doesn’t last forever. Tire tracks disappear. Weather changes. Witnesses disappear and don’t return to the scene.

If you’re physically able to do so, take pictures and video of everything. Where the vehicles ended up. Skid marks. What the weather is like. Any visible injuries or property damage. Get the names and contact info of everyone, and write down what they saw. Time, light conditions, road conditions: write it all down. The more detailed the better. And anything that seems unusual, write that down too.

Again, it’s not about building a lawsuit. It’s about having the real facts before they disappear. The experts are going to come to the scene and take all that same data weeks or months later (and with a much smaller incentive to be honest and complete about it). The more that exists in the official record for the police to gather, the better.

Get Medical Attention, Even if You Feel Fine

This is the first stumbling block for many claims. Someone turns down the ambulance, drives themselves home, and just hopes the rush of adrenaline will keep them going. It often does, but it can lead to some very unpleasant surprises with long-term injuries like whiplash, soft tissue injuries, or internal damage.

There’s a more immediate problem, too: if the other side can show that you waited weeks or months before seeing a doctor, their insurance adjuster will immediately make the case that you can’t have been that badly injured in the accident, or the accident couldn’t have caused your injuries.

Your doctor is a crucial source of evidence, in a couple of ways. First and most obviously, their records are the only professional records of your injuries that exist. If you went to the emergency room and were referred for an MRI, but you didn’t keep that appointment or go to your follow-up with a specialist, there’s an argument to be made that your injuries weren’t very important to you.

Don’t Talk to the Insurance Company Without Preparation

You will likely receive a call from an insurance adjuster soon, perhaps within a day or two of the accident. The adjuster will sound friendly, concerned, and helpful. He or she may request a recorded statement “for the record.”

Do not agree to give a recorded statement until you have sought the advice of a lawyer. What may sound like a straightforward, innocent question can later be formulated in a way that indicates you admitted partial responsibility, implied that your injuries were pre-existing, or that you took responsibility in some way. If you are found to share even a small amount of the blame under the doctrine of comparative negligence, the compensation you are eligible to receive will decrease.

Their initial offer is not going to include long-term physical therapy, missed work, reduced earning potential, and emotional stress. It is the money they hope you will accept before a lawyer can help you arrive at a more accurate number. Individuals who do not retain an attorney recover only a fraction of the damages recovered by those with legal representation. In fact, settlements for people injured in auto accidents who hired a lawyer were 3.5 times higher, on average, than those who settled without legal representation (Insurance Research Council).

Beaumont Personal Injury Lawyers who understand the court system in your area and are familiar with the tactics employed by local insurance companies and their legal representatives can minimize this early gap.

Watch What You Post Online

Social media is being used as a weapon in today’s personal injury cases. Lawyers and reps for the other side will easily access your public records, view your photos, and scan your check-ins, going back weeks or even months before the incident.

That picture of you at a family party relaxing two weeks after the accident can quickly be turned against you to argue that your injuries aren’t truly impacting your life. That silly post about going for a nice peaceful walk, or the mention of an early return to work? Screen-shotted and put into the discovery packet.

Best advice: Stop posting completely until you are done with your case. Don’t scrub old posts, that can also hurt your case. Just go quiet. And tell your family members to do the same.

Understand What You’re Actually Settling

By offering a lump sum, insurance companies get closure, a release of further liability, and a potentially deep discount on the true cost of your injuries. They also prevent the potential that your condition becomes worse, that you require additional surgeries, that you can’t return to work at all, and that they’d be on the hook for a higher amount after a full and fair hearing.

The Window Closes Faster Than You Think

All areas have a statute of limitations, meaning there is a deadline by which you must file your suit, no matter how compelling your case may be. Evidence spoils. Memories fade. The longer you wait, the more difficult it is to build your case. The first 48 hours are important not only to your survival but to ensuring that your account, and the evidence, is quickly documented, preserved, and protected before anyone gets the opportunity to alter the facts.