If you are driving and suddenly find yourself involved in an auto crash, you will not only be injured, but also dazed and confused about what will come next. Unfortunately, if you find out the other driver who caused your accident is uninsured, you may make the mistake of assuming you have no way to recover the financial compensation you need to replace wages lost from your job and to pay for your current and future medical treatment. However, that is not the case at all. Once you schedule a meeting with an experienced personal injury lawyer, you will discover a variety of legal options available to you that will not only hold the driver accountable for their negligence, but also get you the compensation you deserve.
Don’t Risk Hit and Run Charges
Since you are sure the uninsured motorist who hit you was the driver at fault in your accident, don’t risk getting hit and run charges levied against you by police by failing to stay at the scene of your accident. If you panic and leave the scene prematurely, police will not only file hit and run charges against you, but also assume you had something to hide regarding the accident. Therefore, no matter how upset you may be after the crash, stay at the scene until police arrive and speak to you about what happened.
Assume You are Injured
Even if you feel the adrenaline pumping through your body after your accident and are having a hard time determining if you are injured, always assume you are and allow medics at the scene to provide treatment. In almost any auto crash that is serious, victims can suffer head injuries, internal bleeding from blunt force trauma, broken bones, and other serious injuries. By letting medical personnel begin treating you at the scene and then transport you to a hospital for more treatment, you can ensure any injuries you sustained will be immediately entered into your medical records. By doing so, the other driver cannot then claim you are exaggerating the extent of your injuries.
Know What to Say or Not Say to Police
At the accident scene, police will want to speak with you about what happened. While you should always give your version of events, you should also be careful when having these conversations. If you let something slip such as “I’m sorry” or “I’m fine” when talking to police, they may include your remarks in their accident report. If they do, the other driver and their attorney will then claim you readily admitted to police that the accident was your fault. Instead of letting what you thought was an innocent phrase keep you from getting the compensation you deserve, say only what is required of you until you have sought legal advice from a personal injury lawyer you can trust.
Start Accumulating Evidence
As any reputable car accident attorney knows, personal injury cases involving auto accidents are won or lost based on the amount of evidence they have to build their client’s case. Therefore, you should immediately start accumulating as much evidence as you can while still at the accident scene. Much of this should be focused on taking photos of the scene, since visual evidence is hard to dispute. As for what you should photograph, always start with both vehicles and the damage each may have sustained. Next, move on to any obvious injuries you or the other driver may have suffered, and also look around for nearby speed limit signs, stop signs, or traffic signals that may be linked to the crash. Finally, if there are skid marks on the road that indicate the other driver was driving at a high rate of speed and then tried to stop suddenly, photograph these as well. After you have the pictures you need, give them to your attorney at the best car accident law firm for further analysis.
Aim for an Out-of-Court Settlement
While your personal injury case could eventually go to trial, there is a much better chance it will be settled out-of-court. Since this can almost always ensure your case will be concluded much faster than if it went to trial, always hire a car accident attorney who can point to one success story after another regarding out-of-court settlements they negotiated for other clients who were involved in auto accidents. Also, once you have hired an attorney to represent you in this matter, don’t make the mistake of choosing instead to take an immediate settlement if one is offered to you by the other driver’s attorney. By letting your lawyer handle the negotiations, you will probably come away with much more compensation once your case is completed.
Follow Your Doctor’s Orders
No matter the extent of your injuries following your auto accident, always comply with your doctor’s orders while your case is playing out. If you don’t, this could endanger your opportunity to gain compensation for your injuries. Unbeknownst to many accident victims, the other driver’s legal team in these situations may use private investigators in an attempt to gather evidence that can be used against accident victims. Therefore, if you are instructed to use crutches, avoid lifting, or other activities as ordered by your doctor, don’t deviate from these instructions. Should an investigator be able to get a picture or video of you in a compromising situation, you may lose out on significant compensation.
Don’t Miss Out on Witness Statements
Before you leave the accident scene, try to obtain statements from anyone who witnessed your accident. Depending on the complexities involved in your accident, the statements of just one witness may be what is needed to turn the case in your favor. In some situations, your attorney from the best car accident law firm may use expert witnesses who specialize in reconstructing auto accidents. Thus, if a statement by an eyewitness is backed up by the testimony of an expert in accident reconstruction analysis, the other driver’s legal team may have no other viable options left except to agree to a substantial out-of-court settlement.
Don’t Try to Handle Everything Yourself
Unfortunately, many accident victims make the mistake of thinking they can handle many aspects of their auto accident on their own. In some situations, they may speak to the other driver in an attempt to reach a quick settlement. However, this rarely if ever works well for accident victims. Instead, the other driver often delays and disputes details of the accident, dragging it out until the accident victim gives up and walks away with no compensation. If you don’t want this to happen to you, turn your accident case over to a car accident attorney who knows how to get results.
If you are ready to have legal counsel from the best car accident law firm, plan to contact lawyers at West Coast Trial Lawyers soon for an initial consultation. Once you do, you will then be able to talk about your accident in more detail, learn about how you can obtain compensation despite the other driver being uninsured, and much more. Rather than face the months ahead without the compensation needed to pay your medical bills, hire a personal injury lawyer today.
