Advice on car accident injury claims. You should follow this guide if you are planning to file a car accident claim within New York.
A car accident can put you in a scary and inconvenient situation. In several car accidents there are no physical injuries but you have to deal with filing a car insurance claim. The process of filing and receiving compensation claim is often a slow process. However, you will get reimbursements for the repairs and other damages to your car.
Following are some of the guidelines which will help you in filing a car accident compensation claim:
a) If you or somebody else was involved in a car accident, then you must call the police. If you are leaving the scene of an accident then it is punishable under law. In case someone has received serious injuries, you should immediately dial 911 for an ambulance.
b) You should not move your car unless and until you are struck in a dangerous situation. The immediate position of your car after impact will help the police to better understand who was at fault.
c) You should get insurance information of all other drivers who were involved in the accident. You should also note down other driver’s license registration. If police arrives at the accident scene then they will gather insurance information from each motorist which will be used while filing a police report. You should also note down police officer’s precinct, badge number, and accident report number.
In case police do not arrive then you should collect 1) driver’s license 2) vehicle registration number and 3) insurance card. In case someone refuses to give details, then you can simply note down their license plate number and State.
d) You should avoid getting into heated arguments with other driver. You can always explain your version of what happened to the police officer who arrived at the scene.
e) An eyewitness account of the car accident can help in establishing who was at fault. In case there were any eyewitnesses then obtain their name, address and contact number.
f) You should seek medical help and in case you suffered any injuries then it should be mentioned in your medical report by your medical practitioner or hospital. There are several accident cases where patients start to experience excruciating pains after 1-2 months of being involved in an accident. A minor injury can develop into a major one. Therefore you must keep a record of injuries which you have sustained due to the car accident.
g) You should also contact your insurance company and let them know you’ve had an accident. In case you fail to inform your insurance company timely then they can refuse to pay for the claim.
h) Take pictures of the accident scene and of the damages. The insurance representative is also likely to take pictures, but they may not be there immediately after the accident but you are. It is always a great help to have a set of pictures that show the accident scene and the position of the vehicles, as well as the surrounding environment, immediately after an accident. These will help you in telling your story of how the accident occurred and will enable the court to better see who could be at fault.
i) If you think that the other driver was driving under influence of drugs or alcohol, then you must tell the police officer and ask him to administer a sobriety test.
j) You can also contact a New York car accident lawyer who will help you receive compensation. Most of the personal injury and accident lawyers provide legal services on contingency basis. Therefore, you don’t need to pay anything before hiring an experienced attorney. Your lawyer will only receive a percentage of the money which he/she wins at the end of the case. Hiring a lawyer will increase your chances of receiving compensation which you deserve.
