Volume 14, Number 1 · January 2004

Protecting Yourself After An Accident

By Douglas R. Nolin

Accidents involving cars or trucks are an unfortunate fact of life. With so many cars and trucks on the road today, and with so many drivers of all ages present on the highways, chances are that you will someday be involved in an accident while driving or traveling in your car or truck. In the midst of confusion, dismay, anger and perhaps even sirens, we do believe that some advance planning can help you deal with the immediate aftermath of the accident. This article will give some ideas of things that need to be done immediately after an accident.

To begin, it is important to distinguish between a reportable and a non-reportable accident. A reportable accident is one that the police will investigate, and for which a written report will be issued.

The law requires that anyone involved in an accident immediately report that to the police. The police will only investigate and prepare reports for accidents in which a person is injured or dies, or if there is damage to a vehicle that makes it impossible to be driven under its own power.

Because often there are no police involved in non-reportable accidents, it is that much more important for you to take proper steps immediately following the accident. Perhaps the most important step is that you exchange names, vehicle registration, and insurance information with any other drivers involved in the accident. By law you are required to carry your registration and insurance information in your vehicle. Thus, there should be no excuse for failing to exchange that information after an accident.

Another important early step is to secure names, addresses, and telephone numbers, of any witnesses to the accident, whether they were pedestrians, other drivers, or even passengers in the vehicles involved in the accident. Unfortunately, too often we hear from a client that there was another driver or pedestrian nearby, who perhaps even stopped to help, but no one thought to get his or her name.

The third critical step is to make contact with your insurance company. You have purchased insurance for two very important reasons. One reason is to pay for your medical expenses and damage to your vehicle. The other reason is for protection if someone decides to sue you. If you fail to promptly advise your insurance company after the accident, your insurance company may deny you coverage for those very important risks. In other words, if you neglect to tell your insurance company, or you decide you want to repair your car on your own, you may lose protection from your insurance company if the other driver involved in the accident decides to sue you a year or two later.

In order to maintain your insurance protection, we recommend that you call your insurance company within 24 hours of the accident. Your insurance company will also provide guidance on what additional steps need to be taken to get repairs for your car, to seek appropriate medical attention, and to deal with any potential claims from the other drivers involved.

Finally, keep in mind that your car insurance does provide coverage for medical bills. If you need medical treatment as a result of the accident, it is important that you give to your doctor or hospital your car insurance information. If you have other health insurance, for example through your employment, that health insurance is only used after the limits of your car insurance have been exhausted.

In addition, your car insurance may provide payment for the damage that was done to your car. Even if someone else caused the accident, you still have the right to have the damage to your car paid by your own insurance company. Often it is faster to deal with your own insurance company for payment of the damage to your car. It is then up to your insurance company to collect that claim from the other driver's insurance company.

If you follow the steps outlined above, the hours and days immediately following the accident should proceed in a fairly organized fashion. However, the accident may have much longer lasting results, especially if you have been injured, or if you have caused injury to someone else. In those cases, the attorneys at Peacock Keller stand ready and able to discuss with you all of those ramifications, and to prepare you for whatever steps are necessary to either make or defend against a claim for injuries arising out of the accident.

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