If you are involved in a car accident, you should remember to gather as much evidence as you can at the scene of the accident to help prove who is at fault.
You also need to know how to go about filing your insurance claim.
How to File a Car Accident Claim
After being involved in a car accident, you need to contact your insurance company. You can usually do that by telephone or online. Sometimes, insurers have mobile apps you can use.
The time period you have available to file a claim varies depending on your specific insurance company and the state you are in.
You should file a police report if the car accident involves injuries, significant losses, theft, or vandalism. You may also need to file an accident report with your local Department of Motor Vehicles. By filing police and DMV reports, the documentation will help you to win your insurance claim.
If you sustain injuries from the car accident, as a result of another driver’s negligence or carelessness, you can sue for damages in civil court.
So, once you have contacted your insurer, the police, and the DMV, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer who has experience in handling car accident lawsuits, like attorney Michael T. Gibson.
How to Gather Your Evidence
When you contact your insurance company about a car accident claim, the insurer and the other party’s insurance company will need to find out who is legally responsible for the fault of the car accident.
And if you are claiming compensation in civil court to cover things like medical expenses and loss of income, your lawyer will need to prove the other driver was at fault.
So, the more evidence you can gather at the time of the accident, the better.
Take Photographs of the Accident Scene
Thankfully, almost everyone has a camera with them these days, which means it is easy to take photographs of the accident scene.
If you are not too badly injured, take a wide variety of photos. If you are unable to do so, ask witnesses to take photos for you.
You should get as many different shots of the vehicles and the wider accident scene as possible to help insurance companies determine who was at fault.
Take pictures from numerous angles and make sure you photograph things like skid marks. Also, take photos of any traffic control devices at the scene of the accident.
The more photographic documentation you have, and the more detailed it is, the easier it will be to prove the fault of the driver who caused the car accident.
Get the Driver’s Contact Details
You must exchange contact information with the other driver. So, do not let the driver leave the scene of the accident before he or she has provided you with adequate identity and contact information.
However, hit-and-run incidents do happen. If the driver takes off, try to take down the license number to give to the police.
Also, if the driver does stop but says he or she does not have a driver’s license, ask for other official documentation that can prove the driver’s name and address, such as a credit card, insurance card, or vehicle registration.
Get Witnesses’ Contact Details
Lastly, it is just as important to get the contact details of witnesses. They could be crucial in helping to determine who was at fault for causing the car accident.
Witnesses could be other drivers, cyclists, or pedestrians.
Basically, the more evidence you can gather to prove who caused the accident, the more likely it is your claim will run smoothly and you can gain the compensation you deserve for any injuries or pain and suffering.