How to Build an Auto Accident Claim Case?

What should you do after an accident?

It’s important to know what to do after you have been involved in a car accident. The steps you take after the accident can significantly impact the outcome of your circumstances. This includes any financial compensation you may be entitled to, as well as any responsibility or accountability on the part of the person who caused the crash. 

The following steps are critical in helping you seek and build a successful auto accident claim case: 

Call authorities 

Once you have been involved in an auto accident, it’s imperative that you call the authorities right away. Even if you have not suffered any injuries or feel that the accident was not severe, alerting authorities allows a documented police report to be on record. This police report can prove beneficial if you file an auto accident claim with an insurance company or if you decide to work with a personal injury lawyer.

Once a police report is filed, it is your right to obtain a copy. Since one will not necessarily always be offered to you, it’s important to follow up with the responding officers about how you can obtain the report. You can also ask about other documented information they can release to you. This release of information will become critical in helping you build a strong case because it offers an authoritative perspective on who or what caused the car crash. 

Swap insurance information 

In addition to alerting the police, it’s important to alert the insurance companies of the other drivers involved as well. After you have been involved in an auto accident, be sure to collect the insurance and contact information of all drivers involved in the car crash. If it was a multi-vehicle crash, you would need the information from all parties involved. 

In the state of Nevada, to move forward with an insurance claim, you must alert the other driver’s insurance company to begin the process, and the initial claim must be filed within a reasonable time after the accident. This is referred to as the statute of limitations. Failing to file within this reasonable amount of time not only weakens your claim but can also weaken any personal injury lawsuit you might bring forward in the future. 

Seek medical attention 

Unless a victim is visibly injured, bleeding, or unable to be in control of their own faculties, police officers will often ask whether or not car accident victims need medical attention. Even if you do not feel like you’ve been injured or do not see any visible signs of injury, it’s important to seek medical attention.

Often, victims of car crash accidents may be in shock or still recovering from the adrenaline rush, causing them to not feel any pain until days after the event.

Seeking medical attention immediately at the scene helps you in several ways. For starters, a medical professional can assess to see if you are actually injured or if there is any other concern that should be analyzed further. Additionally, seeking medical attention allows you to build a strong case that shows you suffered an injury. Being able to show that you’ve suffered an injury helps build the claim that you suffered damages because of the actions of another individual. This concept of suffering damages applies to personal injury lawsuits and helps strengthen their merit. 

Take down witness statements

A police report should include witness statements and the contact information of individuals who witnessed the car accident. While witness contact information might not be available to you, their statements of what happened should be. These witness statements can prove invaluable when you are trying to put together a personal injury claim or insurance claim.

While the police officer will typically be responsible for collecting these statements, that does not mean you shouldn’t collect them as well. If you are able to, try and take down the contact information of any witnesses who saw the accident unfold. This allows you to contact them at a later time to collect additional information from them, including a witness statement for your own records. 

Seek legal guidance 

It can be an overwhelming process to know what to do, what to say, and how to navigate the after-effects of a car accident. This is where seeking the legal guidance of an experienced automobile attorney can prove helpful. 

An experienced car accident attorney will know what information to collect, who to collect it from, and the best ways to go about preserving and documenting evidence pertaining to your case. Seeking legal guidance can help you make sense of an overwhelming experience. It can also help you move forward in building a solid case that includes important evidence to hold a defendant accountable for their actions. 

Building an auto accident claim

When building an auto accident claim, the devil is in the details. Essentially, building a strong case rests on having important evidence, including medical records and documents that show the extent of your injuries and losses, as well as witness statements, surveillance footage, and other evidence that proves you were the victim of someone else’s negligence. In order to build a strong case, it’s important to take the following steps: 

Begin the investigation process immediately 

Begin the investigation process as quickly as possible. This allows you to collect evidence, witness statements, and other documents while the details are still fresh and available. Waiting extended periods of time could hinder a witness’s recollection of the events and can set the precedent that your investigation efforts are not as pressing as they should be. 

Collect and preserve evidence 

As part of building a strong case, it’s important to have critical evidence that supports your claims. Whether it be an auto accident claim or a personal injury claim, evidence should include tangible, digital, or otherwise indisputable evidence that connects directly to the negligence that caused your injuries. When collecting and preserving evidence, be sure to include the following:

• Medical documents, including medical treatment, bills, and recovery plans
• Statements from physicians and other healthcare providers regarding your symptoms and their causes
• Witness statements detailing how the car accident happened and who they witnessed causing it
• A list of damages, including your personal injuries,  property damage, and other financial losses
• Documentation that details any pain and suffering that you may have endured

Consider your conversations with car insurance companies 

Insurance companies are not your friend, especially when it’s the insurance company of the other party involved in the auto accident. With this in mind, it’s important to be careful with what you tell an insurance agent. 

You should never consent to have a recording of your statements taken down, as these recordings can be used against you further down the line. Instead, stick with facts, including when and where the accident happened, along with what damages you experienced. Don’t offer any information that was not asked of you, and keep your answers short and to the point. When speaking with an insurance agent, less is always more. 

Work with an experienced auto accident attorney 

When you work with an auto accident lawyer, case development can be much easier than if you are trying to tackle a claim on your own. Personal injury attorneys are well versed in the legal processes of a variety of accidents, including slip and fall injuries, workplace injuries, wrongful death cases, and of course, car accident injuries. 

An experienced car accident lawyer can help you gather all the critical evidence you need to help support your case. Credible legal firms are equipped with investigation teams that will analyze every aspect of your case to collect pertinent and relevant information that will support your claim. At the law firm of Adam S. Kutner, our legal team is committed to serving you during your most pressing time of need. Get the justice you deserve when you work with an auto accident attorney that is committed to serving you.