How To Deal With A Minor Car Accident In Atlanta

Even a minor car accident causes noticeable damage to the victim’s vehicle and them personally as well. Seeking compensation for such damages, both for the economic and non-economic losses, is your right. But to exercise this right, you need to take some preliminary steps. Doing so will increase your likelihood of getting fairly compensated for all the losses.

Your Atlanta car accident lawyer will take up the case and do all they can on their end, but part of the responsibility falls on your shoulders as well. Use the small remnants of your strength after such a car accident to pull yourself together and follow through with these recommended steps, if you can:

Gather Evidence at the Scene

You need to record all things you can so that they serve as evidence later on. Even the slightest detail which you think can help should be on the list. Right off the bat, start photographing the car accident, the damage sustained, the car license plate of the liable party, and the accident scene.

You can also record videos to add some more perspective to the whole thing. Also, you’ll want to exchange information with the other party – ask for their driver’s license to verify and record all the important details, also ask them about their insurance provider.

Then you should approach anyone who saw the whole thing happen and politely ask them to share their contact information with you. Tell them why you need this information and how it can help you secure a settlement for your losses.

If you see any surveillance cameras nearby, take note of it, you can get the footage later on.

Report the Matter to the Police

You should not leave the scene of the car accident until the police arrive. Ideally, contact the police on the spot and wait on the accident scene for the reporting officer to show up. When they come over, share with them all the details you can remember so that they can put those into their initial report.

You’ll need a copy of their report later on, for that, you’ll have to go down the station. Also, note that if you leave without telling the reporting officer your side of things, then you risk giving the upper hand to the other party. Calling the police is not optional either, it is a basic protocol for such situations.

If, for some reason, the police can’t show up where you are, reach out to them at your earliest convenience and file a report with them.

Seek Medical Attention

You can’t delay seeking medical attention after a car accident because doing so will give the impression that you were not as hurt as you claim to be. This can be very dangerous for your personal injury claim because the insurance adjuster will use the ambiguity to slash down the settlement sum.

Don’t delay seeing your doctor, even at the latest, you should see a medical professional within 72 hours after the car accident. But ideally, get there immediately after your crash. The initial diagnosis and the doctor’s notes will help you prove your point.

Even in minor cases, it is possible to suffer from injuries like whiplash, traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, and so on. Thus with timely medical diagnosis and treatment, you can show the insurance adjuster that you were genuinely hurt and took all the necessary steps to get better.

Document Your Losses

Next, you need to keep a hold on the bills and expense documents to help our lawyer sum up your economic losses lawyer on. Start with your medical bills, don’t miss a single one. The same goes for the economic losses due to property damage, extra expenses necessitated by the accident, lost wages (i.e. based on the number of days you were out of work), and so on.

This documented evidence will help you assert the extent of your economic losses. Your lawyer can use the same to get an estimate of your non-economic damages as well, i.e. by assigning a multiple to your total financial losses and using the resultant sum as a reference to your economic and non-economic damages.

Seek Legal Consultation From Reginald Greene, Attorney At Law

This goes without saying: if you want to be fairly compensated for your losses, you need to present your position firmly in the case. This is only possible if you seek legal representation from a seasoned personal injury attorney like Reginald Greene. Your worries at this stage are understandable, and even if you can’t pay the attorney fees upfront, we understand.

The initial consultation is free, call us without any obligation!

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