With more cars on the road than ever before, people are much more likely to be involved in a car accident. Driving-related injuries are increasing not only because of the traffic but also due to negligence, poor driving behavior, rash driving, and many other variables. Road networks are getting larger and vehicles are maintaining higher average speeds. This results in accidents that are more severe and can have serious consequences for everyone involved.
The damage to property is one problem but the more pressing matter is accident-related injuries. In some cases, people might be able to walk away from the accident but in worst-case scenarios, their lives are permanently changed. Here are some tips to help you tackle driving-related injuries.
Get Medical Attention
If you have been involved in an accident, the first thing to do is to seek medical attention. Visiting your local GP is not your best bet. You should consult with an emergency medical professional who specializes in car accident injuries. There are a number of injuries that are specific to car accidents and can be extremely hard to identify if a health provider doesn’t know what to look for.
An emergency medicine professional will check for all these issues before sharing their verdict. Many of these injuries are not apparent at the time of the accident and don’t surface up to 72 hours later. If they are left untreated, or the injury gets worse due to negligence, it can become a much bigger problem, even a life-threatening issue.
Professional Help
Whether you’ve had an accident with a private vehicle, government vehicle, commercial vehicle, or any other type, you will need to follow legal regulations to get any kind of compensation. In minor cases, the insurance companies involved together with the local police can handle the situation themselves. If you end up being involved in a reckless driver car accident that has led to serious injury and the involved party is not cooperating, you have no other option but to go to court. You will have to file a case and get the compensation you deserve.
Injury claim cases can be long and complicated so your best option is to get a competent lawyer who understands the dynamics of this kind of case. The insurance provider and the other party will be trying their best to get out of the issue without having to pay anything. It will be a challenge to get the compensation you deserve but it is very possible with the right professional.
Gather Evidence
The court and the jury will make a decision based on the available evidence, not on the personal accounts of the involved members or on any other metric. Having the right kind of evidence is a crucial part of your case. Ideally, you should have evidence from all stages of the accident. This can involve pictures from the scene, eyewitness accounts, medical reports, police reports, and any other kind of evidence you can get. If you are injured, it could be weeks, or even months before you get to court but during that time you need to be compiling the necessary evidence for your case.
Without the right evidence, and the right amount of evidence, even the best lawyer will not be able to do much. Before you get to court, make sure you do not issue any statements and that you have no communication with the other party. Anything you say can be used against you in court. Any communication that does take place should be first vetted by your lawyer.
File Your Case
Different states have different procedures for filing accident claims. It’s also likely that the case will not be heard in a court in the same area where the accident took place. If you have had an accident in a different part of the country, you can file the case in your home state or in any other state that is applicable in that scenario. When finding a lawyer, make sure you hire someone who is familiar with the accident claim laws in the specific state that the case is being held.
Injury claim cases also have a time limit. You have to file your case in court within a certain amount of time for it to be valid, otherwise, you will have no right to any claims from that accident. In some states, this can be as little as 3 months, in other states this statutory period can be as much as 3 years. Make sure you talk to your lawyer and either take action within this time or have a legal representative take action on your behalf. Accident claims can also take a while to reach a conclusion so be prepared to invest some time in going to court and sorting this problem out.