The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported 6,756,000 motor vehicle traffic crashes occurred in the United States in 2019 injuring over 2.74 million people.
The average American will be involved in 1-2 auto collisions or car wrecks in their lifetime. If you are ever involved in an auto collision, there are a few steps you can take to protect your financial and health interests
First, check yourself and your passengers for any injuries, then when it is safe to do so, report the auto collision immediately to 911. Move your vehicle out of the flow of moving traffic if possible to do it safely. Even if no one is injured, you are required to report the auto collision to law enforcement as the Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 40-6-273 requires drivers of vehicles involved in collisions to report said collision immediately. Failure to report a collision may result in criminal charges. Another benefit to reporting your auto collision is law enforcement makes an immediate record of the collision. The statements given to law enforcement at the scene are often the most truthful account from all parties involved. Calling 911 is also necessary as injuries from auto collisions may not be visible at first and due to the shock and adrenaline of the situation, a person could be seriously injured and not know it right away.
Next, even if you only feel minor aches and pains, it is important to seek medical treatment in a timely manner. If you think you are injured in any way, seek immediate medical attention by requesting paramedics and an ambulance, or have someone drive you to a nearby emergency room. Alternatively, make an appointment as soon as you can with your primary care physician or a local urgent care clinic. Some muscle and tendon injuries may not show symptoms or feel painful until the next day.
Proactively seeing a physician can reduce the cost of medical bills and also preserve evidence of your injury. Judges in Georgia courts often deny medical bills in personal injury cases when the first visit to the doctor is weeks or months after you were injured in an automobile collision.
Next, contact your automobile insurer as well as the other driver’s automobile insurer as soon as possible. Each company will most likely need to examine your vehicle and hear your side of the story before making the decision to pay for repairs to your vehicle. Calling as soon as you can after the collision can speed up the process of getting your car repaired or declared as totaled.
Finally, once you have completed all the necessary steps above, you should know how much this collision has damaged you financially. Once you know how much it will cost to repair or replace your vehicle, and you know the full extent of your bodily injuries, you may submit your medical bills and repair bills to the at-fault driver’s insurance company to negotiate a settlement that includes not only your financial losses, but also compensation for your pain and suffering from the collision and the injuries you suffered.
Check yourself and all passengers for injuries.
Report the collision to 911 when you are able to do so safely.
Move your vehicle out of the flow of traffic if possible. (taking pictures of the vehicles’ resting places before moving)
Seek immediate medical evaluation and treatment at Urgent Care, your regular Primary Care Physician, or the Emergency Room.
Contact your auto insurance, and the other driver(s) insurance companies to set up a claim for the incident (if applicable).
Submit Evidence to pursue your claim against the negligence 3rd party’s insurance policy once your medical treatment is either finished or the current cost of your treatment exceeds the policy limits of the negligent 3rd party OR hire an attorney to do steps 5-6 for you.
As always, RAM LAW provides free consultations on any subject. If we can’t help you, we will try to connect you to someone who can. Call 678-488-7067 or Email Attorney Renee Morgan.
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