Top Questions to Ask Yourself After an Elk Grove Car Accident
I’m Ed Smith, a personal injury lawyer in Elk Grove. After a car accident, most people are slightly disoriented. You might be hurt and in pain. Even if injuries are minor or absent, the emotion associated with the accident may make it difficult to concentrate. That is why having a checklist of things you need to do is a wise move. Just jot down some of the ideas below or print out the article, and put it in the glove compartment of your vehicle. You’ll be glad you did if a car accident happens.
Organizing Your Thoughts
It is important to document as much as you can after an accident. After making sure you don’t require emergency medical care, here are a few questions:
How many vehicles were involved in the accident?
- What was the location of the accident? Use any signage in view, including mile markers.
- How did the accident happen? Be as precise as you can be.
- Was another driver behaving recklessly? For instance, was speeding involved or did the driver disobey a traffic signal such as a red light or a stop sign?
- Did the driver use his or her signal lights appropriately?
- If it was a rear end collision because the vehicle in front of you stopped, were their brake lights working?
- Was the driver behaving as if he or she was impaired? This usually involves failure to maintain their lane or weaving in and out of traffic.
- Was anyone in your vehicle injured?
- Was anyone in the other vehicle(s) injured?
- Did the driver stop or keep going? If they left the scene of the accident, did you see a license plate number or notice the color and make of the vehicle?
Get the Information You Need
After the police have been called, it is a good idea to talk to the other drivers. All you need is to get their insurance and vehicle registration information along with their driver’s license number, name, address and telephone number. When you ask for this information, be polite and don’t say anything that could suggest that you caused the accident. Even small remarks can be used against you later on.
Talk to Witnesses
Witnesses have the advantage of perspective. They see the accident from a different view than the individuals who were involved in it. Your personal injury attorney will want to talk to them later on, so get their name, address, and telephone number, and note any remarks they make.
Take Photos of the Accident
Today it is easy to take photos of the accident scene since cell phone use is common. Use your cell phone to document everything you can. Most importantly, get a clear picture of vehicle placement after the accident and any road marks that exist. A forensic expert will be able to use this information to determine the trajectory of the vehicles prior to the accident as well as whether or not any effort was made to stop the vehicle before impact. Sometimes, an impaired driver will have a slow reaction time and not try to slow the vehicle. Take a few pictures of the license plate and location of each vehicle involved in the accident.
Note Additional Factors at the Site
It is important to get a full description of what was going on around you when the accident happened. Note if it was raining or if the sun was so bright it might have affected a driver’s visualization of the road. Construction crews may have been working in the area. Look to see if a traffic camera captured the accident, particularly if it happened at an intersection. Look to see if businesses were nearby. Many stores have video cameras installed outdoors. Give this information to your attorney when you contact them or during your free case review.
Elk Grove Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, an Elk Grove personal injury lawyer. As an attorney, I have helped numerous people with accidents of all kinds including car crashes. Whatever the accident is, the more information the client provides, the better. After an accident, call me at (916) 694-0002 or (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly advice. I am available online if that is easier for you.
I’ve practiced law for 36 years in Northern California, including Elk Grove. During this time, I have helped many residents get the compensation they deserve for injuries such as brain trauma among others.
When you are looking to retain a lawyer, you need to learn something about their firm. Check out my practice on the following pages that provide client and peer reviews and the ways I’ve resolved previous cases for clients.
I am a California member of the Million Dollar Advocates. Our membership is limited to only trial attorneys who have brought in settlements and verdicts more than of $1 million for a client.
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