Sitting in a car that gets hit by another vehicle can be a jarring experience. Sometimes those that survive such an experience feel uncertain about what actions to take and which actions to avoid. Hopefully, those that read this article will remember what it says.
7 things to do
• Do call 911 and report the accident.
• Do get seen by a doctor as soon as possible.
• Do document the accident scene; take pictures.
• Do go after all the relevant evidence. Seek out the names of witnesses; then speak with those same witnesses. Return to the scene of the accident and look for a store, restaurant or parking lot that has a video camera targeting that same area. Try to get a look at that video footage.
• Do save all the bills that you received from visited doctors. Collect, too, the stubs that you might have received at a parking facility, when you went to a scheduled appointment.
• Do follow the doctor’s treatment plan; purchase and use the prescribed medication.
• Do call a lawyer.
6 actions to avoid
• While still at the scene of the accident, do not accept blame for what has happened. Do not even say, “I’m sorry.”
• Do not use social media during your recovery. Do not share any pictures on social media networks. Do not post any comments about the accident or about legal actions that you have chosen to take.
• Do not agree to record a statement for the other driver’s insurance company.
• Do not agree to write a statement for the other driver’s insurance company.
• Do not sign a medical release form if the insurance company asks you to do so.
• Do not make a point of learning to tolerate pain. Instead, you should get in the habit of recording the frequency and the length of any painful sensation. Start to keep a journal or a diary, so that you have a written account of all the times when you could have forced yourself to simply tolerate a given amount of pain.
This final suggestion could have been added to the section of things to do. It has been placed in the do not section because it does not pay to simply complain about pain. All pains should be documented. In that way, it becomes harder for an insurance company to question the veracity of any complaint about painful sensations.
Moreover, Personal Injury Lawyer in Moncton know that documented pain serves as proof that a claimant has not yet reached the point of maximum medical improvement (MMI). Smart claimants do not negotiate with the adjuster until they have managed to reach that point of MMI. Only then is it clear that no new symptoms should develop, and no earlier ones get worse.