Getting into a car accident is scary. There are no ands, ifs, or buts about it. Once you’ve spoken with the police, seen a doctor (or even taken a ride in an ambulance), you’re left trying to figure out how to put the pieces of your life back together. In fact, oftentimes, many car accidents leave individuals with permanent injuries and expensive medical bills.
Our New Hampshire personal injury legal team is here to help you navigate the ins and outs of your car accident case in the least stressful way possible. By focusing on the core areas below you’ll be protecting yourself from further issues down the line and ensuring you’re adequately prepared to handle whatever might come as a result of the accident.
In our years of handling personal injury cases, there are a few things we suggest to everyone after they get in a car accident.
Move to a Safe Area
If possible and physically able to do so without risking further injury, move your car to a safe area so that you aren’t impeding traffic or at risk of being hit by approaching vehicles. If your car is not operational, but you do have flares or emergency triangles, be sure to set those up as soon as possible.
Check For Injuries
Depending on the severity of the accident, you might even consider doing this first. The most important thing is to check and see if any life threatening injuries are at hand. Even if nothing seems life threatening, you’ll still want to call 911 and get an ambulance out to check everyone out. Sometimes serious injuries only show up later or at the hospital.
Document The Crash
Once you call the cops and give them an account of the accident, you’ll also want to provide your name and insurance information to anyone else that was involved in the crash.
You’ll want to get:
- Name and insurance information of the other driver.
- The other driver’s telephone number, if they are willing to provide it.
- Witness contact information.
- Photos of any damage.
- Police report number.
- Police officer’s name and telephone number.
- Personal notes on what happened during the incident.
A popular app that you might want to consider keeping on your phone is called WreckCheck and it is a free tool offered by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. You can create written and audio details of the crash and email them to yourself and your agent. If you find that you’re without your phone or it was damaged in the crash, draw a diagram of the accident if possible and include the direction each accident was traveling.
Check On Insurance Coverage
Your insurance claims process will depend on who was at fault and what your coverage includes. With that in mind, this is a general overview of how the process might look if you were in an accident where the other driver was at fault.
Your expenses:
You and your passengers’ expenses will be covered by the other driver’s insurance up to their policy’s limits. Your vehicle will be covered by their property damage liability coverage. Medical bills would be covered up to the limit of the other driver’s bodily injury liability coverage. Some states are no-fault states but not New Hampshire. In New Hampshire, however, your car insurance’s medical payments coverage will help pay some of your medical bills.
The other driver’s expenses will be covered by their collision coverage. This covers repairs up to the vehicle’s actual cash value, minus the deductible. This coverage is required if you are financing or leasing your vehicle, but optional if you own it outright.
What if the other driver doesn’t have insurance?
If the other driver didn’t have insurance or enough coverage to cover your bills, uninsured motorist insurance kicks in. This, however, is only required in 21 states. We strongly recommend purchasing uninsured motorist coverage in an adequate amount. Discuss with your insurance agent before deciding the right amount of coverage for you. It’s better to make sure all your bases are covered before you hit the road and find yourself without adequate coverage.
Have you found yourself in need of a New Hampshire personal injury attorney? Get in touch with our team for a review and assessment of your case, as well as advice from an experienced team on how to move forward. We deal with car accident cases on a daily basis and have numerous 5-star reviews that show the personal attention and care we give to our clients transcends what you might expect from your attorney.
