If you have been in a car accident and you haven’t been at fault, which means that the other person has been at fault – it essentially means that someone else is responsible for the accident that happened. They will be responsible for the property damage to your vehicle as well as for any physical injury that you have sustained, as well as for everyone else who was in the car with you.
The question is what to do when you have been in an accident, and you are not the at-fault driver.
Read on to learn more.
First Thing To Do: Call the Police
The first thing that you must do is to call the police. Get the police report, as it is incredibly important to have the police report with you. Call whatever authority should be there at the time. If you are too injured to do what is needed, ask someone else to call the police.
Calling the police is important for many reasons, and one of such reasons is that you can have some sort of legal document to verify that the accident actually did happen.
What Will the Documentation Contain?
On record, the police documentation will have several things that are crucial to you as well as your insurance claim. Speaking of insurance claims, make sure to get in touch with a car accident lawyer or a personal injury lawyer in your state as soon as possible.
For instance, get in touch with a personal injury lawyer Detroit if you reside in Detroit. This way, you will have a legal representative by your side as your guide right off the bat.
Time and Date of the Accident
Now, when it comes to the police report, it will be your legal documentation for what happened. It is going to include the time and date so that you or your lawyer can reference where the accident was located and what the weather and other details were like at the time of the accident.
Information of Involved Drivers
The legal document will have both of the drivers who were involved in the accident. The document will clearly state the names, those of the respective vehicles, and the contact information of all people involved in the accident.
Insurance Company Information
More importantly, the document will include insurance company information as well. All of these different things will be included in the document, including whether or not there are any witnesses. There will also be a diagram of the accident on the document.
All of these different things will be there and can become an important aspect of the insurance claim process. Of course, your lawyer will obtain a copy of this document for legal processes.
Swap Information with the Other Driver
Another thing that you can do after getting into an accident is to go to the other driver and ask them whether you can share your insurance information with each other. You don’t have to indulge in complexities while you are at it. You can simply use your cell phone and take a picture of that. This way, you will also have the insurance company’s information for your records.
Inform Your Own Insurance Company of the Accident
It is possible that you have moved on to the next step, where the claim happened, and now you are ready to make sure that it has been reported. At this point, you are waiting to hear from your adjuster. Also, you might want to go ahead and reach out to your insurance company, talk to the agent, and let them know that you have been in an accident.
Even though you are not at fault, it is still in your best interest to let your insurance company know that you have been in an accident. If you have an independent insurance agent, they will help you understand what the process is.
Make sure to keep a copy of that record on your file. Also, your lawyer will be there to guide you.
Expect to Hear from Your Insurance Adjuster
You should expect to hear from your insurance adjuster within 24 hours after the claim has been turned in. Ideally, an insurance adjuster should be reaching out to you with the objective of assessing the potential property medical or physical damage that you incurred due to the accident.
Sometimes, it can take more than 24 hours for the insurance adjuster to reach out to you – but typically, it should be within 24 hours. If you haven’t heard from them, you may go ahead and simply report that claim on your own. Even better, inform your lawyer, and they will do what is needed for you.
What To Do If You Don’t Hear from the Adjuster?
Suppose you are in a situation where you don’t hear from the insurance adjuster. In this case, you can do a few things. One of the things you can do is to report the claim yourself. If you have a copy of the police report that has the information on the other party’s insurance, you can call the insurance company and report it yourself.
Your lawyer will also help you in this process. Again, having a copy of the police report is incredibly important for your auto insurance claim process.
How Can A Lawyer Help You with the Claim Process?
As we mentioned earlier, having a lawyer by your side right off the bat is incredibly important for the claim process. Firstly, the lawyer is familiar with the ins and outs of a claim process. Also, the lawyer understands the dirty tricks that insurance adjusters play so that they don’t have to pay you the amount that you are entitled to.
So, it can be in your best interest to let the lawyer handle the matter for you, including negotiating with the insurance adjusters. It is incredibly important not to accept the first offer that the insurance adjuster might offer you. Also, keep a record of your medical bills and seek medical attention right away if you have sustained injury in an accident.
