What to do after a Car Accident

Being involved in a car accident can be frightening.  If you have been hurt due to someone else's negligence, you can seek payment of your medical bills by the party responsible.  The steps necessary to negotiate with an insurance company can be a stressful and difficult for someone who is not a trained attorney.  An experienced attorney can help you with the process and possibly recover money for your medical bills, pain and suffering. There are several steps you need to take following a car wreck. 

1.  Please seek medical help if you are in any way hurt.  There is no need to be “tough” and decline help at the accident site, if you think you have sustained an injury.   Do not turn down an ambulance ride to the nearest hospital, if you think you may need medical attention.

2.  Make certain the police are notified and you receive an accident report.

3.  If there are witnesses at the scene of the accident, either bystanders or good Samaritans who helped at the scene, by all means get their names and phone numbers and give them your contact information.

4.  It is a good idea to keep a disposal camera in your glove compartment for pictures at the wreck scene (in case an accident occurs).  Take as many as you can from all angles.  If applicable, take pictures of skid marks, debris on the road, and position of cars before they are moved by the wrecker etc. Take pictures of items that may have played a role in the accident i.e. directional signs, road work saw horses, ice, water on the road etc. Do take pictures of the sky and weather conditions (cloudy, sunny, icy etc).

5. As soon as you can, write down the series of events leading up to and following the wreck.  Be detailed in your account - make note of time of day, weather, was road wet, was construction  on the road an issue, how fast were you travelling etc.   If you and the other passengers (if there were any) can put all of your thoughts on paper in a chronological time sequence, this is most helpful to an attorney helping you with your case.  

6.  Keep detailed records of conversations with anyone associated with the wreck.  Be sure to keep a log of who you spoke to (first and last name and title), what day and time you spoke to them.   If you received correspondence from insurance companies or bills from medical providers, doctors, or pharmacies, make certain to keep all of these documents in one central location.

7.  If you have to miss work or appointments because of your injury, keep detailed records of this. 

All of this information can be extremely helpful to an attorney representing you.  No one wants to be involved in an automobile accident, but if you are, following the steps above can help you and your lawyer in resolving your issue.

Have Fun and Be Safe on Halloween!

Halloween is a wonderful holiday for children and adults. Don't forget to be extra careful when driving during the weekend before Halloween and on Halloween night.  There are usually lots of parties in neighborhoods for children and adults and gatherings on college campuses this time of year.  Costumes often consist of dark colored clothing that make it difficult for drivers to see trick or treaters or party goers!  Don't become part of an accident.  Drive safely and slowly in areas where trick or treaters may be travelling.  If you are travelling with children, make sure they are wearing reflective clothing, reflectors on their shoes and trick or treat bags.  Trick or Treaters need to be easliy seen by car drivers.  Unfortunately, Halloween parties can mean drinking and driving and that is not a good combination!   Be extra careful as you travel on the road during the Halloween weekend for children, teens, and extra mindful of adults who are behind the wheel who may have had too much to drink.  Clark & Smith Law Firm says be safe on Halloween and have fun.

Be Careful it is Back to School Time

School is back in session and the yellow buses and the carpool drivers are back on the road!  We all need to remember SAFETY FIRST while driving. There are likely new drivers on the road headed to high school and we must be aware that these drivers are not as experienced as others.  These inexperienced drivers are often in a hurry to get to school.  They might be texting or talking on their phones, or listening to music and not paying attention.  If you have a teen driver, now is an especially good time to remind them about additional traffic since schools are back in session.   It only takes a second for a child to dart out from a bus, a person to reach down on the floor board to grab a cell phone, or look away to change a radio station and all of a sudden there is an auto accident.  Be a defensive driver and focus on the road and the cars around you.   The Georgia Assembly passed a bill in June of 2010 “to prohibit persons 18 years of age or younger from using wireless telecommunications devices for sending or receiving text messages while operating a motor vehicle.”  The following link provides all the details of the Bill:

http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/search/sb360.htm

Please enforce this law with your teen driver to protect him/her and other people on the road.

Additionally, please be careful with passengers in your own vehicle.  A new Georgia Law was put in place on July 1, 2011 that requires all "children under the age of 8 to be properly restrained in an appropriate child passenger safety seat or booster seat."  Make sure you are following the most current Georgia State Laws to protect yourself, your passengers and other drivers.  No one wants to be part of a serious accident "SAFETY FIRST" and be careful on our roads as school is back in session.