Tips: What to Do After an Accident: Your First Steps

Making Sure You Can Move On From a Crash

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It’s an unfortunate experience we’ve all had, some of us more than once. You’ve just been in a car accident and your car is totaled. Beyond the obvious, most important thing–that everyone is okay–there are important steps you’ll need to take, such as important phone calls to make and actions to take before you ever leave the scene of the accident. Believe it or not, many people think that they can just take off after an accident, as long as they are physically okay.

Below are the first steps you should take after getting in an accident, no matter what:

Call 911

You should always call and report an accident, even if there are no visible injuries or damage to the car. Accidents must always be logged with local law enforcement, who will come and take statements, do an accident report and assess any damage. Leaving the scene without doing this could result in criminal charges, as it’s illegal to leave the scene of an accident. (Ed. note—In many large cities police will not come unless injuries are involved in the incident.)

Get Checked Out for Injuries

Even if you look and feel fine, it’s a good idea to get assessed by medical personnel. Usually the officer attending the accident will offer this to you, but in the event that they do not, popping by an urgent care clinic to get checked out is a good idea. You never know, you might have a concussion or neck injury that you aren’t aware of. If you don’t get checked out and issues arise later, you could miss out on a medical settlement or treatment that would otherwise be paid for by insurance.

After getting checked out, make sure you give your body the best chance of recovering quickly by being as healthy as possible during the period after the accident – you may even wish to add a supplement from somewhere like Gold Bee into your diet in order to give yourself a little extra boost where needed. 

It is no secret that both medical treatments and natural pain relief products can be expensive and therefore it is important to make sure that your chosen insurance policy can cover these costs. With this in mind, you can learn more about some of the different types of pain relief products that you might need to treat any injuries sustained after a crash by taking a look at the helpful resources on the CFAH website here: www.cfah.org.

Exchange Information with the Other Driver

You should always get the other driver’s information, no matter who was at fault. Write down the make and model of their car, license plate number, get their name, address and phone number, and write down their insurance information. The police officer will do this too, and it will appear in the accident report later, but it’s a good insurance policy to write all of this down yourself too, just in case. It’ll help you get a head start on filing an insurance claim, for starters. 

Call your Insurance Company and File a Claim

You must do this even if you are not at fault. Get the accident on file with all relevant information, so your insurance company can best assist you, provide you with a rental and any other needs you may have. Provide them with as much info as you can, including pictures and the other party’s information.

Get the Police Report

The attending officer must file a Police accident report, which can appear on the police department’s website or be collected in person, usually a few days after the accident. You’ll need this for any insurance disputes or claims, as it contains the officer’s opinion as to who was at fault, details about injuries and damage, etc, so make sure you obtain a copy as soon as it is available.

If you take these steps after your accident, the process of getting your claim paid, getting another car and getting on with your life will go so much easier.