The average driver will at some point in their driving career, be involved in an auto accident. Minor accidents are a minor inconvenience, but major accidents often involve injury and sometimes those accidents result in a personal injury claim. Richard Howe, managing partner of Howe & Associates offers the following advice for all accidents, and especially if injuries are involved. “My first advice is to call 911 without hesitation,” says Howe. Getting police involvement on the scene is going to be the best thing that you can do for your case. They are going to record a police report that’s going to show how the accident occurred and who was the “at fault” party. In addition, drivers should take pictures, since the best chance to take pictures if your vehicle’s been damaged, is at the scene of the accident. Also take as many pictures as you can, including the area immediately surrounding the accident scene, since those will come in handy for you later.
Obtain the Insurance Information from the opposing party. That information is going to be on the police report but it’s advisable to obtain their contact information and insurance information directly. Howe also says that, “People often ask me if they should move the vehicle? Our advice is to have the vehicles stay where they are. That shows the police officer who was at fault, and if you’ve been hit from behind you want the police officer to know that. We’ve had cases before where there have been vehicles moved and people change their stories.” Never admit fault. There’s going be a liability issue with every single case and the less you say the better and just never admit fault in an accident.
Contact your own insurance adjuster and let them know that you have been in an accident. You may have collision insurance and they can go ahead and start the process of preparing your vehicle at that time. Howe adds, “I do recommend that if the opposing insurance adjuster calls you, to never give a recorded statement.” If there is a possibility that you might file a personal injury claim, then the most important thing is to find an experienced personal injury attorney and begin communicating with them immediately. The sooner a law firm is engaged in a case the better job they can do for you.
“Many times we get calls from clients at the scene of the accident. It can never be too early. We would like to be involved at every stage of the case so that we can control and manage the case to the eventual goal of maximizing your recovery for the damages that you sustained,” says Howe.
To learn more about Richard Howe, visit: http://alpharettainjuryattorneyga.com.