CAR ACCIDENT CHECKLIST TO KEEP IN YOUR GLOVEBOX OR ON YOUR PHONE
PRE-CRASH
____ Make sure driver’s license, safety inspection, insurance card and registration are current and are easily accessible in your vehicle.
_____ Make sure you have as much liability, uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance that you can afford. I commonly see cases where $100,000 per person coverage for liability and un- and-underinsured coverage are not enough. Always have as much un- and-underinsured motorist coverage as you have liability coverage. Pre-authorized checking payments will make sure your insurance hasn’t lapsed for failure to pay premium. Make sure you have health insurance.
_____ Always carry a cell phone that has a camera option.
_____ Consider mounting a permanent wide-angle dash cam. This could be very important if someone runs a red light or stop sign, causes a crash and there are no witnesses besides you and the negligent other driver.
_____ Keep a first aid kit in your vehicle.
_____ Have your car insurance claim-center telephone number and attorney’s phone number programmed into your phone and written immediately below (just in case your cell phone is damaged or lost in the collision):
Your Insurance Company Claim Center Telephone Number:_______________________.
Attorney’s Phone Number: Mitch Vilos 801 560 7117; mitchvilos@gmail.com.
_____ Keep a pen or pencil in your glovebox so you can check off what needs to be done!
IMMEDIATELY AFTER CRASH!
_____ Do what is necessary (or request help from others) to make sure you and everyone in your vehicle are safe from another vehicle running into you or being trapped in the vehicle in case of a fire!
____ Call or have someone call 911 for immediate help from ambulance and police.
____ Receive or request help for anyone needing immediate medical assistance, such as stopping the bleeding or stabilizing neck and back in the event of a spinal cord injury.
____ Prioritize immediate medical assistance to those appearing most at risk from their injuries giving you and your family priority and then those in other involved vehicles, if safe to do so.
____ If safe, have someone immediately take photos of the vehicles where they ended up after the immediately after the collision and any skid marks, deposit of debris (point of impact), and especially get a photo of the license plate of the vehicle(s) that caused the collision. (All too often, the guilty parties will drive away if their vehicle is operable.) Get good photos of damage to both vehicles. You can’t have too many photos.
____ After photos of vehicles where they ended up (if safe to do so), consider moving vehicles to avoid subsequent crashes (if on freeway and rear ended and car movable, you may find it safer to pull off to the side) and once that is accomplished, if possible, make sure there is a cement barrier between you and the wrecked vehicles. Then, if there is a second collision, you and your loved ones are out of harm’s way. If medical personnel recommend you or loved ones be transported by ambulance, follow that advice. If you have car insurance, you, by law, will probably have enough to cover the cost of ground transport.
_____ Ask witnesses who tell you they saw that the other driver was at fault to stick around to give their description and contact information to the investigating officers. If they seem in a hurry to leave, get, or have someone else get, their names and phone numbers (or snap a photo of their license plate before they leave!)
_____ Find out, if you can, or have the officer find out if the at-fault driver was on the job at the time of the crash (Very Important: This may help discover additional liability coverage).
_____ Tell police officer in plain and simple terms (if you weren’t knocked unconscious and have retrograde amnesia - if so, you’ll have to rely on eye witnesses) what the other person did that caused the accident. If he starts to act like he’s partly blaming you, tell him your attorney will contact him later after you are feeling better. Get his card!
_____ When all of the above is taken care of, call your car insurance company (see number above).
_____ Call your attorney (see number above).
AT THE HOSPITAL
_____ When checking in, make sure the hospital has both your car insurance AND your health insurance info (critical). It doesn’t matter that the other person was at fault, his insurance won’t pay until the end of the case anyway and your car insurance and maybe your health insurance will then expect to be paid back. If you are on Medicare or Medicaid, give that info to the hospital as your health insurance.
_____ When doctors or nurses ask what happened, keep it simple, make sure they know you are there because of a vehicle crash and a very simple description of why the other guy(s) are at fault: “Person ran red light, stop sign, crossed centerline (whatever).” Don’t get too descriptive, they don’t really care about liability, they just need to know what kind of bodily trauma you were subjected to so they can treat you. If you give them too much info, they’ll get confused and write down wrong - I see it all the time!
_____ Tell them EVERYWHERE you hurt, even if what hurts worst is what you need immediate pain treatment for. Often times the most painful injuries, such as broken ribs, turn out to NOT BE the most serious permanent injury and if you fail to mention your shoulder, neck or back pain, for example, the insurance company will try to say your permanent injury wasn’t caused by this crash because you didn’t tell the hospital personnel about it during the initial visit.
_____ If you think you won’t be in any shape to go back to work, make sure to get an “off- work” release from the emergency room doctor before you are discharged. We’ve found it is very difficult, if not impossible, to get one after the fact. However, if they tell you to check in with your private physician later, perhaps he/she will give you a written excuse from work for however long he/she thinks you need to keep from aggravating the injury.
YOUR ATTORNEY WILL ADVISE YOU FURTHER
_____ Meet with your attorney to fill out paperwork he needs to immediately get started on your case. Do not be embarrassed or shy to ask him to visit with you at the hospital or in your home immediately after discharge. Mitch 801 560 7117; mitchvilos@gmail.com.
[Even if wreck is in another state or you reside in another state, allow us to help you obtain the most competent injury attorneys in that/your state to assist you with your case, (which generally EXCLUDES attorneys who have to advertise on TV to get cases!)]