You or someone you know who was a pedestrian, has just been struck by a car. They go to the hospital and you wonder, what should I be doing? Our friends at the Lombardi Law Firm share some of the top things you should do after this type of accident:
- Arrange for photographs to be taken of the victim’s injuries
- Arrange for photographs to be taken of the car that struck the victim
- Arrange for photographs to be taken of the accident scene
- Obtain a copy of the police report
- Obtain names and contact information for any witnesses
- Check and make sure the victim or their family are hiring a qualified personal injury lawyer
- Preserve the victim’s clothing and cell phone
- Copy any published news articles including people who were interviewed
- Rephotograph the bruising, lacerations, stitched skin and now more obvious head injuries
- Visit your friend in the hospital and don’t forget to take a few photographs
Someone you know is seriously injured in an accident. Feeling sorry for them is important, but getting focused is equally important. Someone on your team needs to lead the charge to begin gathering and preserving evidence. Because if you have not hired a lawyer, then the at-fault party’s insurance adjuster is busy destroying the evidence you will need to prove your friend’s case.
Not only that, but as more time passes by, more evidence will be lost. For example, once the scene of the accident has been cleaned up, evidence will no longer be available. It is best to jump on this right away to help out your friend or family member.
Who is that one person who should be given all the information? Who is in charge? Who collects all the phone images, witness names, witness contact information and is in control of finding the right lawyer? Someone needs to be the captain. It can be you or someone else in the family, but the most important part is to communicate. Tell everyone you are in charge or verify who is in charge. Once someone takes charge, everyone can send their evidence to that point of contact.
Insurance company’s first pay for car damage and then, they sell or scrap the car. Scrapping the cars means your evidence just got crushed. The adjuster may have snapped a few images of the damage, but he or she are not focused on proving how serious the damages were. Insurance adjusters do not get inside the car to photograph blood splatters or hair embedded in the shattered windshield. Much of the important damage is glossed over, omitted or avoided.
And after you do all of the above, get back on your horse and rephotograph the victim’s bodily injuries. The yellow, red, brown and bruising as it further develops.
Last important thing is to hire a lawyer and then provide him or her everything that has been gathered and preserved. Contacting a lawyer immediately should also be at the top of your to-do list.
