Getting into a car accident is never a pleasant experience, no matter how minor or how severe it may be – it will leave an impactful mark on you. A lot of people don’t even know how they should act once they do end up in this situation, resulting in getting into further trouble and making a mess out of the situation. So here are 6 things you should do if you’re in a car accident!

Calm down

Your body goes through a state of shock after you’ve experienced a car accident, and it can, later on, turn into anger. Sure, those emotions are normal, but you might want to calm down for your own sake. If you are cool, calm, and collected, you’ll be able to handle the situation better and see the best way to help yourself or others in this situation. Panicking and having a rage attack won’t do any good, you’ll only make the situation way harder than it actually is! Breathe in and breath out a couple of times if needed, it will help calm your body and mind!

Don’t flee the scene

Regardless if you are the only participant in the accident or not, and if you are the one to blame or not you should always own up and accept the consequences. As far as someone like a personal injury lawyer in Honolulu is concerned, fleeing the scene of the accident is a big no-no whenever you are! Also, there is no need to blame the other involved party, staying out and waiting for the police to show up is enough. The professionals will, later on, determine the cause of the accident and only then you can proceed with the legal actions. 

 

Seek medical attention

It doesn’t matter how bad the accident really was, you should always check for injuries. If you are okay, make sure to check out if the people from other involving parties are okay. The most common car accident injury is whiplash, and many don’t even notice this at first, partially from shock and how fast the accident happened. Always seek medical attention, even if you think it’s nothing, and make sure to catch any strange symptoms hours after the accident too! Also, if you know basic first aid, try to use it on injured people, but only do this if you are certain that you won’t further hurt them along the way…

Call the authorities

In some cases, if the accident isn’t as bad, you don’t even need to call the authorities, but sometimes the situation just makes you do it. If the other party is not being respectful or is fleeing the scene – it’s best if you call the authorities and see what they can do. Be careful if the other party is a DUI, your goal is to behave accordingly so you can, later on, pick the best compensation from your chosen insurance company. So if the other involving the party is causing you more trouble, you can take them to court!

Gather evidence

If you are able to, make sure you exchange information with the other people who are involved in the accident, Start from names, numbers, and other personal information, this will make the process way easier later on. Take pictures of the scene itself, as every bit of evidence, might help your case! Some accidents are pretty specific, some are less serious than others, so it’s up to you if you want to involve the police or not. But most certainly, you need to at least exchange information with other participants if there were any, and take some sort of proof with you!

Contact an attorney

So, after you’ve done all the necessary protocols and got the medical attention necessary, it’s time to take a step further in protecting yourself, Call an attorney as soon as possible, when you still remember all the details from the accident. It’s important not to act without the guidance of a professional – a good attorney will hear you out and give you suitable advice for your situation. Also, you’ll start building your case with him and making your way to the insurance company to file a claim. Make sure you choose a good lawyer, who is experienced and has lots of similar cases!

 

It’s definitely something that a lot of people experience on the daily basis, unfortunately, so you need to be educated if you ever get into an accident yourself! You can actually do a lot of damage by avoiding and ignoring protocols, causing you to get into trouble in more ways than one…So it’s your job to just take it seriously, breathe, and handle the situation professionally!