Vegas Personal Injury Law Blog

It is very difficult to be in a rational state of mind following a motor vehicle accident. The first question that may come into your mind following an auto accident is, “Do I have to stop”? The law says that you must stop after an accident. It doesn’t matter if the auto accident involves a pedestrian, a moving car, a parked car or other real or personal property. If you drive away from an accident you can be charged with “hit-and-run”. Even if the accident is not your fault, “hit-and-run” penalties are severe. You may be stuck with a large fine or be picked up and taken to jail. You could even lose your driver’s license. If you hit a parked car, try to find the owner. If you cannot locate the owner, you may only drive away after leaving behind your name, address and an explanation of the accident. You must also notify the local police either by telephone or in person.

The most important thing to do following a motor vehicle accident is to keep track of the facts.

You should always keep a note pad and a pen in your vehicle. It is extremely helpful to have either a cell phone or a disposable camera to take pictures following an accident.

At the accident scene, before you even get out of the vehicle, try to write down the license plate, year, make and model of the other vehicle or vehicles involved in the accident. After an accident the adverse vehicle may leave the scene, especially in situations where adverse driver has a bench warrant or has no insurance or no driver’s license.

Before the police arrive at the accident scene try to obtain and exchange information with all other drivers. Obtain their name, address, home, work and cell phone numbers, license plate number and insurance company information, including their policy number. Keep a record of all names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for any witnesses to the accident.

Take photographs of the damage to the vehicles involved in the accident and also take photographs of the other drivers. They may try to leave the scene without providing you with their information. It is also helpful to have photographs of the accident scene in general. Typically, it takes law enforcement between our 15 minutes to an hour to arrive at the accident scene.

After the police arrive at the accident scene they will ask you to fill out a written statement. While you are waiting for the police to arrive you can start preparing your statement.

Eventually the police will ask you about how the accident happened. They will also ask you if you need medical attention. While you’re at the accident scene your adrenaline will be pumping and you may not experience any symptoms of a neck or back injury. These symptoms may not appear until hours after the accident and often appear after you have left the accident scene. If you have any sign of trauma after the accident, you should relate that to the investigating officer. If you decline medical attention, advise the officer that you will seek medical attention after you leave the scene of the accident with your private physician, quick care facility or your local hospital. If you have symptoms of dizziness, numbness, headache, disorientation or even minor neck and back pain, this should be reported to the investigating officer. If any part of your body made contact with the interior of your vehicle report that to your investigating officer.

In most cases the investigating officer will provide you with either a driver exchange card or a computer printout with basic information concerning the parties and vehicles involved in the accident. Always get the event number before you leave the scene from the officer so that you can obtain a copy of the traffic accident report.

You will either leave the accident scene by ambulance, by a ride in the tow truck, by a ride from a friend or relative, or you will drive your own vehicle away from the accident scene.

At some point after you leave the accident scene you must contact your own insurance company to report the accident.

If your injuries are severe or you have a concern about your health, go to a hospital.

If you have any signs of injury that require medical attention, this should be your first priority after being involved in an accident. See your family doctor, a quick care facility or chiropractor, if your injuries are not severe enough for you to go to the emergency room.

If you go to a hospital, you will need to know that you will probably incur three bills. The first is the hospital bill itself. The second is the bill from the emergency-room doctor, and the third is a bill from the radiologist who reads your x-rays. While you’re at the hospital you should try to obtain information concerning the identity of the healthcare providers related to these three bills. Oftentimes, it is difficult to obtain copies of the bills related to the emergency-room doctor and radiologist, because these bills most often are submitted to health insurance and the injured party never receives a copy. It is important for you to tell your attorney that he had x-rays at the hospital, so that he can order the radiologist’s bill.

If your symptoms continue, you should seek follow-up medical care. This may involve going to a chiropractor, doctor of osteopathy or medical doctor who is familiar with personal injury claims. If you go to a general practitioner who is not experienced in personal injury claims, the record keeping and the ability of the healthcare provider’s office to fully address your personal injury claim may not be sufficient.

If you lose time from work, keep a log of the time that you’ve taken off work as a result of the accident. If you use sick days, or if you use PTO or FMLA, this should be documented. Always require your treating physician to provide you with a doctor’s excuse, whether or not one is required by your employer. In the event that you have an inability to function properly at work due to your injuries, this should be documented by your supervisor. Also, a letter from your employer verifying and income loss, use of sick days, use of paid time off, or use of FMLA is extremely important to document your wage loss claim.

If you are a student, and you miss time from school, document missed school time and your inability to perform your schoolwork.

If you have visible injuries continue to take photographs of your injuries periodically and document the date of each photograph.

Keep a daily log of your pain, discomfort, emotional distress, fatigue, tenderness and inconveniences. Write down your feelings and experiences on a day-to-day basis documenting how the injuries have interfered with your daily life and relationships. This information should also be reported to your health care providers so that it can get into your medical records. See my Blog Post, “How Will Your Auto Accident Claim Be Evaluated?”

In the event that your vehicle is driveable, there is no rush in getting your vehicle repaired. Most people are anxious about getting their vehicle quickly repaired after an accident. If your vehicle is driveable, try to have the adverse driver’s insurance carrier take care of the property damage. This way the property damage will not be subjected to the deductible of your own automobile collision coverage. Ask the adverse insurance company if they utilize preferred shops? In the event that your vehicle is repaired at a preferred shop, the insurance company is on hook for any delay in the repair of your vehicle. In the event that your vehicle takes longer than expected to be repaired, the insurance company has to eat the delay by paying for your rental car during the entire time that your vehicle is being repaired. If you choose your own repair shop, the adverse insurance company will most likely only pay you for the reasonable amount of time that it should take to have your vehicle repaired. Believe me when I say that these delay issues are common problems on personal injury claims.

It is important to obtain a copy of the property damage estimate. In event they have a preliminary estimate from an insurance company and you take the vehicle to a repair facility, that repair facility will determine whether or not they can repair the vehicle for the amount of the preliminary estimate. If they can not, the proper procedure is that the repair facility will contact the adverse carrier to have a follow-up appraisal of the vehicle, especially after the vehicle is torn down and exterior parts are removed to reveal underlying damage.

Keep track of all of your out-of-pocket expenses for things such as ice packs, heating pads, bandages based bandages, childcare expenses, cancellation of vacations or loss of pre-paid trips, replacement of clothing, taxi service, or payments to others for transportation.