Car crashes are a fact of life, and seem to and do happen when you least expect it. Usually you are on your way to the store, to work our out for the evening when someone blows a stop sign and smashes into your car. The question then is “what do I do now?’

While it may seem obvious, try not to panic. First and foremost, be careful before you get out of your car! Check yourself and your passengers for injuries and IMMEDIATELY call the police. If you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear by calling the police. Plus, the police on the scene will investigate the accident, secure all the relevant information and document it in a report which will greatly assist your lawyer later identifying responsible parties. The police will almost always give you a copy of the report on the scene, so hold on to it and keep safe.

After the police are done, you may need an ambulance, which the police will call. If you don’t see a need to leave by ambulance, we always reccomend that you at least drive yourself and your passengers to the closest emergency room to get checked out. While you may feel “ok” after the accident, often times injuries show up later. Also, insurance companies always seem to believe that if you don’t go to the emergency room, you must not be hurt, even if you follow up with your doctor later.

To sum up, after the accident, be careful leaving your car! You may be in traffic and don’t want anything else to happen. Check yourself and passengers for injuries and immediately call the police. If you need to take an ambulance, do it. If not, drive yourself later to the emergency room to get checked out. Finally, keep the police report and if you believe it is appropriate, call a lawyer you can trust, one that will fight for you for further and sound advice.