A car accident can be a traumatizing event. It can also be life-altering, as well as expensive. According to the World Health Organization, as a result of car crashes, between 20 and 50 million people suffer non-fatal injuries, and many of those result in a disability. The actions you take directly following your car accident can have a big effect on the final outcome of the incident. You need to be aware of several important details that can make a difference in your case. If you’ve been in a car accident recently, here are a few things you should do as soon as possible.

Receive Medical Treatment

The most important thing to do following a car wreck is to get the medical treatment you need for any injuries. There are many types of injuries that can occur during a car wreck that might not look obvious at first. These can be serious, life-threatening problems, though. You need to be seen by a healthcare provider to identify any injuries.

Although there may be a lot of things on your mind following the accident, it’s important that you prioritize your health and healing. Even if you will be forced into a lawsuit, you must take your healing seriously. If you can’t get better from your injuries, it will quickly start to affect your quality of life. That would be the real tragedy in your accident.

Call Your Insurance Company

It’s also very important that you call your insurance company as soon as possible. Your insurance needs to be notified of the accident. Sometimes people are scared to call their insurance company because they think they might get blamed somehow for the accident. Even if the accident was your fault, you still need to notify insurance. The sooner you notify them, the better. If you fail to notify them, it could appear that you’re trying to purposefully withhold information. That is what might get you in trouble. Your insurance company often wants to help you through this difficult time, so be sure to stay in steady communication with them.

Keep Track of All Medical Bills and Records

If you did get seriously injured during the accident, you need to keep records of all the medical treatment and expenses that you’ve collected. This information can be very important in the future if you wind up having an accident injury case. An accident attorney will need all of this information if you wind up challenging the insurance company or the at-fault party that was involved in the accident.

Keep Track of How Work Is Affected

You will also want to keep track of how work and your career are affected by this incident. If you lose time at work due to your injuries, make sure you have an official record of this from your employer. If your job will be affected long-term by your injuries, then you need documentation of this, too. For instance, if you’ll no longer be able to stand on your feet for hours at a time and your job requires this, that is a huge change for you and it should be considered when your accident attorney is calculating your damages as a result of the wreck.

Don’t Talk to the Other Insurance Company

Although you need to be in communication with your own insurance company, you don’t need to talk to the other company without your lawyer. The other insurance company will try to encourage you to settle out of court for way less than you are likely owed. It’s in your best interest to not even talk with the other party’s insurance company without your lawyer present. Unless you’re a legal professional yourself, you won’t have a good frame of reference for what is and what isn’t a fair amount to offer you for your medical bills and pain and suffering. Your lawyer will help guide you through negotiations like this and ensure you get the fair amount for your injuries and suffering.

These are just a few things you should do following a car accident. If you’re looking for a reliable accident attorney, call Gridley, Ward & Hamilton today. We are here for your legal needs. We look forward to working with you.