Involved in a car wreck and don’t know what to do?
Here’s some quick advice from your local Kendall car accident lawyers, Baron, Herskowitz, and Cohen.
First and foremost, the immediate safety of your passengers and yourself is the top priority – as well as that of other drivers, passengers or anyone else who was involved in the accident. If an ambulance needs to be called, dial 911 first. Fortunately, other people will likely do the same.
Remember, the scene of an accident – even small fender benders – can be chaotic and confusing. Immediately following an accident, you’re mind is racing and it’s difficult to gather yourself.
Assuming you’re physically capable, you’ll want to make contact with the other driver and keep in touch with them. Getting the contact information of the other driver(s) is vital so it can be given to the police for their report – and so you have their information if further correspondence if necessary – whether by you, your insurance company or your attorney.
Here is the information you should try to get from other driver:
- The other driver’s name
- Their address
- Their date of birth
- Their phone number
- Their email address
- Their license number
- The name of their insurance company
*If the owner of the other vehicle is different than the driver, you will need their information as well – this happens often, especially if the car accident involves teenage drivers. Teens usually don’t own the vehicle they drive as it’s owned by their parents.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) latest statistics on Florida car accidents is from 2017. During that time, there were over 400,000 car accidents involving more that 686,000 people. As car accident lawyers in Kendall, we know that many of these accidents happen locally – with many happening with 10 miles of our office near Dadeland Mall.
Sometimes, we’re even called while people are at the scene of the accident because they know they want the advice of experienced car accident lawyers!
While contact information is important, what other info should you get?
- The date and time of the accident
- A quick overview of weather conditions
- An estimate of the speed of all involved drivers
- The direction everyone was driving
- The condition of the road
- The location of the accident
- Make note of any injuries or damage
- The contact information for any eye witnesses that are willing to help
And certainly, make note of anything unusual. Did you see the other driver talking on the phone, texting, fumbling around in the back seat for something or eating a hamburger – none of which is uncommon and can impact a drivers ability to maintain proper control of their vehicle? Was a stop sign broken or missing? Was a traffic light not operating correctly? Was the other driver acting aggressive (either before the crash or even after). Was another car involved that left the scene of the accident. In the Kendall area, we’ve seen or heard about so many odd things about car wrecks, that nothing seems unusual anymore.
If you have a camera or camera phone with you, take pictures of the car’s damages, any marks in the pavement, injuries and the entire scene of the accident from different perspectives. If you can’t physically do it, try asking a passenger or someone around the accident.
Get Help from Kendall Car Wreck Lawyers
We know that the scene of an accident is a whirlwind of confusion. Any information you can get immediately after the wreck could be immensely helpful if you were to hire a lawyer to help with your car accident. We know the Kendall area of Miami and are here give you the advice you need.
If we can help, please don’t hesitate to call our office ASAP after the wreck at 305-67o-0101. Or fill out the contact form at the right hand side of this page and we’ll get back to you very quickly. Thank you – the attorneys at Baron, Herskowitz, and Cohen.
