What to do after a car accident in New Jersey or Pennsylvania
Thousands of car accidents occur every year in New Jersey. Although the majority of these accidents involve property damage to vehicles, there are a significant number of accidents that result in injury to the people involved. If you have never been in a car accident, you may not know where to start or what steps to take after a collision.
If you or someone you know is involved in a car accident in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, you must know what to do after the accident to protect yourself and your interests.
The following steps should be taken after a collision to prepare for a successful claim and obtain appropriate compensation from the insurance company.
Stop your car immediately.
It is important to never drive or run from the scene of an accident, even if it is a minor accident. If you are involved in a minor accident, New Jersey law requires you to stop the vehicle and move it out of the flow of traffic while keeping the vehicle as close to the scene of the accident as possible. Penalties for leaving the scene of an accident in New Jersey can include a fine of $200 to $15,000, as well as license suspension and a prison sentence of up to 5 years.
Call 911
After a collision, you should call the police to inform them of a car accident. Be sure to notify the operator of the exact location of the accident and report any injuries if an ambulance is needed. Even if your car accident was minor, you should call the police. New Jersey law requires that any accident involving death, injury or property damage exceeding $500 be reported immediately. Even a very small fender bender can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage that won’t be visible until a mechanic inspects the vehicle. Failure to contact the police may result in the police issuing you a summons (speeding ticket)!
Once the police arrive, they will file an accident report, so you should reveal all the details of the collision to the best of your ability. If you do not remember specific facts, tell the officer you are not sure.
If they ask you if you’re injured, it’s better to say “I don’t know” than not – often, it can take hours for the pain or injury to appear. The officer will record all of the driver’s reports of what happened, so make sure the reports on both sides are accurate.
A detailed and accurate accident report is critical to your case because it can help build a larger insurance or legal claim.
Collect evidence
Make sure to collect as much evidence as possible to strengthen your claim or case. Evidence can include everything from taking photographs to obtaining witnesses and obtaining information from them, thus corroborating your claims. If you have any visible wounds, be sure to take pictures of them as well. Obtain license plate registration, other driver’s license information, and insurance company information.
Medical evaluation
As mentioned earlier, injuries from car accidents do not always appear immediately after a collision. Even if you don’t think you are infected, it is important to see a specialist as soon as possible. Symptoms may not appear for days or weeks after the accident, and waiting that long to report them will make it difficult to prove that the symptoms were due to the car accident. Your local urgent care is your best option because it costs much less than a hospital emergency room. No matter how minor the injury, document it if it occurs in the future. Insurance companies often deny injury claims because injuries were not documented early enough.
Contact your insurance company
Even if you do not intend to file an insurance claim, you should still report the accident to your insurance company. It may take several weeks to realize that something is wrong with your vehicle, and as with personal injuries, it can be difficult to prove that the damage or defect occurred due to an accident that was not reported.
If the responsible party is underinsured, or worse, has no insurance, your insurance company will foot the bill for your accident. This does not mean that your payment amount cannot be negotiated or reduced by your insurance company. We advise you to seek legal representation to negotiate with any insurance company (even your own) effectively. The insurance company will record your call/statement for use