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You Can Learn From My Mistakes

After being involved in a serious car accident, I really believed that my insurance company would take care of everything. It wasn't until I finally received their settlement offer that I realized they were not on my side at all. This is when I got wise and consulted a personal injury lawyer. It was the best decision I could have made. Thanks to my attorney, not only did I learn a lot about personal injury law, but I actually got the compensation that I needed and deserved. I made a lot of mistakes after my accident, but I also learned a lot along the way. It is my hope that this blog will allow other accident victims to learn from common mistakes and get the information they need to be successful in their own personal injury claims.

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You Can Learn From My Mistakes

4 Things You Should Do If You Get Involved in a Minor Fender-bender

by Riley Sanchez

Odds are that at some point in your life you are going to be in a car accident. Most of the time it will probably just be a little fender-bender like when someone backs up into your car in the supermarket parking lot—hopefully it will never be more serious than this type of accident. However, even little fender-benders can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage to your vehicle and you will want to make sure you and your insurance company don't end up paying for the damage if your not at fault. Here are 4 things you can do to make sure the other driver is held legally accountable for their actions.

Call the Police

Anytime you are in a car accident, regardless of how serious, you should call the police so you can make an official report of the accident. You should be aware that the police will deal with high-priority calls first and it can take them awhile to respond to your minor traffic accident. In the meantime, while you are waiting, you can do exchange information, find witnesses, and remain patient.

Exchange Information

You will want to write down the name and address of the other driver, the type and model of car they are driving, the license number of their vehicle, and the information off of their insurance card. You should also give the other driver the same information about you for their records.

Look for Witnesses

You don't want to walk into a court of law in a "he said—she said" situation if the other driver is disputing your version of the events. To counteract this type of situation from arising, you will need to have witnesses verify your version of events. Start asking people in the immediate area right away if they saw what happened. If you find people who can back up your version of the events, take down their names and contact information. Your lawyer and/or insurance company will then contact them to take their statements that can be useful later on in court.

Remain Patient

You don't want to make matters worse by leaving the scene of the accident before the police arrive. Again, the police might not respond right away if there are more serious situations happening that they have to handle. If you find yourself waiting a long time (and you need to leave), call the police and inform them as to what is going on and that you need to leave the scene. The police will usually let you go to the police station to file a report (remember, if you do this, you won't get an official police report where they make an assessment on who is at fault for the accident—the information you get from witnesses will be even more invaluable if you end up disputing the accident in court). For more information, contact Kuzyk Law.

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