5 Steps to Take If You’re Involved in a Car Accident in Lansing
According to the Michigan State Police, there were 284,339 traffic accidents in Michigan in 2018. Of those accidents, 27,559 resulted in personal injury, and 962 were fatal. If you’ve been involved in a car accident, it’s important to know what steps to take in the aftermath—both to ensure your safety and to protect your legal rights. Here are five steps you should take if you’re involved in a car accident in Lansing:
1. Move to a Safe Area
If you can, it’s important to move your vehicle off of the road so that you’re not blocking traffic. If you can’t move your vehicle, turn on your hazard lights so that oncoming traffic knows to exercise caution. If you’re able, you should also try to get to a safe area away from the road—especially if you suspect that another vehicle may not see you stopped on the side of the road.
2. Check for Injuries
Once you’re in a safe area, check yourself and your passengers for injuries. If anyone is injured, call 911 immediately. Do not try to move an injured person unless they are in immediate danger of being hit by oncoming traffic.
3. Call the Police
Even if there doesn’t seem to be any damage to your vehicle or any injuries, it’s important to call the police after an accident. The police will create an accident report that will be valuable if you need to file an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit later on down the road.
4. Exchange Information with the Other Driver
It’s important to exchange information with the other driver involved in the accident—including their name, address, phone number, and insurance information. You should also ask them for their driver’s license number so that you can request a copy of their driving record later on (more on that below). However, it’s important not to admit fault for the accident or discuss what happened with the other driver—even if they were clearly at fault! Anything you say could be used against you later by either their insurance company or their attorney if they decide to file a personal injury lawsuit against you.
Instead of discussing what happened with the other driver, stick to exchanging information and politely let them know that you’ll be talking with your insurance company about what happened.
5. Contact Your Insurance Company After exchanging information with the other driver and calling the police, the next step is to contact your insurance company as soon as possible so that they can begin processing your claim. At this point, it will also be helpful if you have a copy of your insurance policy handy so that you can reference it while talking with your insurer about what happened and what coverage may apply. It’s also important not to speak with the other driver’s insurance company until after you’ve spoken with your own insurer—and only then if absolutely necessary! The reason for this is that anything you say could potentially be used against you by their insurer when determining how much (or whether) they’ll pay out on a potential claim against their insured driver.). The best thing you can do is let your own insurer handle all communications with the other driver’s insurer regarding any damage done to your vehicle or any injuries suffered by yourself or your passengers as a result of the accident.
Hopefully, these tips will help you know what steps to take if you, unfortunately, find yourself involved in a car accident here in Lansing! But remember, even if no one was injured and there doesn’t seem to be any damage done to either vehicle involved, it’s still important to contact an experienced personal injury attorney who can evaluate what happened and advise you of your legal rights moving forward.
Oakes Law Group – Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys Serving Ingham County & Surrounding Areas If you or someone close to you has been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence behind the wheel, it’s important that you seek experienced legal assistance as soon as possible following an accident. We understand how overwhelming and stressful dealing with both an injury and its aftermath can be—and we’re here to help guide our clients through every step of their case so that they can focus on healing and moving forward with their lives.
