In 2016, hundreds of thousands of people suffered injuries in car crashes throughout the state of Ohio. A report from the Ohio Department of Public Safety found that over 70,000 crashes resulted in injuries with even more causing damage to property.
In many cases, the liable party is abundantly clear. A person may have a slam dunk of a case, but due to an erroneous error made at the scene or shortly after, a successful claim becomes less of a given. Therefore, drivers should be aware of four disastrous mistakes to avoid after a collision.
1. Declining medical care
You may not want to go to the hospital after a collision, but it is for the best even if you feel fine. If a medical problem develops at a later date as a result of the crash, then it will be harder to prove if it has any relation to the car accident. A doctor’s visit also documents the incident, so there are more files on-hand if legal action needs to happen later.
2. Not notifying your insurance provider
You should inform your insurance agency of the accident within 24 hours of the incident. While you are speaking to a representative, there is no need to say whether it is your fault; simply provide the facts. You also want to talk about any injuries you suffered.
3. Not taking photos
Someone should take pictures of both vehicles and the surrounding area. Weather conditions could have played a role or perhaps a pothole in the road was partly to blame. You want to back up any claims with concrete evidence.
4. Admitting even partial blame
Regardless of who is at fault, it is important to never admit fault. Even if it is clear the other driver was negligent, you may say something along the lines of, “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t see that stop sign either.” A line that seems innocuous could end up seriously hurting your claim.