The first thing you should do is make sure that you and your family are okay. If anyone’s been injured, you want to go to an area hospital for immediate medical treatment. You may be taken by ambulance or your family to the hospital to get treatment. The next thing you should do is contact law enforcement. The law enforcement officer can come and make a report of the accident.
The third thing you should do is to do an exchange of information. That’s where you and the other driver exchange information, such as your insurance company information, name, and contact information, like a phone number. That information may be on the accident report, and if law enforcement did come to the scene, they will give you a short-form version of the accident report.
The next thing you should do, perhaps one of the most important things, is document the scene. What that means is, if you have a phone or camera, take photos of the accident scene. That includes damage to the vehicles. If there’s any debris on the roadway, take pictures of the area where the accident occurred so that you have some information, such as the weather and what the day was like.
Other documentation may include trying to determine if there are any witnesses in the area. So, other drivers may have pulled over, and if you can get their name and other contact information, that may be very important, as well. You may write some notes to yourself, almost like a journal, so that you can remember how you felt that day and any details of the accident because you might be asked about those later.
The fifth thing that you should do is to contact an attorney. This may be important to help you understand your rights. You’re not obligated to hire an attorney. Most attorneys will give you a free case review, but it’s very important to know your duties and responsibilities and your legal rights in connection with this accident.
Next, we’ll discuss whether you must talk to the insurance companies involved in this accident. There are typically two insurance companies: your insurance company and the other driver’s insurance company.
Do I Need To Contact My Insurance Company About My Florida Car Accident?
This is a contract issue. You need to look back at your insurance policy to see your rights and responsibilities, but generally speaking, yes. Most contracts provide that you are to inform the insurance company immediately after the accident if an incident occurs. The main reason is that if they need to investigate the claim, they have a reasonable opportunity to conduct a fast investigation.
Under most circumstances, you must talk to your insurance company, and you want to do that anyway to establish the medical payment claim under your PIP policy. Still, you may also want to determine information about your UM. If the other driver has no insurance or is under-insured, you want to make a claim under your under-insured motorist coverage. Then, you generally want to talk to your insurance company to ensure you satisfy all your obligations under your contract.
Then, there’s the issue as to whether you’re required to talk to the other driver’s insurance company, and there may be reasons why you don’t want to give what’s called a sworn statement to the other driver’s insurance company. To go into more detail about that, I encourage you to watch our other video about sworn statements. If you’d like to talk to someone and get a free case evaluation, please call us at (888) 321-8131.
