Automobile accidents happen. Statistically, we’re all likely to be involved in at least one throughout our lifetime. Hopefully, for most of us, it will be a minor affair that causes very little stress. However, if you do get tangled up in one, you can be prone to panicking (as anyone would) and making a few mistakes. You can end up making it very easy for the other party to put the blame on you when it shouldn’t be. So, what should you keep an eye out for?
Follow a strict procedure
If you have never been in a road accident before, then there’s a perfectly good reason you would have no idea of how to act after one. However, following a checklist of things to do following an accident, there are two main aspects of watching your back, outside of ensuring your physical safety and notifying the right parties. The first is to make sure that you capture evidence from the scene if possible, such as photos of the scene, as well as contact details for any willing witnesses, to help corroborate your side of the story. The other is to avoid using any remorseful language which can legitimately be used as proof that you were responsible or at least negligent.
Keep an eye out for staging
Aside from inadvertently giving yourself a harder case than you should, you should also be aware of those parties who are very willing to take advantage of your good nature and have you paying for accidents that are not only not your fault, but not even legitimate in the first place. Car insurance fraud is a very real risk, often involving people staging accidents in order to have your insurance pay the costs of car damage. In other cases, it can involve misrepresenting accidents to place the blame on you and have your insurance pay when they should. If you have any reason to suspect that fraud is involved, you should get in touch with a lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence you have.
Watch out for the ambulance chasers
When you end up in a car accident, it is most likely that the information is going to end up on the news, or otherwise disseminated. As a result, there are going to be a lot of companies that might get a hold of your contact information, including less than scrupulous attorneys, all trying to get your business. Needless to say, it’s better to do your own research and choose your own representation, as you could be dealing with a scam. Know the difference between your own insurance company calling and scam calls, too. If you’re ever confused about the nature of a caller, you can hang up and find the official number of that organization online to call them back. If the caller tries to stop you from doing this, it’s likely because their scam is about to be found out.
The vast majority of accidents on the road are going to be perfectly legitimate and both parties are going to have to find a way to navigate it. However, you should be aware of the fact that people do take advantage of these situations and know how to protect yourself against them.
