Pile up versus fender bender – which is worse?
Every year 1.25 million people lose their lives in automobile accidents, and another 20-50 million sustain serious injuries. When a major car crash takes place, it’s immediately obvious the extent of the damages.
Knowing how severe car accidents can be, many drivers dismiss small incidents, like fender benders, as less important. Instead of filing a police report for a car accident, drivers find themselves opting to handle things on their own.
However, while the accident may appear minor, that doesn’t mean it is. Car accident injuries aren’t always obvious and can take months to surface. If you don’t have a police report, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to receive compensation for your medical bills.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about filing your report after an accident.
Filing a Police Report for a Car Accident
Immediately following a car accident, you’ll be dealing with a lot of to-dos. Here’s a shortlist of steps to take after an accident in the order you should complete them:
- Check for injuries
- Move to a safe area
- Call police
- Take photographs
- Look for witnesses
Filing a police report for a car accident is the best choice, no matter how minor the crash may seem. Remember, filing a report with the police doesn’t mean you’re trying to get the other person in trouble. Instead, the report is a way to protect yourself, your passengers, your car, and your finances.
Estimating Damages
Trying to determine the severity of the accident is impossible to do with just the naked eye. Many factors will contribute to how serious an accident is and what type of damages came about as a result. Here are some of the damages a car crash victim may have to deal with:
- Vehicle damage
- Bodily harm
- Pain and suffering
- Scars or permanent injuries
It’s not uncommon for a car accident victim to feel perfectly fine after the accident. However, days, weeks, or months later, physical aches and pains may start to surface, as types of delayed car accident injuries. If you don’t file a police report, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to receive compensation for your medical bills.
What Goes in a Police Report
Car insurance companies are going to want to see the police report as evidence to your claim, and so will personal injury lawyers like the Car Accident King. Your police report will contain a lot of important information about the accident.
Here’s some of the information a police report provides:
- Accident location
- Driver’s name, address, insurance
- Time and date of the crash
- Weather description
- Road conditions
- Witness information
When it comes to establishing who’s at fault for the accident, the police report will be a major deciding factor for all parties.
Moving on After a Car Crash
Now you know that filing a police report for a car accident is always a good ideal. We love helping our readers find all of the answers they want in our wide selection of articles.
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