A Good Attorney Is Very Important after a Car Accident

You should move fast after an auto accident to get the compensation you deserve. All manner of delays can hurt your care — some more than others. Below are some things you should not delay.

1. Getting Medical Care

The first thing you should not delay is medical treatment. Indeed, get medical care before you do anything else. The medical injury you need depends on your injuries, state of consciousness, and available help. For example, you should call an ambulance and get first aid treatment before leaving the accident scene if you have serious injuries.

Prompt medical care is necessary for three main reasons:

• Prompt medical care can mitigate injuries, accelerate your healing, and prevent medical complications.
• Prompt medical care shows your injuries' seriousness.
• Prompt medical care helps to protect the chain of evidence by linking your injuries to the accident.

Do not wait to experience serious medical complications or pain before seeking medical care. Get a medical diagnosis and treatment even if you think you only have minor injuries.

2. Collecting and Preserving Evidence

You need strong evidence of liability and damages whether you settle your case outside the courtroom or it goes to trial. The insurance adjuster, judge, or jury will all make their decisions based on your evidence.

A delay in collecting evidence can hurt your case because evidence goes stale after some time. For example, eyewitnesses might disappear, rain might erase the skid marks on the road, and some people (such as nearby property owners) might erase surveillance videos on their cameras.

3. Consulting a Lawyer

You do not need a lawyer to handle your auto accident claim, but a lawyer can strengthen your case in multiple ways. Consulting a lawyer early in the case is better than handling the case alone first and contacting a lawyer after hitting a snag.

For example, the lawyer can investigate your case while the evidence is still available. In addition, you might waste time and money doing the wrong things if you start with the DIY option; get a lawyer early to avoid such complications.

3. Filing a Claim or Lawsuit

Lastly, you should not delay your claim or lawsuit for two main reasons. The evidence might go stale, the defendant might go missing (for example, they might relocate), and the statute of limitations might expire.

This claim is especially dire because the statute of limitations determines how long you must file a claim or lawsuit after a crash. Even if you have an obvious case, you might not get the compensation you deserve if you delay until the statute of limitations expires.

For more information, contact an auto accident law firm in your area such as Borbi, Clancy & Patrizi, LLC.