Steps To Take If Your Child Has Been In A Car Accident
Our children look to us for advice on every aspect in life. Once a child reaches the age to start driving, our knowledge and wisdom about vehicles becomes extremely important. If one of your kids is involved in an accident, more likely than not, a phone call to dad is one of the first steps your child will take.
So, what should every father know about car wrecks? Here some general tips that will protect your child and the person paying for the car (You!)
Take Pictures
An important thing to keep in mind is that your child may forget to take pictures of themselves and the crash scene. This may sound like common sense, but many people forget to document anything on the roadside. Simple cell phone images of both cars, the road, the weather conditions, and any visible bodily injury will suffice. These images can help you or your attorney later on in the recovery process in the event liability is disputed. Follow this URL here and find out why it is necessary to take every precaution before your kid leaves the place of the accident. On the same line of thinking, gather any witnesses who may have seen the crash. It is standard practice to lock the witnesses into their story early after the crash so that their memory does not fade. If you take pictures and get your witnesses contact information, proving your case later and ultimately recovering a settlement are much easier from a liability standpoint.
Seek Medical Treatment
If your child is in an accident, your heart will probably be beating a million miles a minute when you receive that phone call. It is important for you to stay calm and be the reassuring voice on the end of the line. The most important thing to remember is to send your child to the hospital for medical treatment, even if they seem fine. Adrenaline is running high immediately after an accident and the injured party often does not think he or she is hurt. It is a better approach to get checked out by medical professionals and let the doctors diagnose the condition if any.
Don’t Give A Statement
A final tip that is perhaps the most important of all, do not give an insurance adjuster a statement. As stated earlier, adrenaline is pumping and may still be so a couple days after the wreck. Inevitably, you will get a phone call from an insurance adjuster wanting to “talk” to your child about the crash. The adjuster is simply trying to lock your child into a statement that will be used to devalue and deny his or her case later on down the road. Do not give a statement. Simply provide the general information and do not go into detail about the accident itself or the injuries sustained in the wreck.
These are just some of the main tips to keep in mind for your kids. If you remember these tips you will be doing better than 90% of dads out there. A lawyer can help you in this process. A personal injury law firm can handle each step described above as well as use his or her experience fighting insurance companies to maximize your child’s potential recovery. You can focus on being a dad and getting your child feeling better.