What to do After a Car Accident

What you do after a car accident can have significant ramifications on your health, safety, and ability to hold the responsible driver accountable for causing the crash.

1. Do NOT Exit Your Vehicle Until it is Safe

The moments after a crash can be confusing, not only for you but other drivers on the road. Since distracted drivers are becoming more common, it is possible another driver approaching your crash might not realize it right away, especially if traffic has not fully slowed down. Therefore, stay in your vehicle until it is safe. Look around and make sure no one is barreling towards you. Then make sure that you are okay enough to get up and walk. You might not realize you have a head injury, which could cause you to become dizzy or lose your ability to stand. If, after talking with the other driver, you decide to move your vehicles to a safer location, take photos of the crash before doing so. Moving your vehicle out of the roadway is much safer, especially at night. Either way, use your vehicle’s emergency lights, reflective emergency triangles, or flares if you have them.

2. Collect Information

You will need to provide a driver’s license and proof of insurance to the police, so make sure you have those on hand. You will also want to get this information from the other driver and provide your information. Avoid yelling at the other driver or antagonizing them. Trust us when we tell you that there is nothing to be gained by that, but if your case makes it to Court it could make you look bad. We recommend you take a photo of the other driver’s license and insurance card. You should also take pictures of the accident scene, the vehicles, the people involved, and your injuries. Photographs help tell a story and are valuable pieces of evidence. We also recommend taking with any witnesses and taking video, if possible, of them identifying themselves, their contact information, and their description of what they saw. This will be very helpful in proving the crash was not your fault. Memories fade, but video is forever. When you have a moment, you should also record your memory of what happened.

3. Call the Police

In Arizona, state law requires you to immediately notify the local police, sheriff, or highway patrol if you are involved in an accident causing injury or death.⁵ It is also good to do because the responding officer will complete an Arizona Crash Report that identifies who was involved in the crash, who owns the vehicles, which automobile insurance companies are involved, and what happened in the crash. It will also include citations if any driver violated Arizona driver’s laws. This will help establish liability in your injury case.

4. Get Medical Care

Even a minor crash can cause serious injuries from muscle or ligament tears to concussions. With the initial adrenaline rush, you might not realize you were injured. Most people experience pain the night or morning after the crash. Some people also suffer emotional symptoms, including a fear of getting back in a car. This is all normal and it is all treatable. Before rushing back to work or school, or dealing with other issues in your life, you should see a doctor. Best case, the doctor tells you everything is okay and gives you peace of mind that there is nothing to worry about. Worse case, the doctor identifies something that requires additional attention. Listen to your doctor, but also listen to your body. If the doctor says you are fine but you are not feeling better, or if the doctor says you need treatment but you feel okay, see a different doctor for a second opinion.

5. Keep Track of Everything

• Maintain a Pain Journal to help your doctors and lawyer understand what you are experiencing.
• Keep a list of all your providers (e.g., ambulance, hospital, PCP, chiropractor, physical therapist, etc.).
• Document time away from work, or school, whether or not covered by sick leave.
• Note any missed promotions or raises that you might have qualified for.
• Keep a list of activities you could not do or that you did with pain (e.g., difficulty sleeping, difficulty performing daily household activities or caring for family members, inability to exercise, impact on personal relationships, change in mood).

6. Call Gage Mathers

Gage Mathers is an elite personal injury firm with significant experience helping car accident victims. We have helped thousands of clients obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for their injuries and damages.

In theory, it should cost you nothing to hire a Mesa car accident lawyer. The difference arises in fees at the end of your case. Gage Mathers Law Group, PLLC works on a contingency-fee basis. This means we do not get paid unless we obtain a settlement or jury verdict in your favor. We also offer free consultations, so you have nothing to lose. Find out how we can help you today.

You should hire an award-winning firm like Gage Mathers who has a national reputation for fighting and winning. But do not wait. The sooner you hire a lawyer, the sooner you have a professional looking out for your best interests. Also, in Arizona, you only have two years⁷ to either settle your claim or file a lawsuit; however, that time limit is significantly shortened if the claim involves a public entity (e.g., the State of Arizona, the Arizona Board of Regents, or City or County) or a public employee of one (e.g., an EMT or health care provider, police officer, or teacher). If that is the case, a Notice of Claim must be served on the appropriate entity(-ies) within 180 days of the date of injury, with the claim needing to be settled or a lawsuit filed within one year of the date of injury.⁸

How much a car accident injury claim is worth in Arizona varies depending on the severity of your injuries, the severity of the property damage to the vehicles, the amount of you injury-related medical bills, the amount of your lost wages, and other factors. Gage Mathers Law Group, PLLC will work to get you the maximum compensation possible for your claim. We know how to get you the money you deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation.

It makes us angry that the vast majority of car accidents are caused by human error. The most common errors drivers make include:

• Missing road hazards or detecting them too slowly.
• Choosing incorrect defensive driving actions.
• Driving in a distracted or altered state, such as having inadequate sleep, being distracted by a phone, or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.⁹

That means that the vast majority of car accidents, and the significant damages they cause, could be avoided if people paid attention. The National Safety Council is committed to keeping people safe on the road and eliminating deaths. There are several behaviors that need to change, but the easiest one is for people to pay attention to road conditions and traffic all around them, the second easiest is for people to avoid driving when fatigued.

Tens of thousands of people are injured or die from distracted driving every year.¹⁰ We are constantly surrounded by screens, information, and things clamoring for our attention. They are part of everyday life. Our familiarity with them and their repeated use provide a false sense of security. These technologies lead to cognitive distraction and inattention blindness.

Let us make this clear:

You are NOT a multitasking master. No matter how smart you are, how technologically savvy you are, or how attentive you think you are, you are NOT. You are human. The human brain has evolved with limitations.