Description
After a car crash, adrenaline can hide your injuries, so the first step is getting a medical evaluation, followed by contacting the police to document the scene. Even accidents that seem minor or clear-cut can turn into disputes over fault, which is why the car crash attorneys at Cochran Douglas recommend building a record from the start. Our Tacoma team can help you understand the full value of your claim, including future damages, and we’ll tell you honestly if hiring a lawyer won’t add value.
View transcript
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.160
In the first hours and days following a
car accident collision,
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:05.775
the first thing that I would recommend
doing is going to
00:00:05.800 --> 00:00:08.680
see a medical professional to
be evaluated for your injuries.
00:00:10.360 --> 00:00:13.280
Usually, after a car accident,
your adrenaline's going.
00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:19.000
You may not even immediately feel the
true impact of a collision.
00:00:19.040 --> 00:00:23.000
Once you're safe, once your
medical concerns are at least being taken
00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:26.120
care of, at that point,
I would always recommend contacting the
00:00:26.200 --> 00:00:29.800
police, letting them know what happened,
having them come to the scene,
00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:31.600
having them do an investigation.
00:00:32.080 --> 00:00:36.280
In terms of proving a car accident case,
whether or not you think it's a minor
00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:39.520
rear-ender that no police officer needs to
be involved in, or the
00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:43.960
facts are straightforward,
"This is an easy case to determine who's
00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:45.520
at fault," it never happens that way.
00:00:46.160 --> 00:00:50.600
You always want to have additional
documentation to help prove your case,
00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:55.240
and you do that by contacting the police
and having those first responders
00:00:55.720 --> 00:00:57.080
go to the scene and evaluate.
00:00:57.400 --> 00:00:59.895
I would also recommend that you contact an
attorney who will be able to
00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:01.220
help guide you along the way.
00:01:01.245 --> 00:01:03.640
Insurance companies regularly take
advantage of
00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:08.080
injured claimants who don't know what
they're doing, who don't know how valuable
00:01:08.320 --> 00:01:12.040
their claim is, or, more importantly,
don't know how to evaluate what the future
00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:16.480
damage is and what that future
damage value is to date.
00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:20.360
That's one of the things where
hiring an attorney is often valuable,
00:01:20.720 --> 00:01:23.920
and hiring an attorney can add
value to your claim.
00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:27.880
In those instances where that's not
the case, we're going to tell you that.