What to Do if You Were Involved in a Multi Car Pileup
Being involved in a car accident is a nerve-wracking experience. When you’re involved in a slight fender-bender, it’s much easier to get everything sorted compared to when there are multiple vehicles involved with extensive damages. Do you know how to react after a car pileup?
Knowing what to do before the accident happens better prepares you, which helps you stay calm and collected even during such a scary time.
A large car pileup accident should be dealt with properly to ensure everyone’s safety. If you’re not sure what to do after being involved in this type of crash, then you should continue reading below. In this guide, you’ll discover all the steps you need to take following a multi-vehicle accident.
Here’s what you need to know!
Find Safety
Before you can take any other type of step, you first need to find safety. Chances are your car ended up in the middle of the road. This is unsafe.
Other vehicles will be traveling down the road and not all of them will spot you with enough time to avoid crashing into you. If your vehicle is driveable, drive it off the road into a safe location. For example, if there’s a side street nearby with a parking lot or driveway available, park your car here.
Once you know you’re in a safe place, you can then move on to the next steps.
Check for Injuries
Now that you’ve found safety, start checking for injuries. Check yourself and any passengers. Adrenaline can rise due to the accident, preventing you from being aware of all injuries.
Because of this, you should look over your entire body checking for any signs of injuries. Try bending your elbows, gripping your fist, and more. Be careful while doing so, in case there is an injury.
If there are passengers in the car with you, then check one another for injuries.
Contact Law Enforcement
Whether you have injuries or not, the next step is to contact local law enforcement. They’ll arrive fast, and when they do, they’ll have paramedics with them. Contacting law enforcement is essential because when they arrive, they’ll write out a report on the accident.
This can come in handy when needing to prove who’s at fault. If anyone was driving distracted, under the influence, or caused the accident for other reasons, they’ll be given a ticket. Law enforcement will also redirect traffic if needed and begin to clear the roads of any debris left from the accident scene.
Take Pictures of All Vehicles
Taking pictures of the entire accident is crucial because you’ll use them to prove what happened to your insurance company. If another driver tried to be dishonest about any of the details, your pictures and the police report will be there to back you up. When you’re taking the pictures, be sure to take photos of everything.
Don’t only take pictures of your vehicle. Take pictures of all the other vehicles involved. You can then send them to your insurance company, and they will help paint the picture of what happened.
Switch Information With Drivers
Now you need to switch insurance information with the other drivers involved in your car’s damage. Your insurance company will need this information in order to contact the other drivers’ insurance companies and come to an agreement. A great way to get all the contact information you need with as little effort as possible is to take a picture of the front and the back of their insurance cards.
Remember, they’ll need to see yours as well. The insurance cards will have all the information about the other drivers needed by your insurance company.
Contact Your Insurance Company
Now you need to contact your insurance company. Provide them with all the information you gathered. There might also be a way to upload photos of the accidents and the police report to your account online.
You need to contact your insurance company so you can file a claim with them. After you file your claim, you should expect an adjuster to come out and estimate the total repair cost of your vehicle. This is the amount they’ll then ask the other insurance companies for.
There could also be a chance your vehicle’s totaled. The adjuster will determine this.
Get in Touch With a Car Accident Lawyer
Not all car accidents have a simple solution. There might come a time when you need to contact a car accident lawyer. To find the best one near you, you can conduct an internet search for, “car accident lawyer near me” or something similar. Make sure you hire someone who’s reputable and has a lot of great references and reviews.
Why might you need a car accident lawyer?
Sometimes, other drivers will refuse to take fault in the accident. Other times, insurance companies can give you a difficult time in regards to covering your vehicle’s damages. There are many things that can set you back when trying to get compensation, such as saying the wrong thing or not seeking medical treatment right away.
Your lawyer knows the laws and knows how the system works and can provide you with the best advice to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.
Were You Recently Involved in a Car Pileup?
Have you recently been involved in a car pileup? If so, be sure to follow all of the steps listed below. When you know what to expect and how to handle a problem before it happens, it makes the process much easier.
Keep this information handy and rather than feeling stressed and confused, feel prepared and confident.
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