What to do after a car accident?
WHAT TO DO AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT? *
Your first priority is your health.
If the injury is serious an ambulance should be called. Should an ambulance not be required, after exchanging details as set out below you should then obtain medical treatment as quickly as possible thereafter by attending the Accident and Emergency department of your nearest hospital or making an emergency appointment with your GP. This is important even if following the car accident you did not feel that your injuries were particularly serious. Should there be an unjustifiable gap between the date of your car accident and the date on which your injuries were recorded in your medical history, your car accident compensation claim could be contested on the grounds that you injuries were not sufficiently serious to warrant medical attention at the time of the car accident and that they may have been caused by some other event.
Report the accident to the Gardai.
The Gardai will attend at the scene and take statements from the various parties and witnesses. If the Gardai indicate that they will not be attending the scene, there will still be a note of the call to the Gardai and it is important that you visit the local Garda Station afterwards to provide exact details of the accident. You should keep a copy of this report for your solicitor.
Take details from the other driver.
Including name, insurance, car make and registration number. Modern technology can assist greatly here in that most people carry mobile phones with camera facilities. This will allow you to take a picture of the accident scene itself, the debris, the car registration, road conditions etc to support your claim.
Take details from any witnesses.
Including name, address and contact numbers.
Do not admit liability.
Often it is a condition of an insurance policy not to admit liability following an accident and so it is wise not to admit liability in case your policy is invalidated.
*In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement. This statement is made in compliance with Reg.8 of SI 518 of 2002.
*First published April 4, 2013 By: Personal Injury Solicitors Dublin
