Stephen Chance
When car accidents occur in inclement weather, determining liability can be very difficult. Follow these steps to protect yourself and to help ensure you are provided fair compensation for all of your damages.
Take pictures of the accident scene from multiple angles. Include as much of the surrounding roadway and weather conditions as possible. This information will prove valuable to your car accident attorney when he or she is reconstructing the scene.
Collect from each involved driver:
Save this information to your phone or write it down on a piece of paper. Do not lose this information, it will b needed when it comes time to seek compensation.
Collect from any witnesses:
This information will be useful for your attorney when trying to determine all factors that may have contributed to your accident.
Cooperate with police, EMTs, and any other emergency personnel that you speak with, but do not suggest that you are at fault.
Your insurance company may want to send an adjuster to the scene. As with emergency personnel, do not even suggest you are to blame for the accident when speaking with your insurer. And do not accept any offer they make for compensation until you have spoken with an attorney.
If there is significant damage, if you suspect a crime has been committed, or if you are asked to, filing a police report is a good way to document your accident. Do not suggest that you are to blame when filing your report. Do not suggest that you have broken any laws. If, while filing a report, you become nervous with the line of questioning, ask to have your attorney present before continuing.
Brain injury and spinal cord injury may both take time to show symptoms. Even if you have been cleared at the scene of an accident, you should visit your personal physician for a thorough examination. Failure to diagnose these injuries can result in permanent disability, physical and emotional suffering, and even death.
Your attorney will review the information you supply and conduct an investigation into the accident to establish liability. When inclement weather has played a role, additional factors need to be considered before liability can be determined. It is always a good idea to contact a car accident attorney before discussing settlement with an insurance company or private individual.
Stephen Chance has been practicing law in Atlanta since 1995. He was born in Augusta and lived there through high school. He then attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia where...
