You are on your way to Starbucks for coffee when you stop at a red light. Suddenly, and without warning, another vehicle crashes into the rear of your car. What should you do? Based upon my twenty-five years of litigating car collision cases, here is a list of tips for when this unfortunate event occurs.
- Get the license plate. After a collision, either write down or take a picture of the other driver’s license plate. This needs to be done in case the other driver decides to suddenly leave the scene of the collision.
- Call the police!!! It is very important that the police are called! They will take statements from both drivers and write an accident report. That way the other driver’s statement will be memorialized in case he/she decides to change their story later on.
- Scene photos. With cell phones it is now easy to take photos right after the collision occurs. If you are able to, it is beneficial to take photos of the vehicles, and the scene of the accident.
- Don’t move the vehicles. If possible, do not move the vehicles before the police arrive. The position of the vehicles will help assist the police officer in drawing an accurate diagram and determining who should receive a ticket.
- Report the collision to your insurance company. If you are injured in a car collision, New Jersey law requires that your auto insurance pays your medical bills through your PIP/No Fault benefits. Therefore, you need to call your insurance company and inform them that you were injured so they can give you a claim number for payment of medical treatment. Further, your insurance company will need to know your version of the collision for liability and property damage issues which may arise.
- Your auto insurance company is not your friend. This is unfortunate, but true. After you initially report the collision to your insurance carrier you should have no further contact with them. Once you make a claim for payment of medical benefits many carriers will treat you as an adversary, even though you are their insured. Simply stated, they do not make money if they have to pay for any benefits.
- Medical treatment. It is your doctor’s responsibility to contact your auto insurance carrier and obtain the necessary preapproval for medical treatment. Under no circumstances should you be the one to contact your insurance company for authorization of medical treatment. If any doctor tells you to do so, you should immediately find another doctor.
- Do not talk to the other driver’s insurance company!!! No matter what they tell you, they do not have your best interests at heart. They will try to minimize your injuries and blame the collision on you. Some insurance companies will try to contact you and make a small settlement offer shortly after the collision. You should not agree to their offer, especially since you do not know the extent of your injuries until you have completed medical care.
- Do not delay medical treatment. If you are feeling pain, do not wait to seek medical treatment. If you wait too long, your auto insurance company could delay or deny payment and question if your injuries and medical treatment were caused by the collision.
- Don’t minimize and don’t exaggerate. When receiving medical treatment tell the doctors all of your complaints of pain. Do not minimize and do not exaggerate. For example, if your knee is less painful than your back, you still need to tell your doctor about the knee pain.
- Selecting a Doctor. You choose who you want to receive medical treatment from. PIP/No fault insurance is not an HMO and it is your choice which doctor you treat with.
- Prior Injuries. You must tell your doctor about any prior injuries or accidents.
- Social Media Sites. If you intend to pursue a claim for your injuries, you should not post on Facebook or other sites. If you feel it is absolutely necessary, you should limit what you post and change your privacy settings to the strictest possible access which is usually for friends only. If you do post on Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites, be warned that what you post may be harmful to any case, can be misconstrued and misinterpreted.
- Questions. Please feel free to contact me at (609) 890-2525.
Author: Michael W. Krutman, Esquire
Disclaimer: This publication is not intended to provide legal advice. Individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer.
