What To Do When You Are At Fault In A Wreck
Accidents happen. Unfortunately, if you live in an “at fault” state, someone must be blamed for the accident. If you are the party that is being held responsible for the accident, you will need to devise my accident solutions to get through the case. Once you have been charged with an accident, there are a few things you need to do to come up with my accident solutions to ensure you come out of the situation okay. Here is how you move forward if you are at fault for a wreck.
1. Stay Calm
Emotions can make us do some crazy things and make bad decisions. While it may difficult not to argue your case on the side of the road, it’s best if you don’t. An accident attorney can argue your case and defend you down the road. The time to argue is not immediately following the accident when the officer is writing citations. Just take the citations without admitting guilt or trying to convince the officer not to give you a citation.
When you are in any wreck, and the police are on the scene, the police will include all the details in their police report. Those details can include information about “aggressive behavior” that can impact the outcome of the case. Police officers decide who is at fall for a wreck based on witness statements and other evidence. It is difficult to change their minds at the scene.
Additionally, if you get a little too rowdy, you can be charged with other “non-accident” related crimes. It is essential that you stay calm and don’t give the police any problems. Take the ticket and let a lawyer work it out for you. This is the time you want to act like a model citizen. Fighting at the scene should not be a part of my accident solutions, it will only make things worse.
2. If You Are Arrested-Do This
If alcohol or suspected drug use is a part of the equation, you may be arrested at the accident scene. There are two things that you want to do. First, take advantage of the right to remain silent. You don’t need to answer questions without an attorney present, and you shouldn’t answer questions without an attorney present. Most people are their worst enemies after arrest because they can’t stop talking. One of the key components of my accident solutions is to stay quiet when you have been charged with a crime and arrested after a wreck.
Many people believe that having frank discussions with the police after they have been arrested will work in their favor. The fact is the police have a job to do, and part of that job is to get people to admit to a crime. Wait for your attorney before you start answering questions. The second thing you want to do if you are arrested and charged with a crime that caused the wreck is to connect with a bail bond lawyer to get out of jail.
You have a right to bail. Every person charged with a crime, except capital crimes, is entitled to bail. Bail bond companies provide services that help people get out of jail so they can be active participants in their own defense. Sitting in jail waiting on a court date does nothing but make it more difficult to work with your lawyer to create a defense and my accident solutions. Connect with a bail company and get out of jail as soon as possible to help fight your charges.
3. Gather Evidence for Your Defense
If you hire an attorney to defend you, they will do most of the leg work, but you can help. Gather as much evidence as possible to support your claim that you are not at fault for the accident. If you can, gather information at the scene, take photographs or videos of the accident site, and record damages to vehicles, and road conditions.
Take note of the weather conditions, traffic signs or signals, and any witnesses present. Obtain contact information from witnesses, as their statements may be valuable in supporting your case. This evidence can help establish a clear picture of the accident and potentially support the claim that you are not at fault for the accident.
For example, if you are charged with an accident because you ran a stop sign and the stop sign is bent over and drivers are unable to see the sign, that would become part of your defense. Keep a clear head and record as much information as you can at the scene of the accident, it can help you win your case. If you are unable to gather evidence and you have a passenger with you, ask them to gather it.
4. Get Medical Care
Many people erroneously believe that if you are at fault in a wreck the insurance company will not pay for your medical care or property losses. The insurance company has to pay for whether you are at fault for the wreck or not. You must get the medical treatment you need after a wreck and hire a personal injury attorney to represent you. My accident solutions should include the support of an attorney to navigate the claim.
It is essential that you hire a lawyer because, in some states, it can be very difficult to get paid for medical and property damage if you are at fault even partially for the accident. However, it doesn’t mean that you won’t get paid; you need a top-notch lawyer to manage the case for you. The lawyer will help defend the charges to ensure you can get paid for the claim. For example, you are charged with speeding as a contributing factor to the accident and ticketed. Your attorney fights the speeding charge in court, and if the charge is dropped, you are no longer at fault.
There is no reason not to hire an attorney. You can find Chinese speaking attorneys or Spanish speaking attorneys or attorneys that speak other languages if there is a language barrier. There is legal help available for everyone. Take advantage of the help and make it a part of my accident solutions.
5. Notify Your Insurance Company
It is important that you notify your insurance company as soon as possible about the accident. When you speak with your insurance company, stick to the facts about the accident. However, don’t implicate yourself when you speak to the insurance company. Don’t go into details about what happened that caused the accident. Don’t talk about fault, guilt, or even your innocence.
You must speak to an attorney before giving a recorded statement to the insurance company. An attorney can better advise you about what to say and what not to say to avoid implicating yourself as the party responsible. Unfortunately, the insurance company is not on your side. The insurance company is on its own side. They want to protect their money.
If you must meet with the insurance adjuster keep in mind that the insurance adjuster is not there to ensure you are okay or to make life easier for you. They are there to protect the insurance company’s interest. The only person who is there to act in your best interest is your attorney. My accident solutions are often derailed by saying the wrong thing to the insurance company. Put the claim in, but before you sit to have a recorded conversation contact an attorney.
6. Managing Property Damage
My accident solutions should include a plan for how you will manage property damage to your vehicle. Let’s say your Yamaha vehicle must be towed off because it is so badly damaged. If you are able, you can direct the tow truck driver to take it to the vehicle shop you normally use. You can have your vehicle towed to your home if you want. You get to decide where the vehicle is towed.
Once your vehicle arrives at its destination the insurance company will send an insurance adjuster to evaluate the vehicle. Once the adjuster has examined the vehicle they will decide if it is a total loss or not. A total loss means that the damage to the vehicle is greater than what the vehicle is valued at. Auto salvage yards get most of their inventory from total losses.
However, just because the insurance adjuster finds your vehicle is a total loss it doesn’t mean you can’t keep your vehicle. You can buy it back from the insurance company, repair it, have it re-inspected by the Department of Motor Vehicle, and put it back on the road. Of course, you will have to pay for any repairs out of pocket. You will need to weigh your options carefully if keeping your vehicle is part of your my accident solutions plan. If your vehicle is found to be repairable the insurance will write you a check and you can use it to pay for the auto glass replacement company, body shop, mechanic, and others that make repairs.
7. Follow What Your Attorney Tells You To Do
It is essential as part of my accident solutions that you follow your attorney’s advice. If your attorney tells you not to do something, just don’t do it. If they tell you to do something, make sure you do it. Depending on the charges in the case you may need to appear for trial and deal with court problems. It can be very stressful, but you want to pay attention to what your attorney has to say and follow their advice.
For example, you may have already gotten in touch with auto detailing companies to clean up your vehicle after an accident, but your attorney may recommend you don’t make any changes to your vehicle right now. It may be hard to sit and wait until your attorney tells you it’s okay to make changes to the vehicle, but in the end, it will be worth the wait. Attorneys fight insurance companies every day and they negotiate with prosecutors every day, they are basing their advice to you on experience. Take that advice.
Of course, if you need auto key replacements to get into the car because you lost your keys at the accident site, you can likely make that change. If you want your plan for my accident solutions to work you will need to give up some control of the situation and let your attorney do their job. The attorney wants your case to be successful and for you to get the best outcome. Working with an attorney that you trust will make it easier to take their advice.
8. While Your Case Is Pending, Don’t Get Into Trouble
It is essential that you don’t have any more legal problems while your case is pending. Often, when you have been charged with causing an auto accident your driving record will be pulled before a decision is made about how the charges will be handled in court. If you accumulate other driving tickets between the time you are charged and the time your case is heard in court, it doesn’t bode well for your character. Follow all the rules while you are waiting for this case to be heard in court.
Adding additional charges (especially driving charges) will not help your case. The goal is to be able to show the court that you are a good citizen that doesn’t normally break motor vehicle laws. Do your best to stay away from trouble because getting in additional trouble can easily topple my accident solutions plan.
Being charged with a wreck is a stressful time, but with a little planning, and following your attorney’s advice you will get through it. Get the help you need to get through this time and have a my accident solutions plan in place to ensure that you can put this time in your rearview mirror and never have to worry about it again.