Personal Injury Lawyer Provides Guidance on Steps to Take after a Car Accident

My name is Rod Armande, a personal injury attorney at Rod Armande Law located in Los Angeles, California. I am writing this blog to provide guidance on best practices to take after you or a loved one is involved in a injury causing accident such as a car, rideshare, truck, bus, motorcycle, bicycle, or pedestrian accident. Every injured person should keep in mind that they need to act quickly to preserve the evidence and integrity of their legal claim. The best way to preserve the integrity of your legal claim is to contact a trusted personal injury attorney as soon as possible (it is recommended that you make contact the same day or day after the accident). I recommend you reach out to a personal injury attorney who is available to speak to you right away and not a billboard attorney where you will be speaking to a legal assistant funneling through a high volume of leads before they connect you to an actual personal injury attorney.

This blog will provide you with what a good and diligent personal injury attorney would make sure to advise you (although this blog is not attorney advise and you should contact an attorney to receive a consultation) during that initial telephone consult to preserve the integrity of your claim. Please keep in mind that each claim and the circumstances surrounding that claim are unique so this is a general guide and you should speak to a personal injury attorney right away. However, the following are the most significant steps that you or your loved one needs to take right after the car accident, rideshare accident, truck or bus accident, motorcyle or bicycle accident, or pedestrian accident.

1. Do NOT discuss the incident with other party or that party’s representative (usually an insurance company investigator). Statements made at the time of or following the incident could be used against you as the case unfolds.

2. Seek IMMEDIATE medical attention. Documentation of injuries is essential to recovery of damages, and procrastination in seeking necessary medical treatment can reduce the value of the claim.

3. Memorialize sequence of events. Your memory of the incident (what happened, who said what, and how it occurred) tends to fade with the passage of time. Therefore, you should make written notes even before the first office visit with your personal injury attorney.

4. Take precautionary steps to preserve proof of your claim. Affirmative steps must be taken from the very outset to assure that essential proof is neither lost, altered, nor destroyed.

5. Do NOT tamper with any potential evidence of the accident. You must preserve the proof and evidence. For example, in an automobile accident, repair work should not be started until detailed photographs have been taken of the vehicle. A professional who knows what pictures to take should be sent to do this for you but take out that Iphone of yours and take photographs for the time being. Additionally, any data should be extracted from any vehicle data recorder (i.e. dash cam, video camera, GPS, black box, if available).

   1. Similarly, in any product liability case, be sure the product or its vestiges are kept and stored in a safe place that will preserve the integrity of the defective product.

   2. If the injury is from a dog bite, all torn clothing should be preserved.

   3. In a slip- or trip-and-fall case, your shoes are important proof and should therefore be preserved (i.e. not worn, repaired, or discarded until the claim is resolved).

   4. If a wrongful death case and the decedent is or was in the coroner’s custody, the family member should obtain any photographs (or video recordings) that the coroner’s office may have taken of decedent. To obtain such photographs, you must make a written request accompanied by:

      1. A declaration under penalty of perjury that you are a legal heir or representative (i.e. guardian or conservator) of decedent;

      2. A valid form of identification; and

      3. A certified death certificate.

         1. Once suit is filed, the photographs can also be subpoenaed.

6. Do NOT look over the fact that the injury itself is crucial evidence. Photographs of all parts of the anatomy that reflect signs of injury before the healing process commences, and to date the photos accordingly. Valuable demonstrative evidence may be lost forever once your injuries begin to heal.

   1. A good personal injury attorney will hire a professional for this purpose as good as that Iphone of yours may take pictures (even the one with the three cameras, the Iphone 12, 13, or 14 pro max). Contact your local hospital. Many hospitals have medical photography departments and appointments can be arranged on an outpatient basis.

THEN, you should bring with you the following documents and tangible items, if available:

1. Names and addresses of adverse parties, and their insurance carriers.

2. Names and addresses of witnesses to the accident.

3. Written statements already given by you or your loved one to police, witnesses, or the other party, or by witnesses or the other party to the accident.

4. Police or other official accident reports.

5. Photographs of the accident scene and vehicles or objects involved, if any.

6. All physical evidence of the accident capable of being transported (i.e. torn clothing, instruments or equipment or pictures thereof).

Follow these steps and put yourself in the driver seat to obtain the best result for your personal injury case. Also, make sure you pick an attorney that pays attention to the details and takes the time to go through all the details because it will make a difference down the road (of your case). It will mean that you will recover what you deserve (and hopefully more) to make you or your loved one whole.

This is not legal advise. Consult an attorney if you have any questions.