Attorney Tim Ferguson – What should I do if I have been in an auto accident

Ferguson Law Firm Attorney Tim Ferguson explains the importance of a trial attorney.

When somebody is involved in a motor vehicle accident, the first thing to do is check and make sure everyone in your vehicle is okay. First thing. If you have passengers, turn, look, make sure they're breathing and at least not in excruciating pain. The second thing is to call the police and make sure they're aware you were involved in a motor vehicle accident. From there, I would get out and check the other parties, and make sure no bystanders were injured as a result of the accident.

If you're up to it, the next most important thing is to take photographs of the damage to your vehicle, if any, and damage to any other property, such as a barricade or a curb. That becomes important later on, because as we know, insurance companies aren't going to take you at your word. You need actual evidence — actual photographs, phone calls with the police officer, and so on — to build your case and prove it to the insurance company, which undoubtedly is not going to believe you. From there, of course, contact your loved ones and make sure they understand you're okay — or that you were injured and which hospital you're going to.

Inevitably, an ambulance will show up to the scene. Be open with them. In other words, don't try to be a tough person — that's not the time to be a tough guy. That's when you need to be open and honest about whatever you're feeling. If you're feeling pain, tell them you're feeling pain. If you're not feeling pain, don't tell them you're feeling pain. But don't try to be a tough guy. And if the ambulance offers you a ride to the hospital — again, it's a person-by-person choice, but in my experience, I would do it, because you have professionals overseeing you during that ride, whether it's your vitals or making sure you don't shake around too much in the vehicle.

From there, make sure you're represented, and make sure you do not talk to your insurance company without being represented. Don't sign any documents unless you're represented by counsel. Because, again, the insurance companies aren't trying to get you to sign for your benefit — they're trying to get you to sign for their benefit. That's when you're going to start getting calls from insurance companies asking you to sign things, commit to things, and agree to things. I've seen it recently where they try to hold a verbal agreement over you as a contract — that's happening; I think it's a relatively new tactic. When they tell you, "This line is recorded," do you think that's for your benefit? No. It's for theirs — so they can later say, "Well, you agreed to that settlement amount. Don't you remember, when you were getting ambulanced, when your neck was in a brace, don't you remember that?" Of course you don't. But they'll use it against you later in a potential lawsuit.

So at some point between impact and getting released from the hospital — in my opinion, sometime in between those two — you should call a lawyer. For no reason other than that you're going to get misled by the insurance company, who will try to get you to sign something or say something that will be used against your interest at a later point.