When police are involved the participants in the accident need to understand that this situation can be very serious, and that the police will assess damage, assess the need for medical treatment, take statements of the drivers involved, and maybe even take statements from witnesses. For instance, if you were in a simple fender bender where there was only minimal damage, you may need to only call the police and exchange each other’s name and insurance information. If you were in a catastrophic accident and you were able to do things like make a phone call, you may want to call the police, look for eyewitnesses to the collision and take pictures of the condition of the cars involved and the nearby scene. You may also want to call a loved one and arrange to be taken to the hospital. If involved in a serious accident, you may want to go to the hospital and get a check-up even if you feel fine. If you will need extensive medical care and rehabilitation, you most certainly will need to speak to one. In these circumstances, insurance companies will want to speak with you immediately. These cases are usually done on a contingency basis, meaning that you will likely not have to pay any upfront cost until after you receive judgment or settlement. Usually, that means you will not have to expend funds to see doctors or chiropractors for the duration of a claim that could take well over a year to conclude. This can be tricky in that attorneys don’t usually take on cases where there is only property damage to a vehicle unless the vehicle is particularly valuable. Often neck and back pain do not fully reveal themselves until hours or days after the accident. In this case you will need to see a specialist for medical care and speak to an attorney. People usually don’t think they have done anything wrong and are reluctant to take the blame for an accident. This issue can further be complicated when the person gets a claim filed against them for a car accident. Now, if you have insurance you need not worry because the insurance company is there to defend you against the claim. However, if your policy has a low limit and the person claiming against you has extensive bodily injury you may be personally liable for the amount over the policy limit. In that case, many states have passed bad faith insurance statutes that entitle you to a separate claim against an insurer for unreasonably delaying in paying out a settlement. You likely have seen many advertisements for local attorneys looking to take your case. Most commercials about lawyers are geared toward car accidents or mass medication defect cases. The reason for this is pretty simple, car accidents happen constantly. It’s probably the single most common legal issue the average person has. Unfortunately, most drivers are likely to get in a car accident at some point in their lives. If you have severe injuries that your insurance doesn’t necessarily cover, you may also want to find an attorney that has a network of medical care providers that they have worked for in the past. Simply run a search looking for a car accident attorney in your area online. Take a look at the website for the attorney. Most attorneys that handle these cases post information on results that they have been able to get for the clients, sometimes even detailing the award settlement. Take a look at the results and the years of experience. Pay particular attention to if that attorney has been cited or reprimanded for mishandling a client’s funds or any fee disputes the attorney may have incurred. Many attorneys offer free consultations, so take advantage of the ones that do. You will also want to make sure you ask questions like whether all costs for the case are taken out of the settlement amount or reward, or if there are some things you have to pay for when they come to pass like costs for deposition or filing fees.