Recent Blog Posts in September 2009

A woman was driving through an intersection on a green light with her four month old son and her husband in the back seat area. All of the sudden, a big truck going the opposite direction came out of nowhere and cut her off by making a left hand turn in front of her causing a major accident in the middle of the intersection.

As the firm's Chief Investigator, I have heard this "failure to yield" accident scenario several hundred times over the past decade. While this accident was not much different factually than many of the other cases I have investigated in the past, this accident involved my own wife, infant son and myself as the injured parties. I am glad to say that our injuries do not seem serious, and that my son seems to be the least injured out of all of us, but the other party is already disputing liability.

Fortunately I did not lose control of my faculties at the scene of the accident, and I was able to accomplish some very important tasks that has ensured the success of my claim. I would like to share the steps that I took immediately after the collision, so that if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, you will not fall victim to a less than truthful defendant.

After determining that nobody in my car needed immediate medical attention of first aid, I took a picture of the defendant's vehicle and plate (in case she tried to flee the scene). I then scanned the area for potential witnesses after my wife pulled over to a safe area away from the crash site. Without witnesses, an accident can become a version vs. version "liars contest" that can drag a claim out for years, or even cause the innocent party to be blamed for an accident.

I approached a woman sitting in her car at the intersection, and I asked if she had seen the accident. Since she had indeed seen the accident, I politely asked if she would not mind giving me her name and telephone number - just in case something happened. I then took photos of the witnesses car and license plate, for future reference.

Within one minute from the time of the accident I had made my case against the at fault party in the accident. Had I delayed the above steps, I would not have had an independent witness who could verify that we had a green light, and that the defendant failed to yield the right of way to my wife.

The lesson to be learned here is that witnesses are sometimes the key to a case, but they don't always volunteer their services after an accident. Keep your cool and be proactive at the accident scene. Avoid arguments with the other party, or anything else that will detract you from ensuring you collect all of the crucial case information right away.

We called the police out to make a report. These days, many departments will not come out if nobody is hurt in the accident. If you are not sure if you are hurt at the scene of the accident, but do not feel normal you should tell them that you believe you may have been injured; even if you do not need an ambulance or paramedics. This will practically ensure that the police come out and make a report. Most importantly, it will lock in the other party's statement at the scene of the accident which makes it difficult for them to change their story later.

As we let the police do their job in making the report and to facilitate an information exchange, I gave them the witness information and he called her from his car. The at fault party tried to tell the officer that she had a solid green arrow, but the case was already made against her, and she was found to be 100% at fault.

Most importantly, if you believe you are injured you should know your rights, and contact an attorney as soon as possible before giving any statements to an insurance company. You can always call us toll free at (888) 203-PAIN or (888) 203-7246.

Stay safe out there!