What Should You Avoid After an Accident?

Accidents happening are bad enough without us making things worse. Failure to avoid and prevent simple flubs is one of the most common negative occurrences that happen following an accident. These failures and their effects underscore the importance of knowing what not to do after an accident. 

While seeking medical attention and reporting the incident are key post-accident steps, perhaps the most important step is remembering to consult a personal injury attorney. There are very few professional perspectives that’ll help you know what to avoid after an accident as much as that of a lawyer. They’ll work to protect you and your legal rights¹.

Avoid Delaying Medical Attention

Avoiding medical attention isn’t only foolish, it’s also dangerous. This is one of the most basic and critical steps after an accident. Without prompt medical attention² injury and death are left unchecked to deliver a shocking surprise blow. There is such a thing as being too confident when it comes to the moments after an accident. Play it safe and get checked out.

Avoid Admitting Fault

The moments after an accident can be full of emotions and excitement. However, you must resist the feelings associated with a need to apologize. This is because under no circumstances should you admit fault. That means despite believing you may have contributed to the incident, do not admit fault. Admitting fault can work against you, therefore, hold your tongue.

Avoid Withholding Information

Accidents must be reported to the police and insurance providers. It’s best not to withhold information from them. Give accurate and detailed accounts of the incident. Exercise brevity without leaving room for them to speculate or make assumptions. Withholding information or providing inaccurate details can compromise your legal standing and create other problems.

Avoid Failure to Document the Scene

With widespread access to competent technology, this one should be easy for most people to avoid. The smartphone age has empowered us with the ability to document accident scenes like no other time in history. Take photos and videos of the scene, vehicle damage, road conditions, and any relevant signage³. These documents can serve as crucial evidence, so remember. 

Avoid Settling Too Soon

Insurance companies commonly employ tactics designed to initiate speedy settlements. Avoid being fooled in this way. Quick resolution may sound attractive, but it would often come at your expense. Settling for the first offer you see could leave you seriously lacking compensation, leaving your medical expenses, lost wages, or future rehabilitation costs⁴. 

Avoid Skipping Follow-Up Medical Care

Follow-up and follow through is the thing to do. Avoid skipping out on any recommended follow-up care or rehabilitation plans⁵. Missing follow-up appointments or neglecting prescribed treatments can not only damage your recovery process but it could also be weaponized against you by insurance companies. Trust the process and be sure to adhere to medical protocols⁶. 

Avoid Discussing the Accident and Social Media

Loose lips sink ships. In this case, the ship can be your chance to be awarded the compensation you deserve on account of someone else’s negligence. Therefore, you must not speak with anyone other than your lawyers and doctors about the details of your claim or case. Not your wife. Not your best friend. Not your mother. No one.

Nowhere is silence more key than social media. Some people have their lives fully integrated into the web. When these people are foolish enough to discuss their accident or their injuries on social media platforms, they’d almost certainly be asking their posts to be weaponized against their insurance-related claims⁷. Avoid social media until a settlement is finalized.

Avoid Overlooking Legal Guidance

Sometimes people get it in their minds that they don’t need the help of a lawyer after their accident. This is a bad decision. The legal complexities of an accident are way over the head of the layman. Legal guidance from a qualified attorney provides a nearly indispensable advantage after an accident. There’s rarely a good reason to sacrifice this advantage. 

Avoidance Overview

Following any accident, avoiding certain actions is as important as making the correct moves.

With so much at stake, do whatever it takes to remain mindful and adhere to the processes that prevent damaging your position. 

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2. Hertz, Amir, et al. “Prompt-to-prompt image editing with cross attention control.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2208.01626 (2022). ↩︎
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4. Baigi, Seyyedeh Fatemeh Mousavi, et al. “Evaluating the cost effectiveness of tele-rehabilitation: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials.” Frontiers in Health Informatics 11.1 (2022): 118. ↩︎
5. Yan, Zhipeng, Ming Yang, and Ching-Lung Lai. “Long COVID-19 syndrome: a comprehensive review of its effect on various organ systems and recommendation on rehabilitation plans.” Biomedicines 9.8 (2021): 966. ↩︎
6. Masud, Mehedi, et al. “A lightweight and robust secure key establishment protocol for internet of medical things in COVID-19 patients care.” IEEE Internet of Things Journal 8.21 (2020): 15694-15703. ↩︎
7. Sood, Kiran, Baljinder Kaur, and Simon Grima. “Revamping Indian non-life insurance industry with a trusted network: Blockchain technology.” Big Data: A game changer for insurance industry. Emerald Publishing Limited, 2022. 213-228. ↩︎

Last Updated on January 16, 2024 by Suchi