What to Do if You’re in a Multi-Car Accident in Texas
A multi-car accident can be one of the most anxious moments of your life as confusion will often reign while so many are tending to their injuries as well as, later, attempting to determine who was most at fault for what happened. However, there are many things that you can do to make sense of it, both in the immediate aftermath of the crash as well as in the days, weeks and months that follow.
Most importantly is ensuring that you and others are safe and healthy and making sure that your multi-car accident attorney is in the best position possible to help you receive a fair settlement and not be undercompensated. Doing so will help you get fairly reimbursed for medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, lost wages, reduced earning capacity and property damage.
Your car collision lawyer will also reduce your risk of being unfairly blamed for the pile-up – i.e. handle disputes over fault in your multi-car collision.
That is especially important here in the Lone Star State as anyone who has been found to have been more than 50% responsible for an accident cannot recover any damages and might even be liable for the entire judgement. Meanwhile, everyone else can only seek damages that are reduced by the percentage of their involvement in the crash’s cause.
Things to Do in Your Multi-Car Collision’s Immediate Aftermath
There are several things that you can do to help ensure your safety and later reimbursement efforts.
Stay Calm and Be Safe
Stay as calm as possible at this time, and ensure that you and everyone else who was involved in the accident are safe.
Call the Police and Seek Medical Aid
A police report will be essential to your case, and it is actually required to call for the police after a crash in Texas as long as death or injuries occurred to at least one person or there has been at least $1,000 in total damages, at least one of which is very likely to have taken place in the case of a crash that involves three or more vehicles.
Also seek medical attention, both for yourself and for others. As for you, this is essential to do since so many injuries are not readily apparent. Common ones potentially fitting this description include spinal cord injuries, whiplash and brain trauma. Also, you may be in a state of shock, which could result in your ability to self-assess just how hurt you are being compromised, resulting in a completely wrong assessment.
Of course, only do the steps on this list that you can while prioritizing your health.
Do Not Admit Fault
Be very careful with your words, and do not admit fault in any sense. Even statements that many may view as being completely natural to say in these types of circumstances, such as “I’m sorry” or “I didn’t see (something),” can end up being tremendously damaging to your case.
Exchange Contact and Insurance Information
While continuing to not admit fault, exchange contact and insurance information with everyone else who was involved in the accident.
Obtain Witness Statements
Take any witness statements that you can. Audio or video recordings are best, but handwritten notes can be helpful in lieu of the other types of recordings. If doing this is not possible, at least ask for their contact information so that you or your car collision attorney can reach out to them later. But even in that latter case, make sure that not too much time passes so that their memories are still fresh.
Record Your Own Statement
Also get your own statement. Record yourself, whether via an audio or video recording or notetaking, sharing your memories of what happened right before and during the crash as well as in the immediate aftermath. It is likely best to do this twice, as soon as possible after the crash happened and later that day or the following day in case you remember something else later.
Document the Scene
Document the scene as best as you can. If at all possible, this should be done through pictures and videos since insurance companies and other attorneys cannot argue against their validity nearly as well as they could in reference to your typed or written notes. If you are unable to do this, ask someone else on the scene to.
The road conditions are especially important to record. Related details include ways that the weather had impacted those and any skid marks or, importantly, lack of skid marks where you would have expected them. Also note all traffic signs or signals that are in the area as well as any potential obstructions that existed and may have impacted things.
Additionally, record all involved vehicles, including their license plate numbers, and all damage to your own vehicle, both on the outside and in its interior, as well as any other property damage that occurred. If there are nearby street signs or anything else that clearly identifies where the accident took place, record those as well. Also take note of the date and time.
Any visible injuries should be recorded as well.
What Should You Do in the Hours and Days After Your Multi-Car Accident?
Now that the accident and its immediate aftermath are in the past, what types of things should you do?
Contact Your Insurance Company
Make sure to let your insurance company know what happened soon after the accident. However, only provide essential information. Absolutely do not accept blame, and do not even assign blame to others. Share fact-based details, such as your name and policy number, when and where the accident happened, the makes and models of the other vehicles that were involved in it and other participants’ insurance information.
If anyone deserted the scene – i.e. it was at least a partial hit-and-run – share that as well.
Do not provide any official statements or speak to any other insurance companies whatsoever unless you have spoken with a car wreck lawyer and been advised to do so.
Secure Surveillance or Dashcam Footage
One of the first things that you should do, even the same day if possible, is secure surveillance or dashcam footage. This urgency is because many businesses record over their surveillance recordings on a regular basis, and any companies that are nearby may temporarily have footage that could really help your case.
Subpoena Cellphone Records
A step that can also prove pivotal is subpoenaing cellphone records, something that your multi-car accident lawyer will likely need to handle for you due to its legal complexities.
The main reasons why this is important to do is because cellphone records can show if someone who was involved in the crash had been calling, texting or otherwise using their device immediately prior to or even during the accident. Its GPS data can be vital as well.
Get the Police Report
Request the police report that is connected with your accident. An auto accident attorney can also do this for you.
Check it for accuracy and request that any errors be addressed, providing evidence to the contrary while doing so. Note that changes are not guaranteed, but also take into account that you can request that a statement that you have created that points out those errors be attached to the report.
Note that even if a police report states that you were at fault for what happened when you were not, that is not the be-all and end-all. Your car wreck attorney can help prove that this was not the case and provide evidence and other information that shows that to insurance companies and, if necessary, a judge or jury. In other words, the police report is not legally binding in that sense.
Keep Detailed Records
Keep detailed records throughout the days and months following your accident, and if you are at all in doubt as to whether something should be obtained and retained, do it. It is always better to throw out superfluous documents later than to realize that you should have recorded and kept records of something and did not.
Examples of these types of important documents include your medical records, related to appointments, bills and otherwise, and car repair bills and detailed information connected with that process.
Navigating Complex Insurance Claims
Dealing with insurance companies can be complicated even if a car accident is relatively simple, such as one that involves two or even just one vehicle. However, those complexities can increase exponentially when three or more are involved, especially if that number is actually five, six or more.
Potentially File a Personal Injury Claim
In many cases, with the assistance of your auto accident lawyer, you should file a personal injury claim. Doing so will help ensure that insurance companies respond promptly, evidence is preserved and you will be fairly reimbursed for what you suffered.
Keep in mind that even if a personal injury claim is filed, that does not necessarily mean that you will ever see the inside of a courtroom. In many of these types of cases, settlements are fairly resolved after negotiations with all involved insurance companies have been completed. That said, a trial could ultimately be necessary.
Also note the statute of limitations. In most cases, this is two years, but there are some circumstances in which that time period could end up being shorter or longer than that.
Consult With an Attorney
One of the most important steps that you can take is consulting with an attorney who specializes in multi-car accidents and understands how to effectively work with numerous insurance companies to help their clients receive settlements that fairly reimburse them for everything that they endured.
Your multi-car crash lawyer can research the maintenance records of vehicles that were involved in the crash in addition to obtain surveillance footage and subpoena cellphone records. These acts and others will help build the strongest case possible.
Also note that your attorney may even sue third parties to help you receive fair reimbursement. In some cases, entities such as local governments and brake manufacturers may have partially or fully been at fault for the accident as a result of, for example, unmaintained roads or defective brakes.
Understanding Insurance Coverage: PIP and UM/UMI
What type of coverage do you have? More to the point, do you have PIP or UM/UMI coverage? Note that although both are not legally required to possess, insurance companies are required to offer them to all Texas drivers.
PIP or personal injury protection can prove to be highly beneficial in a multi-car accident. That is because all of the insurance-related complexities of this type of collision could otherwise result in your not receiving any money until a considerable time has passed while PIP provides coverage for lost wages and medical expenses regardless of who may be at fault and, more to the point, offers those funds in a relatively fast time frame.
Meanwhile, UM/UMI or uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage can also be essential in these circumstances.
That is partially because even if everyone who was involved in the accident was insured, if one individual was fully or mostly at fault, they may not have all of the insurance-provided coverage necessary to pay for everyone else’s damages. That is when UMI can come into play, providing that financial protection to help cover your losses.
And, of course, if anyone at fault in the accident is uninsured, having UM coverage can be vital for that reason.
Get Help From Haney Paschal & Romoser
If you or a loved one has been in a multi-car accident, get help from Haney Paschal & Romoser. Our attorneys will use their wealth of legal knowledge, connections and resources to untangle this complicated situation and will work hard to get you fairly reimbursed for what happened.