Car accidents happen all the time, but it’s hard to prepare for this type of eventuality because you don’t think it will happen to you, so if and when it does, it becomes very personal.
The steps you take after a car accident can determine whether or not you receive compensation for the collision, and the amount of the compensation you receive.
There are universal mistakes people make in the aftermath of an automobile collision, and one of these is in not interviewing witnesses. Interviewing witnesses will save much time, money, and frustration in the long run.
If there is more than one witness, talk to them all. Remember–two people can see the same accident and give diametrically opposed reports.
Consider this scenario:
A woman is preparing to make a right hand turn out of a bank’s parking lot. She inadvertently turns her steering wheel too sharply, causing the rear wheels to swing out in a wider than normal arc.
An elderly woman is crossing the parking lot and falls. There were two witnesses. Witness A reported that the woman fell and was hit by the car’s back wheel. Witness B reported that the woman fell, but the car did not hit her. Both witnesses were telling the truth to the best of their knowledge. How could this be?
Solution:
Witness A heard the woman scream, looked up, saw her lying under the wheel of the car, and concluded that the car had hit her. From where she was standing, it did appear that the car hit the woman, but it was an optical illusion, because she was looking over a retaining wall.
Witness B was coming from the opposite direction and had a clear and unobstructed view.
The elderly woman faked the accident in hopes of getting a big insurance settlement; she would have gotten away with the con, had it not been for the second witness.
If there is more than one witness, talk to them all and if possible, interview them separately and independently of each other.
The next step is to arrange an initial consultation with our car accident law firm in Newport Beach.
Call the Ledger Law Firm. We are the best car accident law firm in California. Call Toll Free at 800.300.0001, speak to an experienced California car accident lawyer, and get a free evaluation of your case.
