What to Do After a Car, Bus, or Truck Accident in Massachusetts

What Should I Do Immediately – or at the Scene Just After the Accident?

First, check yourself and any passengers for injuries, and assess the immediate area for safety. Call for help from emergency services or have a bystander call. Anyone experiencing neck or back pain should try to avoid moving until emergency personnel arrive and supervise.

Then, if you’re able to and if your vehicle isn’t already in a safe place, pull your vehicle over to a safe place. Stop the vehicle once you’re in a safe place.

Next, check the other vehicles to see if anyone else has been injured. Again, call for help from emergency services or have a bystander call. Again, those experiencing neck or back pain should try to avoid moving until emergency personnel arrive.

After that, always call the police. They will come to the scene to document the accident. When they arrive, they’ll take statements and notes about the accident, and those will become an official police report.

Then, exchange information with the other drivers. You’ll need to get the name, address, and phone number of each other drivers involved. You’ll also need their insurance company names and policy numbers. Finally, you should get information about any other vehicles involved in the accident. You’ll need a description of the other vehicles – meaning their years, makes, and models. You’ll also need three license plate numbers and ideally the VIN numbers of the vehicles.

Be careful not to let your emotions get the best of you. Don’t antagonize the other drivers. Try not to raise your voice or make demeaning comments. Doing these things can weaken your case later on.

Next, create a record of the accident. Take pictures of the overall scene, take pictures of all sides of all of the vehicles, take pictures of property damage, and take pictures of any visible injuries, if you can. Take down notes of how you remember the accident: you should write about how the accident happened, the conditions of the road, and whether you and the other vehicles were using appropriate safety features, like windshield wipers, headlights, and brake lights. Get contact information from any witnesses and the officers who responded. Find out where and how you can get your own copy of the police report.

What Should I Do When I get Home?

If you were able to return home after the accident – if you didn’t need to go to the hospital, then you should schedule an appointment with your doctor ASAP. Even if you don’t think that you’ve been injured, but especially if you do think that you may have been injured, you’ll want to get treatment if necessary and a record of any injuries you sustained during the accident.

Next, contact your vehicle insurance company, report the accident to them, and start the process of submitting a claim.

Finally, fix any damage to your vehicle. Hopefully, you’ll be compensated by insurance companies for the repairs.

What Should I Do if I Want to Pursue a Legal Case Against Another Driver?

If you’ve been in a Massachusetts accident and suffered injuries or property damage, you’ll want to speak to an attorney. An experienced personal injury attorney who knows about vehicle accident cases. Contact our injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Johnson, Sclafani & Moriarty to discuss your needs today.  413-732-8356