Been in an auto accident ?

Learn how to defend yourself from predatory lawyers.

When you are involved in an auto accident, or any other stressful incident, your memory takes a backseat to other brain functions, which is why, for most people, accident memories are vague. Personal injury lawyers and predatory lawyers know this and they will exploit it. In most states they have up to seven years to plan their attack.

If you are involved in an automobile accident, the first thing you want to do is calm yourself down. Be quiet, listen, don’t talk. It’s no time for an “I’m sorry”, or “You SOB, you hit me!”.

It’s time to observe. The first thing you should do is take the time to access for bodily injuries to yourself and your passengers as well as other drivers and their passengers. Once you’ve accessed for injuries, you should appraise the accident scene for what help should be needed from your 911 call.

Do you need the police?
Will you need an ambulance?
Is a fire truck necessary.
Will you need a wrecker or a tow truck?

Once these needs have been accessed, make sure the 911 call is made.

Once the 911 call is made, it’s time to get into high observation mode and take in all details in your surroundings. If you have a camera, even a disposable camera or a cell phone with a camera, start taking pictures of everything.

All the vehicles from all the angles possible.
Take pictures of the accident scene from every direction.
Then standing at the accident scene and taking pictures out in every direction.
Take pictures of the drivers and the passengers if you can. Remember to be discreet.

If you are not able to take pictures, make notes

What people are doing ?
What they are saying ?
How are they dressed, the colors and types of their clothing.

Get as much minute detail down as you can. Also, if you are unable to take pictures, be sure to make notes of your observations of the accident scene. Even if you have to use a MacDonald's napkin.

Are there skid marks?
What does the damage to the automobiles look like ?
Was there debris scattered about?
What type of road conditions are there?
What type of traffic conditions?
Also be sure to make note of the signage in the area. Stop or yield signs, caution or speed limit signs.

When the authorities arrive, be cooperative. That does not mean make any admissions or accusations. The police know it is always "the other guys fault." Allow them to make their investigation. Medical need to determine the priorities and treatments. Let the wrecker crew to do their job. No doubt these people are all professionals and they have done this many, many times, whereas this may be your one and only lifetime accident.

Be sure to find out where all the automobiles are being towed.
Where are the injured are being taken for treatment.
Are there any police charges being filed against you or any of the other drivers.
Be aware of everything being done to clean up the accident site and take pictures if you can.

Once you are settled in at home after the accident, start a journal or a folder and write down as much as you can remember. Simple notes are fine, storing your pictures in a folder with these written notes; the more the better. Once this is done it is done, and it is time to make some other notes, that right now may seem a little bit out of it, but they can prove to be extremely important.

What were you doing before the accident?
Did you have lunch? Were you shopping? Were you buying gas?
What did you do after the accident?
What were you wearing?
What were others wearing?
Also, make a note as to what you did the day prior. I know this sounds silly, but the information can be critical.

The next day after your accident, do the same thing. Record in your journal

what you did
what you wore,
what was work like.
Anything you can remember about the day.

Then basically you can put your journal away and use it only to record all future dealings that involve the accident. For example, phone calls from the insurance company, phone calls from adjusters, police reports, body shop visits, body shop chats, hospitals, doctors, anything that directly relates to the accidents and keep the journal for the statute of limitations in your state, which is probably seven years.

It is also important at this point in time to check your insurance limits, because in the event you are being sued, if the amount of the suit exceeds your insurance limits, you’ll want to contact your own attorney because even though the insurance company lawyer is provided, keep in mind, he or she works for the insurance company and they have a hidden agenda. If you start conferences with your own attorney fairly early in the process, it can save you a lot of trouble.

If you are like most people, you are asking, why go to all this trouble of recording the clothing, the colors, the events of the day,the events of the day before, the events of the day after. Why can all these details be important?

A number of years ago in a torte state a woman was sitting in a parked car in a parking lot and was struck by a motorcycle. The accident reports were filed and it was obvious to all who were present that a woman sitting in a parked car being struck by a motorcycle, she clearly is not at any fault. Well, six and a half years later, this young woman who was a college student at the time of the accident, received a court summons and notification for a suit in the amount of $400,000. It is important to note at this time, that her insurance limits were $20,000. So in essence the insurance company was on the hook for $20,000. and she was on the hook for $380,000.

There were some interesting characteristics of this suit that lets the observer know it was clearly predatory in nature. The length of the time after the accident; it was six and a half years, six months within the statute of limitations in case there were any glitches in the court system. The suit had been filed and even if the trial took place more than seven years after the accident, the initial action was taken within the statute of limitations. This suit was filed in the state’s supreme court which means that there was no place to appeal a verdict unless you went into federal jurisdiction, federal courts very, very rarely will listen to a case involving an automobile accident, so the verdict of the state level supreme court would probably prove to be final. The other thing is the suit was being filed in a supreme court with request for a jury verdict. Juries, very rarely, extremely rarely, ever find one person 100% at fault in any automobile accident. It was likely that this woman would have been found comparatively negligent to a minimum of 5%. Of the suit amount, so that the predatory lawyer and his client would have received a minimum of $20,000.

The next thing to notice is the amount of this suit greatly exceed the limits of the insurance policy. When this happens, the defendant who is the insured, is very likely to push the insurance company and the insurance company lawyer to settle the case out of court. A thing to remember when this is happening, is that the insurance company, and the insurance company’s lawyer do have their own agenda. But, the predatory lawyer still knows that pressure will come from the clients to settle.

Once the initial shock of receiving the summons after so many years wears off, the proceedings begin. They usually start with meetings with the insurance lawyer, and lead to interrogatories and depositions. And this is where the predatory lawyer will have his or her field day. The first and only thing they will try to do is to attack the defendant’s memory, because they know that in stressful situations, memory takes a backseat. And that’s why those detailed notes and photos you took of your accident will prove to be so helpful.

Predatory lawyers will ask you such questions as

What were you wearing that day?
What were you doing just prior to the accident?
What did you do the day before?
What did you wear the day before?
What did you do after the accident?
Who did you speak to after the accident?
What did you say?
What did the police do ?
Where were the cars towed ?
Oh, you can't remember ?
By the way, how did the accident happen?

All these questions all trying to find holes in your memory. Now, if you have a journal and a folder with the details of the accident and the days surrounding the accident, quite honestly, you’ve got it made in the shade. Because you can sit, re-read your notes, have your memory fully refreshed, and basically stop the predatory lawyer cold.

Good luck and may you never need this advise.

A printable accident checklist for your glove compartment as available