Thousands of auto accidents happen every day throughout the United States. All of these situations are always going to have a person at fault. However, this determination over fault could be very complicated. All of it comes down to either one party admitting fault or finding out who was negligent in the accident. That is where the importance of never saying sorry following an accident. An apology is basically you declaring you are at fault. That means you are going to be responsible for the accident.
Information to Gather Following an Accident
There is a lot of things that need to be done following an auto accident. However, the information you gather at the scene of the accident is most useful in the future if a case erupts. Here is a list of information you should be gathering:
- Report the Accident to the police. After doing so, record the time, date, and parties involved.
- Obtain witness information but never admit fault. Regardless if you are at fault at not, any indication that you may have been in the wrong may be used against you in a court of law at a future date. Never apologize.
- Take pictures of the accident. Make sure to take very clear pictures of any damage to your vehicle and the other person’s vehicle. The more pictures the better. Making sure that their license plate is in at least one of the pictures is recommended as well.
- Gather personal information for the parties involved. Name, phone numbers, insurance information, license plate numbers are all very important for your insurance company.
- If you require any medical care at all, make sure to take note of all even slight injuries. If medication, treatment, or surgery is required, then you need to keep all of the bills from medical treatment. These may be compensated to you in the future.
Regardless of the accident or if you are at fault, never apologize for the incident. You will be immediately seen as the person who was most likely being negligent prior to the accident.