Miami is a metropolis set on a beautiful blue sea. It is a sprawling but elegant assimilation of buildings, people and nature that has cemented itself as a leader in arts, culture, and trade.

Sadly, statistically, it’s also a national leader in car accidents; the State of Florida has one of the worst records in the country for accidents, specifically distracted driving, pedestrian fatalities, DUIs and hit and runs. Miami often has more accidents than anywhere else in Florida.

If you live in Miami, it’s vitally important that you know what to do if you’ve been impacted by a car accident. Whether you’re driving, walking, or cycling, an auto accident can be a terrifying experience, one that is made far worse if you don’t know what to do and feel helpless and vulnerable afterwards.

Vincent knows how devastating car accidents can be. We also know how much of a difference it can make when those impacted by an accident can quickly get the best lawyer for their circumstance on their side, hassle-free.

What to do at The Scene of the Accident

If you have been involved in an auto accident, how you behave at the scene can impact how successfully you make your case in court, if you decide to seek some compensation for the accident. You’ll likely be shaken up, so 1-800VINCENT created this checklist to help make it easier to remember what to do at the scene of an accident.

• Make Sure You are Safe

First and foremost, you need to make sure that you are safe. You need to assess the situation for safety and if you are in an unsafe situation or location, get to safety immediately. This may involve moving the car to a safer location, especially if it is in the way of a traffic route and could injure other drivers or impede traffic.

If you cannot move the car and you are still unsafe, you should contact the police, and they will help you further. If your car is not in an unsafe location, for example, if it’s by the side of a road or if it is off-road and you determine it’s not in danger, you can try to leave it as you look to get help.

• Check for Personal Injuries

If you are safe and sound and conscious and lucid, you should then check yourself and everybody involved in the accident (including passengers, pedestrians and any other driver involved in the crash) for injuries. If anybody is hurt, you should seek medical attention immediately.

• Contact the Police

It is the law to contact the police after an accident. Even if you have a minor accident where you don’t think anybody is hurt and damage to your car is minimal, you are still recommended to call the police. This is because when they get on the scene, they will write a legal accident report.

If you decide to take your accident to court or claim insurance on it, a legal accident report is a great piece of documentation for you to have as it is a third-party observer making a statement on the accident scene.

• Limit Discussion of the Accident with the Other Party

It is important that you limit your auto accident discussion with the other party and even with eyewitnesses like pedestrians. You should never admit any fault or liability, even if you feel you should apologize out of politeness.

Any admission of liability can damage your case if it is taken to court. It would be best if you only discussed the accident with the police, medical professionals, your insurer, and its representatives and 1-800VINCENT, who will be able to find you an accident attorney to make sure you are protected.

• Collect Evidence

When you’re in a motor vehicle accident, you might think you have a good idea of what happened because you were involved in it. However, when you have a lot of stress, your memory can be severely impaired. This is known as the Yerkes-Dodson law in psychology and helps explain how important it is to collect evidence to support your understanding of the accident.

You must get the names, addresses and phone numbers of anybody that you think has been involved in the accident. You should also get a description of the car and note down the other driver’s license plate.

It’s also very important to get their car insurance company information. Keep in mind that most insurance companies don’t record the license plate number, so you should record their vehicle identification number if you want to be certain.

You should also get the contact details of any eyewitnesses and record information about the weather and traffic conditions when the accident happened. You should get some photos of the damage caused and the scene of the accident and its date and time.

If you can get the car crash address, make sure you do so, but you should have an approximate address. If you have a smartphone handy, you can get your location’s coordinates using a Maps application. You should also note the direction that you were traveling in and the direction that the other car was travelling in.

It’s also, of course, important to note down what happened, so you remember everything properly at a later date. As soon as you feel comfortable enough to write out your account of what happened, it would be best if you did so. If not, try to record a monologue describing the events as soon as possible.

It’s so easy to forget details when you’re shaken up, so trying to get everything out is important. Make sure you also collect the name, badge number and contact details for any police officer that comes to the scene of the accident.

• Call Vincent

Once you have made sure everybody is safe, you need to call 1-800VINCENT for a free consolation. Our lawyer referral service will help to connect you to the best lawyer for your car accident case from our vast network of lawyers all across Miami, all of whom have years of experience. When you’re shaken up, know that you can call us, and we will find you an understanding lawyer who will assess the case and serve to reassure you.