What to do immediately after an accident: Protecting your health and gathering evidence

 

Being involved in an accident, whether on the road, at work, or from a trip or slip whilst out and about, is never something you plan for. Sadly, accidents do happen, and possibly more regularly than you might think, with hundreds of thousands of people claiming every year. 

Put your health first

Your first priority after suffering an injury is to get medical help.  Once you're safe and cared for, it is a good idea to write down what you think happened, even if it's a voice note on your phone, so you do not forget. Over time your memory of what happened may fade. You may forget the small details, which may not seem important, but could be critical when pursuing a personal injury claim. If someone was with you at the time of your accident, ask them to jot down what they saw too.

Capture what you can

If possible, it is also good if you can take photographs or a short video of the scene. For example:

• The location or of the damage to vehicles involved in the accident.
• If you have tripped over some uneven paving, a photo showing the size of the defect and where the defect can be crucial. If you do not have a tape measure using a 50p coin can work very well. Locating the correct paving slab in a sea of similar paving slabs after it may have been repaired is not an easy task!
• Any visible damage or hazards

If anyone you don't know witnessed your accident, it would be very helpful to obtain their contact details so you can contact them later.

Do not necessarily rely on your accident being properly recorded in a Police report or medical records. People are busy and may not think that minor details could be important later. Try to explain clearly to them what has happened.

Don’t panic if you don’t have everything

If you do not have photographs or witnesses to your accident, all is not lost. You could still pursue a personal injury claim. There may be other avenues that we can investigate for you, including the possibility of us being able to track down CCTV footage, speak to potential witnesses, or instruct experts to give an opinion on what happened.  

You can still proceed and succeed in a personal injury claim when there seems to be very little supportive evidence immediately after your accident. We can chat about what evidence may be available and how we can go about trying to find supportive evidence from experts, who can consider the information we have and use their expert knowledge to give an opinion as to what may have happened.

What happens when you call us

When you get in touch after an accident has happened, we will ask for details of what happened, as you recall and what your injuries are. We may ask if you can send us photographs or a video which will help us understand what happened.

Your first chat with us is just that; a conversation. We’ll listen to what’s happened, explain what information might be useful, and give you an honest view on whether it’s worth looking into a claim further. In the next section, we’ll take you through what to expect from those first few conversations.

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Thinking about making a claim? Contact our Personal Injury team today for a no-obligation chat and find out how we can help you move forward with confidence.