A road trip should be an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, accidents can and do often happen even when you’re driving out of state. While such an accident will cast a dark shadow over your trip, you must remember to take certain steps to ensure that your accident is taken care of properly. Only by following a few basic tips will you be able to handle an out-of-state personal injury case.
Get Treated Fast
One thing you won’t have when dealing with an out-of-state case is the luxury of time. If you are injured, don’t wait until you get home to get checked out. Instead of refusing medical treatment, go to the hospital, get checked out, and get an initial diagnosis. Proving that your injury actually occurred during the accident is a must, so any time between the accident and your diagnosis will work against you. If you wait until you get home so you can visit your regular doctor, the opposing party could easily argue that your injuries occurred during other parts of your trip.
Get All the Information
You are going to need to be responsible in gathering information, even more than you would have been if the accident happened closer to home. When the accident happens further from home, it will be more difficult to gather information later. You will want to get the contact and insurance information from the other party as well as a copy of the incident report from the police who were on the scene. This is the information that is going to be valuable to your lawyer once your case starts to move forward.
Gather Your Evidence
You will also need to gather what evidence you can. If possible, take pictures of the accident scene, save any information about your route that was on your phone, and make sure that you get contact information and statements from any witnesses you can talk to. Given that you may have to deal with some parts of this case remotely, having all of this information on hand will be incredibly useful. Save it all in one place so that you can easily give it to your lawyer when the time comes.
Talk to a Car Accident Lawyer
Finally, you’ll need to talk to a car accident lawyer. If you’re near home, you can check to see if your personal lawyer is licensed to practice in the state in which your accident happened. If not, you may need to check with the local bar association to find representation. Regardless of how you find the lawyer, though, you will need a good attorney to help you with this out-of-state case.
Once you get everything you need, you’ll find that this case should proceed like any other injury case. The biggest difference that you’ll deal with is distance, but an incredible amount of the heavy lifting can be done by your lawyer without your presence. They’ll take care of filing the proper paperwork and working with insurance companies. You may not have to be there unless it goes to court. Nothing can truly move forward, though, until you’ve taken the steps to ensure that your lawyer has everything they need.
