Driving under the influence is dangerous. Even though there are numerous TV and radio campaigns, and people tend to know that they shouldn’t drive after drinking, it still happens way too often. According to the statistics, around 50% of car crashes involve drunk drivers, and over 10.000 people every year die because of them.
What should you do if you get hit by a drunk driver? If it happens to you, there are several actions that you have to take after the crash. If you follow these steps, there’s a high chance that you’ll recover fast and you’ll get the maximum compensation for any losses or injuries that you got.
Safety First
Before anything else, make sure that you and your passengers aren’t hurt. If something serious happened, immediately call for an ambulance, and provide all the details. If you suffer from any severe injury, don’t try to get out of the car, unless it’s too dangerous to stay inside the vehicle.
The most important thing about the situation is your health. You should immediately get medical attention. If you don’t feel the pain, it doesn’t matter, because once the adrenaline goes down, you might feel bad. Don’t refuse medical treatment. You should be examined by a professional, because some health problems may occur even after a few days after the accident. You don’t want them to turn into serious and chronic pain conditions. It’s also crucial to document any injury in order to get as much compensation as possible.
Call the Police
After you do that it’s time to call the police. Once that police officer arrives to the accident scene, you can be sure that the accident is well documented. It’ll help you with insurance claim filing against the person who caused the accident. It’s not only crucial because of this reason, though. You can’t allow a drunk driver to go further, no matter if you’re injured or not.
He caused an accident, and it means that his BAC (blood alcohol concentration) is too high to drive safely. Don’t let him pose a threat to other people. According to the Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyer, drunk people will often ask you only to exchange information, and handle the situation between you and him and insurance companies. You should never agree. If a drunk driver is aggressive, make sure that you write down or film the license plate number, because he might try to leave the scene of an accident.
Gather Necessary Information
Make sure to get driver’s contact information, such as insurance policy number, phone number etc. If there are any accident witnesses, ask them to stay until the police come. If you don’t want to talk with a drunk driver, you don’t have to. You can always ask the police to give you this data.
Follow the Police orders
When the police arrive, they will ask you to describe how the accident looked like exactly. Of course, it’s a stressful situation, and you don’t have to remember everything, but try to reproduce it, with as many details as possible. Make sure that you don’t exaggerate, and don’t elaborate too long. Limit yourself to facts only. Answer the questions; there is no need to add any extra information. When you’re asked if you’re injured, don’t say no. You might not feel any pain at the time because of the adrenaline, but it doesn’t mean that you won’t feel the pain later. It’s fine to say that you are not sure whether you’re hurt or not.
Find a Good Personal Injury Attorney
If a drunk driver hits you, you’ll be compensated for any damage, injuries or pain that was caused by this accident. But before you speak to the insurance company, you should find an experienced personal injury attorney who will help you, and give legal advice. It’s worth to hire one because he will help with your case, and try to get you the highest possible amount of compensation that you can get.
Paperwork is always complicated, and it’s easy to overlook something important. If you have a personal injury attorney, you can focus on your health, and let him take care of all the formalities.
Being hit by a drunk driver is something that should never happen, but some people are too selfish and too short-sighted to understand how negative consequences their actions might bring. If a situation like that happened to you, make sure to follow all the steps above. Because of that, you’ll have a chance of getting higher compensation, and with the professional help of personal injury attorney, you’ll be able to finish this case as soon as possible.