Enfield, CT Car Accident Dos & Don’ts

What happens when a negligent driver crashes into your car in Enfield, CT? As a Connecticut driver, you probably get a lot of advice about what to do after a car accident. You should also know what not to do. Accidents happen when you share the road with unsafe drivers. Some motorists drink. What should you do or not do?

Some motorists drink, use recreational drugs, speed, and drive distracted, making accidents inevitable. If they crash into your car, anger, stress, and typically unreasonable reactions seem quite reasonable. 

In those critical post-accident moments, you should know that anything you say or do can come back to haunt you. It’s up to you to protect your legal rights, until an Enfield car accident attorney can manage your case. It helps when you know what to do and what not to do.

Think about these post-accident dos and don’ts 

An accident is usually just the beginning of an unpleasant sequence of events. You assess your injury status while interacting with the negligent driver. You wait for a law enforcement officer and a tow truck if the crash disabled your car. 

If you feel injured, you wait for an emergency medical team to ensure you receive immediate treatment. Sometimes, you must ignore a crowd of gathering onlookers, knowing that they’re watching you and listening to every word you say. Whatever you say or do during these post-accident moments can shadow you until you resolve your claim. 

Do: Dial 911 

Connecticut’s Vehicle Highway Use Statutes require you to contact local law enforcement if a vehicle crash causes injuries. When a police officer comes to the scene, they can document details about the drivers, vehicles, circumstances, weather, and other essential data. Even if an accident involves obvious or criminal issues, police officers don’t have the legal authority to decide who is at fault. They can still provide a formal record of the accident for insurance companies, attorneys, and courts. 

If you or anyone else sustains injuries, a 911 dispatcher can also summon emergency medical assistance.  

Don’t: Speak before you think 

What you say and how you say it often becomes the yardstick by which decision-makers measure your integrity. Anger and emotion can provide a glimpse into your appearance as a potential witness on your own behalf. If you admit fault or apologize, it can appear as though you’re admitting fault. 

Connecticut courts acknowledge that, during post-accident moments, your “spontaneous utterances” express your honest beliefs. This allows an exception to traditional hearsay rules. It allows witnesses to share what they heard you say. Whatever you say after an accident, someone might be listening and pass it on.

• A witness may quote you in their statement to the authorities. 
• An investigating police officer may include your words in their formal report. 
• Your auto insurer will use your words to assess your potential liability. 
• The liability insurer may use what you say to deny liability. 
• Your words may provide a negotiation tool to diminish your injury claim’s value.
• In the future, a jury may decide your case based on what you said or how you reacted. 
•  Even if you’re feeling angry, remorseful, or distressed, you must think before you speak. 

Once you speak, you’ll have no control over where your words end up or how someone will use them. Whether you apologize impulsively for the accident or blurt out, “It’s my fault,” you can easily jeopardize your ability to recover compensation for your damages. 

Don’t: Say, “I’m okay” 

When you’re involved in a serious crash, your body endures the trauma. Immediately after an accident, you might feel okay, but that can easily change. While you may easily recognize cuts, bruises and bleeding wounds, some serious injuries don’t always manifest themselves right away. If the other driver’s liability insurer learns that you were “okay” at the accident scene, it becomes a talking point that never goes away.

Before declaring that you’re feeling okay, talk to a medical professional. If you feel symptoms days or weeks after the accident, remember they could still be accident-related. 

Do: Consult with an Enfield car accident lawyer ASAP

When you’re injured in a car accident, a long list of demands and responsibilities hit you all at once. You can’t avoid doctors, therapists, and other medical professionals. You need them to help you recover. Often you must arrange vehicle repairs and alternate transportation. Insurance claims adjusters make demands when you’re least capable of dealing with the disruption. 

When you consult with a lawyer, liability claims adjusters can no longer contact you. You also take the initial critical steps toward protecting your legal rights. 

• Protect your legal interests
• Deal directly with negligent drivers and their insurers
• Investigate your accident
• Assess any liability issues
• Obtain your medical records and doctor reports
• Evaluate your injuries
• Settle your claim when it’s appropriate 

When a lawyer accepts your case, liability adjusters must leave you alone or deal with the consequences. Attorneys work for you while you rest and recover.

Do: Document evidence at the scene

When an accident occurs, evidence is everywhere. As defined by Miriam-Webster.com, evidence is “something that furnishes proof.” Unfortunately, essential proof often begins fading before the police arrive to investigate. Drivers move their cars. Witnesses leave the scene. Traffic pushes accident debris out of the road, and weather and lighting change. It’s up to you to preserve this evidence while you can. 

Use your smartphone to document evidence before it goes away. If injuries prevent you from doing this, ask a bystander for assistance. Document the following evidence and anything else you consider relevant to your accident. 

• Other driver: Connecticut statutes require that drivers provide information. If possible, view and photograph: the other driver, also their driver’s license, insurance card, and current address
• Vehicles: stopping positions, license plates, make, model, damage, areas of contact, old damage
• Accident scene: overall view, traffic control devices, accident debris, pavement condition, skid marks, traffic street signs, weather
• Witnesses: names, contact information, what they saw

You might not be able to preserve all the available evidence. What you can document may assist your insurer in determining liability and defending you against the other driver’s allegations. It may help your attorney protect your legal rights as they seek compensation for your injuries

Don’t: Try to analyze or discuss liability at the accident scene

Of course, you’ll have an idea as to who caused your accident, but you should never share that opinion at an accident scene. Liability scenarios are often complex, involving many factors. Even if you understand the legal issues, you can only judge the accident from your point of view. 

When a police officer or insurance company asks questions about your accident, don’t respond with opinions on fault, just genuine facts.

• It was daytime, nighttime, dusk, etc 
• The weather was rainy, overcast, cloudy, snowy, etc.
• Your speed at the time of the crash was
• Your intended actions before the crash
• Their front end hit my rear end
• You had a green light, stop sign, etc. 
• The accident occurred when…

It’s your insurer’s job to investigate your accident and determine liability on your behalf.  It’s your Enfield car accident attorney’s job to protect your legal interests, deal with claims adjusters, and resolve your case. What you say at an accident scene can jeopardize your case outcome.   

Don’t: Ignore your doctor’s orders 

When you’re injured or disabled due to an accident, your doctor is the person who eventually confirms it. They explain your injuries and give insurance companies your diagnosis and prognosis. They discuss your injury’s severity according to what they can confirm. If you don’t keep your appointments, they will verify only what’s in their records.  You must:

• See a medical professional as soon as possible for an initial diagnosis.
• Fill your prescriptions or the claims adjuster will assume you had no pain. 
• Participate in prescribed therapies. 
• Take time off work when prescribed.

Failure to comply with doctor’s orders tells the person evaluating your claim that you might not have a serious injury. 

Do: Track your recovery 

When an insurer negotiates a settlement, they consider your subjective evidence when assessing non-economic damages. When it’s time to settle your injury claim, they need to know your experience with pain, suffering, disabilities, and other issues only you can explain. As it might take months or even years before you’re ready to negotiate and settle your claim, you may not remember all the ways these things affected your life. 

That’s why it’s important to document your experience from the beginning to the end. When you document your treatment and recovery consistently, you’ll have an easy reference that can help your lawyer evaluate, prove, and settle your case. You can track your recovery in a simple notebook or create a digital diary using your phone or computer.

• Describe daily injury and recovery milestones.
• Discuss your pain, its intensity and when, where, and how it occurred.
• Describe activities and chores you can’t do because of pain and mobility issues. 
• Document missed family events, career opportunities, and lifestyle norms.  

Do: Report your accident to your own insurance company 

If your auto policy provides first party coverages that might apply to your accident, your auto policy requires that you file a claim report. Medical payments, collision, loss of use, and other first-party coverages may pay some of your losses and help you move forward.

When a negligent driver injures you, of course, you want their insurance company to pay. While that should happen, you shouldn’t wait while they make up their minds. Liability claims don’t always work out the way they should. 

If the negligent driver has no coverage or not enough coverage, you may have a valid injury claim under your Uninsured Motorist, Underinsured Motorist, or Uninsured Motorist Conversion coverage. UM and UIM are mandatory under Connecticut’s Property and Casualty Statutes. 

If you don’t turn in a claim and later present a valid first-party claim, your insurance company may reserve their rights to deny your coverage. Delayed reporting also jeopardizes your insurer’s right to investigate your accident and examine potential liability issues. 

Do: Remember someone might be watching you 

Liability insurers want your personal information to evaluate your injury claim, but that doesn’t mean you should give an adjuster whatever they want. Unfortunately, when they can’t get information directly from you, they produce it however they can. 

• Video surveillance: An investigator may monitor your home, watching as you come and go. They look to see if you’re as injured as you say. 
• Neighborhood canvassing: They may ask your friends and neighbors about you, your accident, injuries, and activities. Sadly, people often blab about their injured friend or neighbor if they notice something unusual.
• Social media investigations: Social Media investigators access your online interactions to find out more about your daily activities. If you have a social media presence, remember:
  • Don’t post about your accident or injuries.
  • Don’t talk about your social life, recreational activities, holidays, work life, or home life.  
  • Don’t post pictures of you doing anything that looks as though you might not have an injury: dancing, exercising, etc
  • Set your privacy settings so investigators can’t have access to your photos and information. 
  • Don’t accept friend or follow requests from strangers. 
  • Consider staying off social media until you recover from your injuries. 
• Credit reports: Liability adjusters review financial records as they may verify that you’re having difficulty paying your bills. This can help confirm a continuing disability. It can also show that your injury has caused financial distress. While a claims adjuster might not mention this to you or your lawyer, they will rely on it during settlement negotiations.

You should never share accident, injury, or disability details with friends, neighbors, and coworkers. When you do, you leave a trail of information for insurance claims adjusters to uncover. You can help insulate yourself from these types of interventions by discussing your case only with your Enfield car accident lawyer. 

Contact an Enfield, CT car accident lawyer 

If you’re injured in a crash, you need immediate help navigating the legal dos and don’ts. When you contact an Enfield car accident attorney to schedule a free consultation, they determine if they can help you. 

You will have an opportunity to discuss your case with a seasoned legal professional. They will learn more about your accident, discuss your injuries, and explain your legal options. If you choose to establish a working relationship, a lawyer can take immediate steps to protect your legal rights.