Q&A: What Happens if you get rear ended?
It's the number one cause of car wrecks and accidents both here in Memphis, Tennessee and in Mississippi, the rear end collision. It usually occurs in one of two ways. Either you're stopping for a red light when someone from behind decides to not stop or your on one of the interstate's on or off ramps and someone plows into you from behind.
In either case the end result can be quite damaging both to your property and your body. In a rear end collision the driver and passengers of the car that was hit often sustain injuries such as whiplash, back pain, neck pain, ruptured disks, bulging disks or herniated disks. And in the most serious of cases someone could be paralyzed or killed as a result of the wreck.
Q: What do you do if you've been hurt in a car wreck where you were rear ended?
A: The first and most important step to take is to get yourself and your passengers to a doctor or hospital to check on your injuries. Often times when a person is struck from behind in a car wreck they aren't yet aware of the totality of their injuries. This can be because of many reasons such as being distraught or from the "rush" of adrenaline that comes from being hit from behind.
You should immediately seek medical attention though to find out the extent of your injuries. Many people don't even recognize the injuries when they first appear, but instead notice them the days after the wreck. If you were hit in a car wreck you need to make sure that you get proper care the day of the injuries (if you can't that day go as soon as possible) or you risk having the insurance company claim that the injuries did not occur in the wreck.
Your next step should be get all of the information from the driver of the vehicle and get the names and contact information of any witnesses who may have seen the accident. You need the name of the other driver so that if a claim is necessary you know who to file it against. And you should also get the names and contact information of the witnesses so that you will be able to call them if you file a claim. Of course, if you can't do this because you are injured make sure that you have someone else do this for you or make sure the police get the information in their official report.
The third step is to contact your insurance company and let them know of the injury. For reasons why see my previous post here
The final step, if needed, is to contact a reliable and experienced Mississippi or Tennessee personal injury or accident lawyer. They can help make sure that your claim is handled fairly and correctly.
