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If you have been in an accident: If you or a loved one has been in an accident, you can do many things that will help your chances at recovering for your damages later: - Contact the police as soon as possible to file an accident report. Note the police officer’s name and badge number and whether any other drivers were ticketed.
- Contact your attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney can begin an investigation into what happened, ensure that key evidence is properly obtained, and preserve your rights. Tell your attorney everything that happened but do not discuss the case with your insurance provider or the other drivers involved in the accident.
- File an accident report (form SR-1) with your local California DMV office. You can download that form here
- Exchange information from the other driver(s) involved in the accident, making sure you obtain their full names, addresses, and license numbers, and also the insurance policy information and names and addresses of the registered owners of the vehicles involved.
- Obtain the full names and addresses of any witnesses, passengers, and/or pedestrians involved in the accident.
- Take pictures of any damage to vehicles or property as soon as possible. If possible, also take or obtain pictures of the accident scene.
- Contact your insurance provider and advise your adjuster that you are being represented by a personal injury attorney.
- If you have been injured, seek medical attention as soon as possible and keep all of the records from your medical care, including any time you have to miss work, any appointments you have had, and any other expenses you have incurred because of the accident.
- Take note of important details regarding the accident including:
- Exactly where and when the accident occurred
- Whether medical service was needed or if anyone at the scene complained of injury
- What direction and how fast all of the cars were going immediately before the accident and, if possible, how the accident occurred
- The damage to all of the vehicles involved and if there was anything wrong with the vehicles (such as a broken light) before the accident occurred
- Whether any of the drivers admitted any fault or offered an excuse for why the accident occurred
- Whether any of the drivers were driving as part of their job or driving a company vehicle
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