When you are driving, you must always use caution. All drivers owe others the duty of care, which means they must exercise caution to avoid an accident. But even when you are very safe, you can still be involved in an accident. Often, there are times when drivers run others off the roadway. If you were driven off the road by another driver, you can still pursue a personal injury claim against the other driver. You will need to preserve evidence and show what happened, so you can show that without a doubt the other driver was liable for the crash that occurred.
Here are five things to do if you were driven off the road:
- Try to get the make and model of the vehicle, along with its color. Try to take note of the license plate, even if you can only get a partial plate. Note the direction of travel. Any information that you can get if the car doesn’t stop can help the police identify the vehicle and track it down to hold the driver responsible.
- Call the police and stay on the accident scene. You will need to have an accident report completed. The officer will investigate the crash and gather up as much information as possible. These details will help show that there was another vehicle involved and that driver caused you to be run off the roadway. Your insurance might try to allege there wasn’t another vehicle, but with the right documentation and evidence, it can be proven otherwise.
- Check to see if there are any witnesses. Ask around to see if anyone saw what happened – even if they just saw part of the accident. If you find any witnesses, ask them to provide written statements that detail what they saw. They should also provide their names and contact details on those statements so they can be contacted later for additional information. Be sure the responding officer is aware of the witnesses as well.
- Get photos of the accident scene. You can use your smartphone for this. Get photos of all different angles of the crash scene and be sure to get the damages from all sides. These photos can help with the investigation and can help determine what happened and how it happened.
- Work with a personal injury attorney regarding your personal injury claim after you were driven off the road. Personal injury attorneys work on the contingency basis, so you have no upfront costs or out-of-pocket expense. Your lawyer will not get paid until you are compensated for your damages through a personal injury settlement or judgment. Your lawyer will investigate the accident and try to gather additional evidence to support your personal injury claim against the driver who ran you off the road.
These five steps can help you build a strong personal injury claim against the other driver. Be sure to gather documentation, preserve evidence, and stay alert.
