After a relaxing dinner with your professional colleagues, you leave the restaurant for the drive home. As you put the key into the front door lock, you notice a long scrape on the driver’s side of the car. Paint chips have fallen on the ground, and the missing paint reveals the metal used to construct the vehicle’s body.
You notice there is not a note left under the windshield wipers and there does not appear to be any witnesses that can tell you what exactly happen.
How do you respond to a car accident such as this? You have to know the top five things to do after someone hit your parked car.
Collecting Evidence is Up to You
Even if the driver of the other vehicle is still around to discuss the accident, chances are good the nearest law enforcement agency will not send an officer to the scene to document all the physical evidence. This means that in most cases of a car accident involving a parked car, it will be the responsibility of the owner of the parked car to gather the evidence needed to submit an insurance claim.
Your first order of business is to use your cell phone to take photographs of the damage done to your car, as well as to capture the weather conditions at the time of the crash. If the other driver left a note, take a snapshot of it to prove another driver hit your parked car. Collect and organize any physical evidence, such as the paint chips that fell to the ground.
You cannot expect your insurer to approve a claim, if you do not attach plenty of evidence to prove another driver hit your parked vehicle.
What about Medical Evidence?
It would seem that you do not have to worry about any healthcare issues after a vehicle accident involving your parked car. However, there are cases when a driver hits a parked car, with the owner of the car sitting in the front seat. If another driver hits your car while you are sitting in it, you can suffer from a number of different personal injuries.
You might suffer from whiplash because of the violent impact or worse, have to endure the pain that comes with one or more broken ribs. The key is to seek medical care to prevent the injuries from worsening. Make copies of every medical bill and record for submission along with your car insurance claim.
Send Copies of Auto Insurance Bills
Parked cars typically come out on the wrong end of a vehicle accident. Without momentum to absorb some of the blow, a parked car can suffer damages ranging from smashed windows to the collapsing of the entire front left quarter panel. Make sure to submit copies of every auto repair bill to bolster your auto insurance claim.
Get Legal Assistance
Auto insurance companies are notorious for dragging their feet when it comes to processing accident claims. They also employ highly skilled actuaries that account for every penny requested in a claim to cover the costs of a car accident. By hiring a state licensed personal injury lawyer, you benefit from working with an advocate who will fight hard to ensure you receive every last penny owed to you.
Your lawyer will also submit your claim well before the statute of limitations runs out on it.
Schedule a free initial consultation today with an experienced personal injury lawyer.
