Is It A Good Idea To Hire A Lawyer Following A Minor Accident With A Car?

After a long day, you sit at the red light. You reach down for the radio to change station and… BAM! You’ve been struck by another driver, who wasn’t paying attention. You both get out of the car to assess the damage. You both feel fine. Your cars have only minor damage. It has been a long day and you decide not to contact the police to file a complaint or exchange information. Are you required to hire a legal representative after a minor automobile accident?

Are you required to make so much fuss about this? Maybe we can just let it go and continue our day. It’s your goal to get home. There is no need to delay, in contrast, or cause distress to others.

That Was Your First Mistake, And Probably The Most Costly.

Failure to file a police accident report, even if it was a minor one, is illegal in most states. If you take your car to work, it is a criminal offense. It doesn’t matter if there were no injuries or damage to the vehicles. Even if it’s a minor automobile accident, an incident is still an accident.

It becomes even more difficult to understand the details of a car accident after you leave the scene. Even a minor car accident becomes murky. This is your chance to hire a car accident lawyer if there has been a minor car accident. Before leaving the accident site, you should call the police.

Other than the legalities of your issue, you may have just destroyed any potential claim you may make against the other motorist. Even if there has been no damage to your car. Here’s how to fix it:

Hidden Injuries

Studies have shown there are some injuries that a person can sustain in minor auto accidents, but they don’t appear until several days later. You feel fine even though you are hit in the back. You aren’t hurt and there is no obvious injury.

It is not always the case. Most people associate “injuries” with broken bones, lacerations, or even head trauma. Life-altering and severe injuries are often what our minds focus on. We often overlook strained tendons or stretched ligaments or contusions.

You could wake up tomorrow or the next morning with severe back pain if your body moved forward, your neck snapped back, or you moved forward abruptly. Accidents can cause adrenaline rushes that can conceal injuries. Most car accident lawyers recommend that you see a doctor right away to make sure you don’t have hidden injuries.

If you do not report the accident to either your insurance or the police, you may have difficulty taking your injuries to court.

The “Other” Guy

After several weeks, you are summonsed to court by the “other” guy who has filed a separate claim against you. You understand they are claiming you are responsible for the injuries and property damages they claim. What did you do when they drove off without giving you a report? Now, you are in a “they said, we say” type situation.

These types of suits are unlikely to get much. The other man likely left the scene too. You don’t want to have to deal with all the paperwork and time involved in answering the summons, possibly appearing at hearings, and representing yourself, even though you knew you were right. You may have better things.

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