What to Do If You Are Hit by a Car
Yesterday afternoon, as I was walking along a pedestrian crossing, I was hit by a car.
The man who hit me turned into an alley. It had to be stopped to let me pass, and the assumption was that it wouldn’t stop literally any second so I kept walking. I realized that she was not going to stop – either she had serious cognitive problems or she was staring at her phone – just in time to turn and lay flat on her windshield and not fall under the car. At that moment, she finally stopped. Then I thought: if I had climbed under her car, would she have seen me at all?
I was also lucky that I was not injured because the car was moving relatively slowly. However, it was extremely shocking and scary. Fortunately, the driver stopped, as did several witnesses. Here’s what you should do if something like this happens to you – and what I would do differently.
Call the police immediately
Often, when someone is hit by a car, he does not get up and walk like me, which means that he has no say in what happens next. However, if you can handle the situation on your own, call the police, even if you think you are okay. I hate calling the police, and I didn’t want this woman to be arrested. But when I calmed down, I really wanted her to be held accountable. If she drives a car like this, then the next person on her path may not be lucky. In this case, I could be someone smaller, slower or younger – the child could easily be killed.
After about an hour, I was home and firm enough to try and write a report, but I found I couldn’t. In such cases, the police will not accept the incident report if it is not present at the scene, unless the driver has fled the scene. Instead, I was told that I could apply to her insurance company. So, call the police and stay put with the attacker, even if it seems too difficult and takes a while to get an answer. Another reason to involve the authorities is that they have also been trained to help you start the insurance claim process.
Get driver information
After I was hit, I demanded that the woman get out of the car, where she was sitting and shouting: “I’m sorry!” on me. I photographed her number and license plate, but did not think about getting information about her insurance. It was stupid, but then again, I was just hit by her car. Also, I was not in the car myself, so I had no insurance documents to trade.
The LAPD told me that I would have to call and ask her for the contact for her insurance company, and they warned me to do it “okay.” This is because if she refuses, the next step will be civil court, and no one wants to go through that. Try to get all the information you can while at the scene, because the driver may change his mind about wanting to be useful when you are not furious with him.
Get contacts for witnesses
It’s not something that would come to mind, but luckily, someone who saw what happened knew what to do. The man offered me his phone number and name and told me to contact him if I needed a witness for my accident. I was so upset I was lucky to have taken it off. If someone stops by to help you, get their phone numbers and names. You need to start building your business right away and they will be the key.
While you are doing this, take a lot of pictures – cars, streets, street signs and anything else that you may be asked about, but you probably won’t be able to remember later. After I left, I realized that I had forgotten about the intersection at which the accident occurred and had to find it on the map. The documentation will help you piece things together later.
Check
When your adrenaline levels rise, you may think that you are okay. And your adrenaline will surely run high when you suddenly become an NPC in someone’s Grand Theft Auto game . This does not mean that you have not been hurt. Perhaps if you call the police, an ambulance will come too. Even if it is not a medical emergency, you should be tested. You may be shocked and unaware that you have a head or other internal trauma.
I just got health insurance after years without it, but I still didn’t want to go to the doctor. So I didn’t. I know, stupid! It hurts a little this morning, but I’m still alive. A visit to the doctor, however, would solidify any case I brought against a woman who hit me with her insurance company or in a civil lawsuit. See your doctor for your health and record.
Filing an insurance claim
Basically, I did everything wrong that I could in this situation, and if it hurt more, it would be a very serious problem. So, I’m going to share some of the facts discovered by Laura Bliss, who wrote about her accident for CityLab in which she was injured but is still mobile and conscious. Bliss also did not call the police on the scene, discovering, like me, that it was too late to file an incident report. Aside from filing an immediate report, there are a few other things you need to know in order to claim your insurance claim.
First, don’t tweet about the accident! Of course yes! Mainly because I was alone and didn’t know what to do (note, I wasn’t on the phone when I was hit), but this could be used against you later:
“Social media can be helpful later if you share your incident with local advocacy groups or inform transport authorities that there is a dangerous situation that contributed to the accident,” said Ken McLeod, a legal officer for the League of American Cyclists . “But in a lawsuit, it may seem like you were negligent by checking your phone when you were hit. It can be used against you. “
When you contact your driver’s insurance company, keep in mind that they are not on your side. Try to separate emotions and unnecessary excesses from the report:
Do not give them more than superficial information about what happened: that you, as a pedestrian or a cyclist, were hit by this driver on this day and time in this city. They will most likely put pressure on you to tell you in detail about what happened, whether you went to the doctor, did you complete a report, etc. You do not need to disclose any of this, and you should not do so until do not consult a lawyer. They will harass you with emails and phone calls asking you to open your account. Don’t give it to them – you might accidentally say something that will offend you.
You must also document all costs associated with your accident; not only medical bills, but also money lost due to lack of work, taxi, repair of something damaged, such as a bicycle.
There is a lot of bureaucracy involved in filing a lawsuit and you are not likely to become an expert overnight, so here’s the big question: Hire a lawyer. Insurance companies are more likely to respond and work with a professional. Bike Law is an organization of lawyers that deals with just such accidents if you need somewhere to come off looking for representation.
To take care
The witness, who gave me his name and number, also handed me several packets of sugar for food, saying that they would help me cope with the shock. I dropped them to the ground, but it was a good idea. Make sure you get out of the way, sit down, and remember that it’s okay to be vulnerable at this point. Ask someone for help, take some rest, and know that emotional consequences are normal, even if you are relatively okay. If possible, talk to a therapist and learn about the symptoms of PTSD.
Take care of others
If you notice an accident, stop and help where you can. Offer to be a witness for someone who might face an uphill battle in order to receive appropriate treatment or compensation for what happened to them. Help gather information about the driver if the victim is too upset or distraught. This is called a good citizen and it can make a huge difference in someone’s recovery. And if you are not at the scene, but you know that your friend was hurt, talk to him. Although it was foolish to tweet about my accident, a friend of Venmo gave me money for coffee right after I did it. It made me cry, but it was just what I needed.