If  you have been the victim of an auto mobile accident in Florida there are things you need to do to comply with the Law and to preserve your claim if you are injured.  First, call 911 and have the police come and do a report and of course if you are in need of an ambulance as well, request that on the 911 call.  Driver information and insurance information is taken on the reportt along with an official description of the accident so make sure you get an accident report done by the responding Law Enforcement Officer, and it is the Law to report any accident. 

Two, take pictures of the scene and the damage to the vehicles.  Once the at fault party leaves the scene and the vehicle is towed, we may not be able to access the Defendant's vehicle after that so if you can get pictures at the scene, do so.

Also, take pictures of your injuries if they are visible.  Obviously a whiplash type injury won't be able to be photographed, but any brusing or lacerations will fade in a few days, so get pictures of your injuries.  A picture is worth a 1000 words and that axiom is no truer then in a Court of Law.

Call your insurance company as soon as reasonably possible.  Your insurance policy is a Contract and your duty and obligations of that contract is to notify your insurer of any incident. 

Florida is a No-Fault State which means that your own insurance company will provide you with up to $10,000 in medical benefits after an accident regardless of fault.  But only if you report the incident to them first.  The contact # for reporting your claim is on your insurance card and is usually a 1-800#. Do not call your Agent.  They sell insurance, they do not handle claims.  You must call the acutal company to get a claim # and get your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits.

You also MUST seek treatment with in 14 days of the accident so don't delay getting checked out by a doctor if you beleive you are injured.  Lee Convenient Care locations are all over Lee County or if you have a Primary Care Physician you are comfortable with that is fine too, but make sure you inform the treating phsyician that your injuries are motor vehicle accident related and provide the physician with your automobile insurance card so they may bill your insurer for the No Fault or Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits.

I do not suggest going to a hospital ER unless you are going in an ambulance.  Your wait time at a Convenient Care location will be much shorter.  ER's triage people on priority of injuries, so if you show up a day or two after an accidnet with general complaints you can expect to be sitting for a long time before you are treated.  Hospitals are also well aware of your PIP beneifts and they will do every test they can think of to eat up all of your benefits before you even start real treatment with a specialist, PT or even Chiropractic.  So save yourself time and money and go to your Dr or a Convenient Care location unless your injuries are a real emergency.

Lastly and most importantly, call an attorney.  Personal Injury or Accident Attorneys charge a contingency fee which means we only get paid if we are successful and we get a percentage of the settlement we are able to obtain for our clients.  So it will cost you nothing to consult with an attorney, so why not get free legal advice?

Remember the Insurance Company is not your friend or your ally when you make a claim.  An insurance adjustor's job is to save his/her company money by paying out as little as possible on an injury claim.  The only way to level the playing field when dealing with a multi national, multi billion dollar company is to hire an experienced attorney that knows how to deal with Insurance Companies.

I thank you for reading this article and hope it is helpful.  And you can of course contact me directly if you have a claim or any questions about what you just read.