Whenever you are involved in any type of an accident, it is a good idea to speak with an accident attorney to make sure that your rights are being kept intact. Not all people, lawyers, or insurance companies are going to keep your rights in the front of their minds. Instead, they are going to do what is best for them. This is why you should make sure that someone is there, looking out for your rights so you get what you rightfully deserve instead of just enough to make you happy in the moment.
The Importance of Having a Pedestrian Accident Attorney
If you were involved in any type of a pedestrian accident in Canton, Ohio or anywhere else in the U.S., then you need to do what you can to relay what happened to a pedestrian accident attorney. You want to not only tell your side of the story, but also get as much information from witnesses as possible. You will need to describe where you were, who was around, and what was all going on, in as much detail as you possibly can. Then, you need to let your accident attorney fill in the blanks with witness statements.
Make sure that you do not speak to anyone representing the other side of the accident without your accident attorney present. If you happen to say the wrong thing, you could either end up missing out on some of the compensation you would normally get for this type of accident, or you could end up even facing charges that you contributed to the accident, called contributory negligence. You should only answer the questions your attorney says to answer, and not provide or offer any further information than exactly what you are being asked.
Understanding Pedestrian Accidents
When someone is involved in a pedestrian accident, it can be in the form of someone getting hurt without any influence of a vehicle, such as falling on someone’s sidewalk, or with the influence of a vehicle, such as a car hitting someone walking on the sidewalk. If you are in either of these types of accidents, you need to first seek out proper medical attention, then seek out an accident attorney who can make sure that you are being protected from the very beginning.
If you do not need medical attention immediately, then there are a few important things to do while still on the scene of the accident. First, make sure you make a call to the local police to ensure that a report is made about the accident that occurred. You want to ask anyone that saw anything to remain there as well, so they can provide their name and contact information to the officer and have that information put into the report. Then, you should write down anything that you can from the accident scene. Make sure you get all license plate numbers of anyone involved or of witnesses. You should also make sure you write down what time and location the accident occurred at.
You will also want to draw your own picture of what happened so that you can share that with the accident attorney so he or she can tell what your chain of events looked like. Put in as much detail as you can, and try and make the picture as accurate to scale as you are able to do. Make sure you take the time to speak with the officer(s) who shows up and give your interpretation of all of the events leading up to the accident. The report is something you will want to keep a copy of, and something your accident attorney is going to need to get a copy of as well.
Once the police officer leaves, the only other person you should speak with is your accident attorney. You do not want to say something, even accidentally, that could end up causing issues for you down the line. Make sure you only answer whatever is asked of you and nothing more when speaking with the police, and then decline any other comments for the time being.
No matter if you live in Canton, Ohio, or any other part of the country, you should make sure that you have an accident attorney on your side that is going to be there to help protect your rights. As the victim of an accident, you have the right to compensation in nearly all circumstances, and that is the point of hiring an accident attorney to help.