{"id":1192,"date":"2021-03-29T18:24:31","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T18:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/?p=1192"},"modified":"2021-03-29T18:24:31","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T18:24:31","slug":"youve-been-in-an-accident-now-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/?p=1192","title":{"rendered":"You’ve Been In An Accident – Now What?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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    You've Been In An Accident - Now What?\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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      \n2021\n<\/div>\n\t
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      \nYou've Been In An Accident<\/b>\n

      \n

      \nFirst<\/b>\t
      \nCheck yourself for injuries and if you have one, call 911 or ask someone to do that for you. And, if you think it\u2019s something serious, try to stay as still as you can and wait for emergency services.\n

      \nNext:<\/b>
      \nIf you find your able enough to, check the other folks in your vehicle, and if anyone\u2019s hurt, call emergency services right away--or ask a bystander of they can call for help.\n

      \nThen:<\/b>\n\t
      \nIf it\u2019s at all possible to move the car AND it presents a hazard where it is, pull to the side of the road. If it\u2019s undriveable, leave it where it is, and get yourself and anyone else who\u2019s also able to move, to safety.\n

      \nCALL 911!<\/b>\n\t
      \nYes, if you haven\u2019t done it yet, call the police. It doesn\u2019t matter if the accident is major or minor--and Illinois requires drivers to report any accident that involves \u201cdeath, bodily injury or property damage over $500\u201d \u2014 no matter who caused the accident.\n\t
      \nThe officers will fill out an accident report as well as document the scene (but if they can\u2019t get there for whatever reason, it\u2019s up to you to go to the nearest police station an complete the report yourself!) \n

      \nWait:<\/b>
      \nTurn off the engine, turn on the hazard lights, if you\u2019re able to do so, set and light road flares if you have them (so other vehicles know to slow down)\n

      \n\tInformation Exchange<\/b>
      \nOnce everyone is safely away from oncoming traffic, trade contact and insurance information with the other driver. This is what you need:\n\t
      \n\tFull name and contact information\n\t
      \n\tInsurance company and policy number\n\t
      \n\tDriver\u2019s license and license plate number\n\t
      \n\tType, color, and model of vehicle\n\t
      \n\tLocation of the accident\n

      \nRemember:<\/b>
      \nDo your best to be level headed and DON\u2019T discuss fault when going over the facts with the other driver. The insurance adjuster who reviews your claim will determine that based on an inspection of all the damages involved as well as the supporting documentation--such as the police report--and any photographs from the scene.\n

      \n\tPaperwork\/recordkeeping<\/b>
      \nYou need to protect yourself, not just on the scene, but after, so you\u2019ll need to:\n\t
      \n\tGet the name and badge number of all the responding officers\n\t
      \n\tAsk them where you can get a copy of the accident report (you\u2019ll need it when you file your claim)\n\t
      \n\tTake pictures--get different angles so you can see the damage done to everything (cars, \nfences, poles--if it got hit, you want a picture).\n\t
      \nTake names--and addresses, including those of passengers in other vehicles, AND the \nnames and contact information of any available witnesses.\n

      \n\tStart Your Claim<\/b>
      \nIf things are safe enough on the scene, call your agent, or start the process via the website on your phone and someone can tell you exactly what you\u2019ll need to file your claim.\n

      \nAccidents are stressful and even frightening, but if you can follow these steps, it will help protect you from unwanted and intended consequences, and you can focus not only on the health and well being of you and anyone else involved, but also in getting your vehicle repaired and getting back on the road as soon as possible.\n

      \n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      You’ve Been In An Accident – Now What? 2021 You’ve Been In An Accident First Check yourself for injuries and if you have one, call 911 or ask someone to do that for you. And, if you think it\u2019s something serious, try to stay as still as you can and wait for emergency services. Next:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1192"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1214,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192\/revisions\/1214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerschicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}