AUTO ACCIDENT ATTORNEY - RAY HENKE - MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT LAWYER
Accident Checklist - What to Do and What Not to do If Involved in an Auto or Motorcycle Accident
Auto Accident Lawyers & Motorcycle Accident Attorneys - the Henke Law Office - provides a checklist for the most common auto and motorcycle accident cases involving a car or motorcycle and another car, truck or other vehicle. Other auto and motorcycle accidents, resulting from a City or State's negligent failure to clear a road hazard, or motorcycle accidents caused by defective road design, require other, aditional types of accident investigation.
In every accident case it is important that you contact a qualified auto accident attorney or motorcycle accident lawyer promptly. Specifically, you should compare the credentials of the auto accident lawyers or motorcycle accident attorneys to obtain the most highly qualified attorneys you can obtain. See the "What to Look for in an Auto Accident Lawyer" and "What to Look for in a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer" pages where Mr. Henke both provides you the questions to ask to determine a lawyer's qualifications, And he answers the questions without your having to ask. You will be best served by experienced lawyers knowledgeable about the kinds of investigation essential to the preservation of evidence in your auto accident and motorcycle accident cases, right from the outse.
WHAT THE AUTO ACCIDENT lAWYER - MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT ATTORNEY RECOMENDS THAT YOU DO IMMEDIATELY IF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE
WHAT THE MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT LAWYER - AUTO ACCIDENT ATTORNEY RECOMENDS THAT YOU NOT DO IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT
WHAT THE AUTO ACCIDENT ATTORNEY - MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT LAWYER RECOMMENDS THAT YOU DO IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT, OR, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
WHAT THE MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS - AUTO ACCIDENT LAWYERS RECOMMEND THAT YOU NOT DO IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT PRIOR TO RETAINING AN ATTORNEY TO REPRESENT YOU
WHAT THE AUTO ACCIDENT lAWYER - MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT ATTORNEY RECOMENDS THAT YOU DO IMMEDIATELY IF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE
Your response IMMEDIATELY after an accident may prove crucial in preserving the evidence essential to your lawsuit. Therefore, the auto accident lawyers and motorcycle accident attorneys of the Henke Law Office strongly recommends that wherever possible, assuming that you have not been rendered unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, get the following information. If you are conscious, but cannot do it yourself, then ask someone present to gather the information for you.
Get the Name, Address, and Telephone number of the other driver.
Get the Drivers License Number of the other driver.
Get the insurance information of the other driver.
Get the make, model and year of the other vehicles and check the vehicle registration. Take down the vehicle owner's name and address, if it is a person or corporation or entity different from the driver. If it is a company vehicle, write down the name and address of the company. If it is a leased or rented vehicle, write down the name, address and telephone number of the rental company.
Give the other driver your Name, Address, Drivers License Number and Insurance Information.
The auto accident lawyers and motorcycle accident attorneys recommend that you also look around Immediately and identify any and all possible witnesses to the Accident. Ask for their names, addresses, telephone numbers (both home and work), and where they work. If they do not want to get involved, then take down their car license plate numbers and States. If you will do so, your auto accident lawyer or motorcycle accident attorney will be able to obtain their addresses from the Department of Motor Vehicles, send an investigator to interview them, and if they refuse, subpoena them to deposition and trial to give their testimony, if necessary.
Listen carefully to what the other driver says about the events leading up to the accident, e.g., "I didn't see you," and write it down. The auto accident lawyers of the Henke office recommends that you also note who else may have heard or overheard the "admission." ["Admissions" can generally be introduced in evidence against a party to litigation under the "admissions" exception to the hearsay rule]
Call the Police, or have someone else call the Police immediately. The police officer will generally interview all drivers and take witness statements from all witnesses still present. Tell the Police the facts, but "JUST THE FACTS." The police may also collect vital physical evidence and make important skid or debris measurements useful in "reconstructing" the point of impact and vehicle speeds upon which the auto driver's liability will often turn.
The California Motorcycle Accident Lawyers and Auto Accident Attorneys also recommend that you ask the police officer to find out where the other driver was going. If the driver was on an errand for his or her employer, "in the course and scope of his or her employment," you may find you have another good "potential defendant," possibly with much higher insurance policy limits than the driver.
WHAT THE CALIFORNIA AUTO ACCIDENT LAWYERS AND MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS RECOMEND YOU NOT DO IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT
DO NOT sign any writings by the other driver purporting to summarize the facts of the accident.
DO NOT get into an argument with the other driver about what happened.
DO NOT have your car or motorcycle repaired. Not until you have an attorney who can have the car or bike inspected, photographed, and provide the Insurer or Defense Attorney for the other party notice and an opportunity to inspect the car or bike.
WHAT THE CALIFORNIA AUTO ACCIDENT LAWYER & MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT ATTORNEY RECOMMENDS YOU DO IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT, OR, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
The california auto accident lawyers and motorcycle accident attorneys of the Henke Law Office recommend that you follow through on ALL medical care, treatment, and therapy recommended by you physicians. This is important first to assure your quickest and most complete recovery from your injuries, and it is also important for your auto accident or motorcycle accident case, so that you don't provide the defendant's attorney the argument that your disability might have been avoided but for your failure to follow your physicians instructions.
Find the most highly qualified auto accident or motorcycle accident attorney to represent you right from the start. Consult the "WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN AN AUTO ACCIDENT ATTORNEY" page or the "WHAT TOLOOK FOR IN A MOTORCYCL ACCIDENT LAWYER" pagea for the questions to ask to determine the attorney's relevant qualifications. Even the first 24 to 48 hours can be crucial in terms of initiating an appropriate investigation of the accident scene, involved vehicles, and to obtain witness statements.
You may contact attorney Henke by submitting the ACCIDENT QUESTIONNAIRE, by clicking the CONTACT button above, or call Mr. Henke toll free (877) 370-3233. Attorney. Henke does not charge for attorney consultations.
WHAT THE AUTO ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS - MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT LAWYERS RECOMMEND YOU DO IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT, PRIOR TO RETAINING AN ATTORNEY TO REPRESENT YOU
DO NOT permit ANYONE to interrogate you about the events of the accident, particularly the other party's attorney, representatives of the other party's insurance company, or even representatives of your own insurance company. If your insurance policy requires that you report your accident within a time certain, this is another reason to obtain an auto accident attorney or motorcycle accident lawyer immediately and have your lawyer report the accident. In the alternative, you may contact your insurer, advise its representative that you were involved in an accident on such and such a date, provide the representative the name of driver of the other vehicle, his address, telephone number and insurance information, and then tell the representative that you expect to retain an auto accident attorney or motorcycle accident lawyer immediately and that all other questions will be answered by your lawyers. There are circumstances wherein your own insurance company may become your adversary in litigation. For example, where the monetary value of your injuries and your uninsured motorist coverage both exceed the liability policy limits of the other party. In California, uninsured motorist coverage generally implies underinsured motorist coverage.
Once you have an lawyer, if you are contacted by an insurance representative, or anyone else for that matter, refer the caller to your lawyer. While you are still in the process of searching for an attorney, take down the callers' numbers and tell them that as soon as you have retained counsel you will have your lawyers contact them.
The auto accident attorneys and motorcycle accident lawyers of the Henke Law Offic recommend that you DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING prepared by yours or the other side's insurance company, or anyone else, until it is first reviewed by your lawyers. DO NOT SIGN any writings purporting to summarize the events of the accident. Insurance companies may send you other documents, e.g., "General Releases For Medical Records" that an astute attorney would never permit you to sign. It is only the relevant medical records that the insurer should be permitted to obtain, and that should be strictly limited and controlled by your motorcycle accident lawyers, permitting only the physician-specific or hospital admission-specific medical record authorizations.
The major dangers associated with communications with other parties, their attorneys, their insurance representatives and your insurance representatives can all be avoided by immediately obtaining appropriately qualified counsel to represent you.
|
