Imagine enjoying a nice walk on a Sunday afternoon. As you try to relax and soak in the view, you suddenly hear the distinct sound of car tires screeching. Before you can turn around and fully comprehend the situation, you get hit by a car, and the whole world spins around you.
As you come to your senses and try to understand what happened, you start to feel sharp pain all over your body, which can send alarm bells to your brain. This can put you in a state of panic, and your judgment can get impaired because of it.
If you have been unfortunate enough to be involved in such a situation, the following discussion will try to provide a roadmap for your next steps.
Call the Emergency Services
Once you are able to make sense of what happened, your first instinct should be to call for help. By calling the emergency services, you will be able to get help promptly. In addition to first aid, you will also be able to get the authorities involved.
The police will be able to document the incident and form a police report. If there are any witnesses, their witness testimonies will be recorded by the police officers responding at the scene of your accident. This will make things easier for you later on if you decide to sue the other person.
Try Not to Move too Much
After your accident, it can be tempting to get up and just walk it off. However, it can be a bad idea to do so. The human body is no match for a car, and a direct collision with a car can result in severe injuries. Although modern cars are designed with pedestrian safety in mind, there can be variables.
After your collision with a car, you can get hurled into a lamppost or a stone wall, which can result in significant injuries. Your body can sustain internal damage, such as broken bones and internal bleeding. You can also get impaled by a sharp object; all of these situations can be life-threatening.
You can make things worse for yourself if you try to move after your accident. It can be best practice to stay still and wait for the paramedics to arrive. This way, you will be able to avoid further damage to your body.
Get a Thorough Evaluation
After receiving medical aid from the first responders, you should not take things lightly. The first responder’s job is to make sure that there is no imminent threat to your body; what they cannot do on the side of the road is to give you a thorough evaluation.
For this purpose, you will need to visit a medical center where you can get a detailed evaluation of your body. There can be hidden damage that can manifest later on; you can end up facing further complications, which can decrease the quality of your life.
The reports of your detailed evaluation will also come in handy later on when it comes time to file a claim with your insurance provider.
Answers Questions Accurately
Another thing that you have to keep in mind is that you need to answer any questions the authorities might have for you. Your answers should be accurate, and you should not try to fill in any gaps based on memory alone.
If you are unsure about something, you should make it clear that you cannot remember that particular detail. You should only answer questions affirmatively or in the negative. Trying to fill in the gaps or going off by assumptions can complicate things for you later on.
Get in Touch with Legal Experts
Being run over by a car can leave you in serious medical debt. You can lose income due to your absence from work, and the overall cost of the accident can increase quickly. All of this can be incredibly frustrating when you know that your pain and suffering were completely avoidable.
In order to get the justice you deserve, you have to get in touch with legal experts who deal with pedestrian injury cases. A team of experienced personal injury lawyers can help you understand your rights. They can help you figure out what compensation you can seek for your suffering.
Organize and Document Everything
In order to make your insurance claim successful, you will need documentation. It can take a long time for insurance claims to process, and if you are not careful, you can lose documents that can be helpful for supporting your claim.
This is why it helps to stay organized; you also have to document everything. You can take photos and videos of your injuries, and you can record a video in which you explain what happened. All of this can come in handy if you decide to sue the other person for damages.
Follow the Doctor’s Instructions
More often than not, people who have been injured in a pedestrian accident tend to ignore their doctor’s instructions. When it comes to the recovery period, a pedestrian accident can be severe. You might have to spend a long time in a hospital bed, which can make your life dull.
However, it is part of the process, and you have to give your body time to heal. Another thing that you have to keep in mind is that if you try to get out of bed too quickly, it can also look bad if you are trying to sue the other party for damages. It can cast some serious doubt on your account of the accident.
Keep an Eye on Your Mental Health
Dealing with the aftermath of a pedestrian accident can leave you in a dark place mentally. You can end up facing a period of depression and anxiety which can be crippling for your professional as well as personal life.
Being in a hospital or having to deal with legal parameters can frustrate you. Your tolerance levels can go down, which can make things harder for you. In order to combat such a situation, you can get counseling sessions to help you manage your emotions better.
