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FEATURE

Dealing with Car Accidents? Stay Calm and Follow the Advice

These days, the fear of the expected, a shrinking job market, hour cuts, decreasing retail and restaurant sales, can distract us from the unexpected. It also means smaller savings and “emergency” funds for many. Robert Katz has seen many drivers who were unprepared find themselves in a desperate situation as they try to grapple with large medical and vehicle repair bills after an accident...

Mr. Katz is a D.C. metropolitan: Georgetown educated, Bar certified in both D.C. and Maryland, and with thirty-seven years practicing law and serving on metropolitan committees. He is currently the Chairman of the Personal Injury Group at Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger and Hollander. As of this summer, Mr. Bob Katz is bringing his thirty-seven years of legal expertise to GiantDiretory.com’s in our “Ask the Experts” section.
After serving for the U.S. Justice Department and the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company on the defense side of personal injury, he primarily represents plaintiffs for Gordon. In his seventeen years with the Group, he offers practical advice on what to do in those first moments after a crash impact.

• First of all, don’t move anything. You may be in pain, or in shock, or have somewhere you need to get to, but the most important thing at that moment is just to stay put and wait until an officer arrives to handle this situation.
  
  
• The police officer will write down your account word-for-word, so if you need an interpreter, call a friend or family member to help.
  
  
• If you are experiencing any pain, make sure the officer knows that. Often police officers will “elect” not to file a report if you’re not injured.
  
  
• Most people know to get the insurance and contact information of the other party: Also get the contact numbers and names of any witnesses.

The good news is in the recent economy, deaths from a crash our decreasing. The bad news is as budgets get tighter, consumers are often cutting down on what they consider “nonessentials” such as insurance. In fact, some states are reporting as much as a third of drivers on the road are uninsured since January 2009.
If you end up dealing with an uninsured driver it may be hard to collect. Although no one wants to go to court, if you end up there, having all the evidence will be essential to your case. Remember when you’re giving statements never to say “I’m sorry”, Leave it up to the police officer and the evidence to determine who was at fault. If your insurance company calls, don’t let any statements be recorded.
Sometimes just hearing from your lawyer can be enough for the other party to make an offer. Having a good, experienced personal injury lawyer like Mr. Katz can take a great burden away from you.  After an accident the mental anguish or physical injuries can make dealing with insurance companies and the other party even harder. A lawyer will guide you through the process and make sure you get the compensation you need to put things back the way they were, or cover future losses from injuries.