Automobile accidents can be a terrifying experience, even if the accident itself is relatively minor. There can be a feeling of disorientation, but it’s important to try and gain your composure so you can assess the situation as best you can and get the necessary help. One part of this is determining who’s at fault. It can be scary to think of if you’re at fault yourself, but it’s still important to remain calm. We at Zappitell Law Firm want to share with you advice from our Delray Beach Personal Injury Attorney, so you know what to do when an accident happens and how to identify who’s at fault.

Advice From Our Delray Beach Personal Injury Attorney

So let’s say you’ve just gotten into an automobile accident. What should you do? The first step should always be assessing the situation and checking to see if you and/or any of your passengers have been injured. Next, you want to call 911 to get the police to the scene. If you or anyone else is injured, even if it doesn’t seem severe, report that there are injuries as well. Some injuries can be deceptive, so it’s important that you get checked out by a medical professional to ensure it’s nothing serious.

If possible, you should then do your best to collect evidence, such as the scene of the accident, the state of your vehicle and any other involved vehicles, and any witness reports. Take as many pictures as you can for evidence later. If you can’t do this yourself, you can try and ask witnesses to help you with this step. Lastly, you’ll want to call an attorney to help with your case, and never take a medical insurance settlement from an insurance company without your attorney’s counsel. Insurance companies will try to get you to settle early when you don’t even know what your medical bills will amount to.

How to Identify Who’s at Fault

In general, there are four main ways to identify who’s at fault in a car accident:

• Duty of Care– This is understanding the responsibility drivers have to the road and to the safety of others on the road.
• Breach of Duty– This is establishing that there is a duty of care that was breached either intentionally or unintentionally. In other words, one or more of the drivers involved were not following their duty of care.
• What Caused the Accident– This is the specific breach that resulted in the accident. For example, was one of the drivers supposed to yield to the other and failed to do so?
• What are the Damages– This establishes that there are damages associated with the accident, either to the vehicle or anyone involved.

If you find that you are at fault in a car accident, it’s important to remain calm, take responsibility, and contact your attorney, even if just for protecting yourself from the insurance company.

Contact Us

If you’ve been in an accident, it’s important that you reach out for legal aid regardless of who’s at fault. You can receive a Delray Beach personal injury attorney by contacting us at Zappitell Law Firm to help you with protecting yourself if you’re not at fault and to help you against your insurance company.