12 Things to Do After a Colorado Springs Car Accident

Written by Jeremy D. Earle, JD

February 18, 2023

What Do I Do After a Colorado Springs Car Accident?

If you’ve never been in a car accident before, you may be unsure what to do in the moments, hours, days, and weeks after the collision. Colorado Springs is known for its congested streets and many car accidents each year. If a negligent or reckless motorist causes an accident, Colorado law allows victims to file a lawsuit to seek damages for losses sustained due to the accident.

Aside from your health and safety, protecting the value of your claim after a car accident in Colorado Springs should be your primary concern. Even if they know their policyholder is liable, insurance companies will employ every trick in the book to reject or undervalue your claim so they can escape financial responsibility.

Following are 12 actions to follow after a car accident in Colorado Springs to guarantee that you get maximum compensation for your injuries-related losses.

Depending on when your accident happened and the degree of your injuries, you may find it challenging to do all of these tasks. Do your utmost, though, to safeguard the value of your claim. You may also request the assistance of relatives or friends to aid you with the tasks you cannot do.

ENSURE THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT ARRIVES ON THE SCENE

A spectator might have phoned 911 to report your Colorado Springs car accident if it looked to be severe. Ambulances, fire engines, and Colorado Springs police will respond swiftly to the accident site, giving necessary medical assistance to anybody injured in the collision. Teams also extinguish fires and clean up spills of gasoline, engine fluids, and other substances that might endanger other motorists.

If you are still aware after your accident and can phone the police, you should do so, mainly if you believe no one else has reported it. Even if you think everything is OK, you should always wait for the police to come and file a complaint. Negligent drivers may sometimes flee the scene of an accident to avoid receiving a penalty or having to file an accident claim with their insurance company. Others may not be covered by insurance.

The sooner Colorado Springs Police arrive at the site of the collision, the less likely you will be responsible for the accident’s expenses since the at-fault motorist fled.

MAKE YOUR WAY TO SAFETY

Traffic in Colorado Springs is famously awful, particularly around rush hour. Residents commuting on I-25 and other famous highways may encounter heavy traffic, raising the

 

risk of further damage and injury after a car collision. Accidents may sometimes be so severe that moving cars to the side of the road and out of traffic is neither practicable nor doable. When law enforcement authorities come, they will halt and divert traffic in this scenario.

If you can safely relocate your car to the side of the road, you should do so, mainly if there is a lot of traffic. If your collision caused a delay or bottleneck, this reduces the danger of a subsequent accident from a passing car. Although leaving your car and preserving evidence for your claim is preferable, this isn’t always the safest option.

COMMUNICATE WITH THE OPPOSING DRIVER (S)

If feasible, share information with the other motorist or cars involved in the collision while you wait for Colorado Springs Police to arrive at the site of the accident. You may have to wait a little longer than you’d like for police enforcement to come. The longer it takes for the cops to arrive, the more likely the at-fault motorist will flee. By sharing information with the driver, you may guarantee that you have all you need for your claim. If the other motorist gets angry or aggressive, you should take notes and wait for other drivers to arrive.

As much as you can of the following:

Make, model, and licence plate number of the car.

Other drivers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. Insurance policy details for the driver(s).

You may also provide other drivers with the same information about yourself, but don’t mention anything else. Also, DO NOT ACCEPT PARTIAL RESPONSIBILITY!

Someone might pervert your remarks, and your attempts to collect damages could be unsuccessful.

While you’re waiting for the cops to come, jot down any further details regarding the collision. Make a note of:

The date and time of the accident;

The accident’s location; the state of the roads

The weather situation;

the traffic situation;

Road hazards that may have contributed to the collision; and

 

Any signs of intoxicated, drugged, or inattentive driving.

The official crash report will most likely provide you with all of the information you want; nevertheless, you may double-check your data against the official announcement to ensure that there are no differences.

OBTAIN CONTACT INFORMATION FOR EYEWITNESSES

Your car accident is unlikely to go undetected because of Colorado Springs’s size and population. Someone most likely came to a halt to give aid or make a statement to the authorities. While pedestrians and cyclists are sometimes witnesses to accidents, drivers and passengers are often witnesses.

You should always collect the contact information of everyone who stops, regardless of who they are. Witnesses may depart the accident site before Colorado Springs Police arrive. Eyewitness accounts substantiate your injury claim, which you may share with the reporting officer. You’ll also have the witness’s details to provide to your lawyer, who may contact the witness and obtain testimony if required.

COLLECT PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE USING YOUR CELL PHONE

If you have a functional phone and are physically capable, take as many images and videos as possible as soon as feasible following your collision. Tow trucks will arrive eventually to remove the cars, and street workers will clean up any metal or glass on the road, eliminating vital evidence. The officer who writes the accident report will give you a storey about what occurred. Still, photographic evidence will back up that storey, bolstering your case against the at-fault motorist.

Take pictures of the accident site and attempt to acquire shots of each of the following: Damage to personal property, cars, and other stationery items.

The licence plates of any other cars involved in the collision. Any visible injuries you’ve sustained.

Hazardous road conditions that may have contributed to the collision. Alcohol-related evidence, such as empty beer cans and other open containers.

When police from Colorado Springs Police or Colorado Highway Patrol come, they will take photographs, but the situation may alter before they arrive. Take as many photos as you can so that you have the proof you need for your insurance claim and personal injury lawsuit.

 

HAVE YOUR INJURIES EXAMINED BY A DOCTOR

If you were seriously injured in a car accident in Colorado Springs, you were most likely sent to Kindred Hospital or another local institution for emergency care. If you walked away from the accident, you might have decided to refuse medical attention at the site because you didn’t think you needed it. Because some accident victims may not suffer immediate pain or symptoms from their injuries or are just mildly painful, they may choose to forgo coming to the emergency hospital. For two reasons, this is a mistake.

Following an accident, you should put your health and safety first. Car accidents may result in hidden injuries, some of which can be fatal. A headache, for example, might suggest a severe brain injury; abdominal pain could indicate organ damage; minor bruising could indicate internal bleeding, and chest pain could indicate a fractured rib puncturing the lungs or other essential organs. Allowing a doctor to examine you for car accident injuries ensures that you get the necessary care for any concealed damages.

Second, you must show that the car collision caused your injuries to win your Colorado Springs car accident claim. Your medical records serve as necessary proof to the insurance company and defence legal team that you were wounded in the collision.

GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY

After a severe collision, particularly one that results in physical injury, you should always call your car insurance company, regardless of who caused the accident. When their coverage may apply, most plans require policyholders to report accidents. If you don’t tell your carrier, your service may be cancelled or not renewed. You may also have to depend on your benefits to pay part of your losses if the at-fault motorist fled the scene of the accident or didn’t have enough insurance to cover the damage. When policyholders delay reporting an accident, insurance companies do not want to pay uninsured or underinsured driver claims.

CDOT WILL SEND YOU A COPY OF YOUR OFFICIAL CRASH REPORT.

Any law enforcement officer investigating an car accident in Colorado Springs or around the state has ten days to file a written report to the Colorado Department of Transportation under Colorado law (CDot). You may get a copy of the information for a charge of $6 after CDot has loaded it online. After you pay the price, you will have instant access to your report, which you may download. You may also get a copy of your official accident report by mail by downloading the form from the CDot website and mailing money to the address provided.

KEEP TRACK OF ANY FINANCIAL LOSSES INCURRED DUE TO YOUR CAR ACCIDENT IN COLORADO SPRINGS

 

Car accidents are often costly, and the cost rises with the accident’s severity. You may file a claim against the at-fault motorist. Still, you must be able to demonstrate your losses to collect compensation via an insurance settlement or a jury decision. To support your claim, you should preserve itemized invoices and records of everything connected to your Colorado Springs car accident.

Take images or scan copies of paper documents and save them as a digital file. Make duplicate copies on flash drives, so you have everything you need for your claim at all times.

Always maintain a record if you’re unsure if anything counts as a loss. If you discover it doesn’t qualify, you may delete it.

You’ll almost certainly need the following documents to establish financial loss: Medical expenses;

Work-related payroll paperwork; Receipts for gas; and

Receipts for services rendered by others.

SPEAK WITH A KNOWLEDGEABLE COLORADO SPRINGS CAR ACCIDENT ATTORNEY

If you’ve been in an car accident, you should call a respected Colorado Springs car accident law company as soon as possible. A knowledgeable legal firm can assess your case, establish your compensation eligibility, investigate your accident, acquire a crash report, and assist you with various areas of your claim.

The sooner you speak with an experienced attorney, the sooner they can start a case against the person who caused the accident. Additional information such as driving records, criminal histories, mobile phone data, traffic camera video, and anything else that may assist support your claim is examined by law firms.

DON’T TALK EXCESSIVELY

The at-fault car insurance carrier will want to talk with you and get a statement after you claim the person who caused your Colorado Springs car accident. You must meet with representatives from the insurance company and tell them your storey of what occurred, but do not provide any more information than is required. Most insurance companies need claimants’ authorization to record their remarks and share medical information.

 

Allowing insurers to record your statement will allow them to use your comments against you to discount your claim. You also need to provide access to your most recent medical records. If you allow insurance companies access to your medical records, they will almost certainly attempt to claim that you have pre-existing injuries.

DO NOT USE SOCIAL MEDIA

The opposing side will conduct a comprehensive investigation into your car accident, looking for any evidence that might be used to lower the value of your claim. Insurance firms can access social media accounts to gather information to undervalue or reject a claim. Before publishing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other social media platforms, wait until your claim has been resolved.

Free Consultation

NO FEE UNLESS WE WIN

You May Also Like…