The first days after an accident can be very trying times.  Often your injuries will feel worse in the days following an accident.  The days after an accident are also crucial to your recovery.  The days following your accident are a time when you begin to document and preserve evidence.  There are several steps you should take.  These steps are listed below.

1. If you begin experiencing any pain associated with the accident, you should contact your doctor immediately. Often injuries from automobile accidents do not manifest themselves immediately. Additionally, if you have already seen a doctor or been treated at the emergency room and your pain worsens, you should contact a doctor immediately.  Often injuries and their severity do not become evident until some time has passed from the accident.  Self medication is not the best course of action for your injury.

2. Contact an Attorney to discuss your case. It costs nothing to talk to most Attorneys and in many cases, swift action by an Attorney can help to preserve your claim.  Attorneys at Williams & Williams, P.C. will discuss your case free of charge.

3. Notify your own insurance company of the accident even if it was not your fault. Failure to do this may result in loss of your insurance coverage.

4. Keep track of all of the costs associated with your accident. This included medical bills, repair costs, and lost time from work. Also note how the accident has affected your everyday life. Start a diary.  Keep note of the things that you did before the accident that you have trouble doing or can no longer do.

5. You may contact the other driver's insurance company to discuss fixing your car, but do not talk to the other driver's insurance company, or anyone who may be associated with the other driver(s) or their insurance company, about the cause of the accident, your injuries or anything, other than them fixing your car.  If you have any doubt about talking to the other driver's insurance company, call your Lawyer, he or she will advise you.

6.  Take photographs of your vehicle, if you did not take any at the scene, or send a friend or family member to do this if you can not.

7.   If you are able, go back to the scene of the collision, while the accident is still fresh in your mind, and review the events that led to the accident.  Make diagrams of the scene. Write down what you remember about the collision, do not limit yourself to the cause, also include what was said by the parties, their demeanor and how you were feeling.

8.   If you have any visible injuries, such as scrapes, cuts or bruising, take  pictures and notify your Lawyer, he or she may want professional photographs taken to preserve this valuable evidence.

9.  If your vehicle is located at a place that is charging storage charges, and it has been there for more than five (5)days, remove the vehicle from that location.  This may require hiring a tow truck, and will likely require paying for the towing and storage charges to date.  IKeep your receipts, the charges become part of your damages.  In Maryland, you have a duty to mitigate your damages.  If you let your vehicle collect excessive storage charges, you may find that the insurance company will not pay for those charges and you could be faced with a very large bill.