What To Do After an Accident

A car accident can be a very traumatic event.  Stress and injuries may affect your ability to think clearly.  How you react to the accident and the information that you obtain can be a criticial element in your case.

After an accident:

• Be careful. If you are in severe pain, wait for paramedics to arrive to assess your injuries.
• Speak with other drivers and witnesses involved to obtain names, addresses and telephone numbers.
• Make sure that you acquire each driver’s automobile insurance information including the name of the person insured on the vehicle, the company’s name and telephone number if known.
• Contact the police to make an immediate report of the accident and remain at the scene until after an officer arrives.
• Cooperate with the police in preparing an accident report.
• After the accident, photograph the exterior and interior of the vehicles involved in the accident.
• Do not fill out any insurance documents, releases or provide recorded statements without first consulting with a lawyer.
• If injured, consult with a physician.

If you or a family member is injured in an accident, contact your attorney immediately to ensure your rights are protected.  Contact Davis & Gelshenen, LLP at (866) 427-2121 or ddavis@dgattorneys.com for more information or with questions concerning your rights in an accident.

Safety First – Davis & Gelshenen Helps Out With the Rules of The Road

Who has the right of way?

Avoid accidents by understanding the rules of the road.

Most Americans drive with confidence and ego, sure that their interpretations of traffic rules are correct.  But the law is the law.  Understanding commonly misunderstood laws can save lives, even your own.

Generally, traffic signals or signs guide us in an intersection.  However, there are several instances where “right of way” is confusing.

The following rules apply when two cars reach an intersection at the same time:

• If the vehicles are at right angles to each other, the vehicle on the right has the right of way.
• If the vehicles are opposite each other, and one is turning left, that vehicle must wait until the other has passed.  If both are turning left, they may turn simultaneously.  Likewise if both are going straight.
• At a “T” Intersection, vehicles on the road that goes straight have the right of way over those on the road that ends at the T.

Other right-of-way laws include the following:

• When turning right on a red light, vehicles must come to a complete stop before proceeding, and must yield the right of way to pedestrians and bicyclists within a crosswalk and to other traffic using the intersection.
• Traffic facing a green arrow signal must also yield the right of way to pedestrians and bicyclists within a crosswalk and to other traffic in the intersection.
• Traffic moving within a roundabout has the right of way to those merging in.
• Emergency vehicles with sirens on always have the right of way in an intersection.  Drivers en route must pull to the right and stop as soon as safely possible to let such emergency vehicles pass.
• When merging with traffic, vehicles must enter at the same speed traffic is moving and should never stop at the end of the ramp.  Rather, merging vehicles should slow down on the ramp to allow room to speed up before merging.  Merging vehicles must yield to traffic already moving on the roadway.  It is illegal to cross the solid white line to merge early.