What to Do After a Parking Lot Accident with No Police Report?

What to do after a parking lot accident with no police report? Document the incident as well as you can, seek medical care, and then be sure you file a claim with the appropriate insurance company for the losses you incurred after a parking lot accident with no police report. 

Consider the following steps to take after a parking lot accident and talk to a Providence car accident lawyer.

Determine if Medical Care is Needed

In an emergency situation, call 911 to request medical support for those injured in the parking lot accident. This is very important in situations where there are obvious injuries or injuries to a pedestrian. Police may respond to the location as well.

If you need medical care, move yourself out of the way of further harm if you can do so. Follow the instructions provided by the responding paramedics and go to the hospital to get care. This helps to minimize future complications to your health and allows you to document your injuries.

If you have a broken bone, struck your head, lost consciousness for any length of time, are bleeding, or have other injuries, go to the hospital for immediate care. This helps you to document that you have injuries from the accident. It helps to establish your right to pursue compensation as well.

Document the Injuries and Losses at the Site

When it is safe to do so, take action to document the scene of the parking lot accident with no police report. This helps to preserve the evidence there so that, if needed, it can help demonstrate who is at fault. With your smartphone, this can be easy to do. Take photos of:

• The damage to your car and the other vehicle
• The positioning of all involved vehicles
• The conditions present in the parking lot, such as whether it was wet or slippery
• Your injuries
• The driver’s license and insurance information of the party driver

When possible, use your phone to record a slow-moving video that pans the entire area, documenting the layout of the accident scene. A video helps to demonstrate the location of each party and may shed light on the underlying cause of the accident. This evidence can be critical to your case.

Obtain the Details of the Other Driver

Another critical step after a parking lot accident is to exchange information with all other parties involved in that incident. Under Rhode Island law, drivers must exchange contact information, including their name, address, and phone number. You must also share insurance information with the other driver.

By taking a photo of the other party’s driver’s license and car insurance identification card, you should have the necessary information to file a claim against that party.

If the other party will not provide you with the contact information you need, take photos of their license plate. You will be able to seek information from the police department.

The details of the other driver are important, but it is also important to get the name and contact information of anyone else involved in the accident. That includes passengers in either vehicle who could be hurt or may become witnesses in the case. These parties may be a component of the claim at some point. Talk to a Providence personal injury lawyer about your parking lot accident case.

Witness Information is Key Following a Parking Lot Accident with No Police Report

If there are witnesses to the accident, such as individuals who may have stopped to help or those who saw what occurred when it happened, their information can prove to be critical in your case. 

You cannot force a witness to tell you what they saw or to supply their personal information if they were not involved. However, if you ask them politely for this information, it may be possible to turn to them later if you need to do so.

Seek Medical Care for Your Injuries

After a parking lot accident, if you have injuries, you need to visit the local urgent care or emergency room to document those injuries and to get medical care.

Do not put off this process. When you seek medical care right after the accident, you have the ability to minimize further injury to yourself as well as document the injuries you have.

After getting medical care, follow up with your doctor and get all additional recommended treatment. Showing that you are committed to recovering from your injuries is an important part of your claim.

While taking these steps, start a journal. Write down all of the care you receive, the diagnosis provided, and other details. When you contact the insurance company to file a claim, this information can serve as evidence. Review our client case results to learn about our success stories.

Hire an Attorney to Pursue Legal Action After a Parking Lot Accident with No Police Report

In cases of serious injury and loss, you should seek the guidance of a parking lot accident lawyer who can help you build a case by demonstrating fault and losses. Your attorney will review the details of your case and work to build a clear description of what happened.

Your lawyer can also work with the insurance company on your behalf. That includes documenting your injuries, filing a claim with the at-fault driver’s policy, and negotiating fair compensation.

Hiring an attorney can prove critical, especially if there is no police report after a parking lot accident, because it can become a case where what you say is challenged by what the other party says. Insurance companies can also be aggressive about using tactics that limit the ability of victims to recover fair damages.

Having an attorney working on your behalf could minimize some of those risks for you. They also become your advocate in pursuing fair compensation.

Protect Your Right to a Claim by Getting Legal Guidance

Victims who are in a parking lot accident with serious injuries benefit from calling the police and filing a report. Yet, even if you did not do so, you can set up some time to speak to an attorney about your right to fair compensation. 

Some accidents can result in serious financial loss. Call Gemma Law Firm today to schedule a free consultation with a Rhode Island car accident lawyer.