You found yourself in a car accident. Now what?
Check
1. Stop your car.
2. Check if you or your passengers suffer any injuries.
3. Check if your car is damaged.
Record
4. Record the driver’s information (including any witnesses / passengers if necessary)
Vehicle plate number.
Name, IC and address.
Phone number.
5. Take a lot of pictures of the scene and any damaged parts / injuries suffered.
6. Make a report at the nearest police station. Make sure the report is as complete as possible because it may affect your insurance claim or court case in the future. Some people chose to engage a lawyer to draft the police report in advance to make sure all required information are included.
7. Repair your car and keep the receipts.
8. Seek medical attention if necessary and keep all the receipts (including parking charges and transportation charges).
9. Keep all related documents in a file. This include any related receipts, photos, statements, and reports. Photocopy your receipts.
The matter should end here if it is a friendly situation. However, if parties are unable to reach a settlement or if the settlement terms were not honoured, it would be best to deal with things through a lawyer from here on.
Engage a Lawyer
If you receive a claim for road accident matter, notify your insurance company and they will hire a lawyer on behalf of you to file defence. If you are making the claim, you will have to hire your own lawyer.
Tell your lawyer what happen and provide all documents to your lawyer. This is when all the documents you kept come in handy. The more documents you have, the easier it is for your lawyer. Your lawyer may attempt settlements on your behalf. If attempts for settlement fails, your lawyer may bring the matter to court.
As the driver, you are most likely to be called as witness in court. That could be long after the time of accident, but don’t worry, you will have a chance to review the documents and talk to your lawyer beforehand so you can be more prepared on what to expect as a witness in court.
How Much to Claim in Court?
Most people will be surprised how much they may claim in Court for a road accident matter. It is usual for the claimed sum to be so much more than the cost for repairing the car because you may make claims for losses other than the car damage. As each situation is special on its own, you have to consult a lawyer to know the exact heads of claim you may be entitled to claim. For example, in a particular case, the Plaintiff was awarded over RM3,000 for “loss of diamond locket and ring” due to the accident. Consult your lawyer to know more.
I hope the above shed some light on what is happening in a road accident matter and what you should do, from the time of car accident to Court stage. If still in doubt, feel free to email your inquiries to office.yitinglaw@gmail.com.
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