A car accident can leave you shaken, confused, and unsure what to do next. In those first few minutes and days, small decisions can affect both your recovery and your injury claim. If you were just in your first crash in Arizona, there are a few practical steps that you should do.
This article covers five of the most important things to know after a car accident in Arizona.
1. Get to Safety, Call 911, and Document the Scene
The first priority is your safety. If you are physically able, move your car out of traffic and into a safe place, then call 911 so law enforcement can respond.
Even if you think the crash is minor, getting a police report can help later.
If you can safely do so, take photos of everything: the damage to both vehicles, the surrounding scene, and any visible injuries. Video can help too. These details may become important later if the other driver changes their story or if the insurance company questions the seriousness of the collision.
Don’t confront or argue with the other driver or get drawn into conversations with witnesses at the scene.
One especially important point is to be careful with your words. If the police ask whether you are hurt, do not casually say you are “fine.” You’re likely in shock and do not yet know how badly you are injured. Don’t make a statement that the insurance companies may later use against you.
2. Be Careful When the Other Driver’s Insurance Company Calls
In many Arizona accident cases, the other driver’s insurance company calls quickly, sometimes the same day or the next day. Do not give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement in a normal accident case.
Why? Because the adjuster is often looking for statements they can later use to minimize your claim. They may ask how badly you are hurt, whether you think you need treatment, or whether there is “anything else” you want to add.
Those questions may sound harmless, but if your pain gets worse a day or two later, the insurer may point back to your first call and argue that you said you were not really injured.
The limited exception is if there’s a real dispute over who caused the crash or a genuine fraud allegation. But in most cases, the safer move is to avoid giving the other side a recorded statement.
3. Use Your Own Insurance Company to Get Your Car Fixed Faster
It is often easier to have your car repaired through your own insurance company.
You generally do have to cooperate with your own insurance company and give a statement about what happened. But the benefit is speed. Your own company can often arrange a rental car, inspect the damage, and start repairs much faster than the other driver’s insurer.
By contrast, the other driver’s insurance company may delay opening the property claim until it completes its fault investigation, i.e., talks to its insured, speaks to witnesses, or gets the police report. That can delay repairs and leave you without transportation for weeks. Your insurer can usually handle the car quickly and then seek repayment later from the at-fault driver’s insurer.
4. Understand How Medical Bills Usually Work
Medical bills are one of the biggest worries after a crash. If you go to the hospital or emergency room, the provider may bill your health insurance first. If someone else caused the accident, your health insurer may later seek reimbursement from your settlement, called “subrogation.”
If you don’t have insurance, most treatment providers, such as chiropractors or certain other providers, may agree to wait for payment until the case settles. That means the injured person can continue treatment without having to pay everything up front.
After a car accident, your main job is to focus on getting better while your lawyer helps sort out how the bills will be handled.
5. Know the Usual Timeline for an Arizona Car Accident Case
A lot of people want to know how long a car accident case takes. Many cases settle about 60 to 90 days after the injured person finishes treatment and reaches maximum medical improvement. At that point, the lawyer can gather medical bills, records, lost wage information, and other damages and send a settlement demand to the insurance company.
Arizona also has a two-year statute of limitations for most personal injury claims, which means a lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after the accident happened.
Most cases settle before litigation. Others take longer and move into litigation, especially if the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement. Once a lawsuit is filed, discovery, depositions, and negotiations can extend the timeline by many months if not years.
Conclusion
If you remember nothing else, remember this: after a car accident in Arizona, protect your health first, document the scene, be careful what you say, and do not assume the insurance company is there to help you.
If you have any questions, please contact me at derronw@msn.com