No one likes to think about multi-car accidents. They are about as much fun to think about as driving in the rain is. Yet, both are an unavoidable fact of life. So, what do you do when you are involved in a multi-car accident? You can hire a personal injury lawyer, who has skill and experience in dealing with such cases in the past.

What do you do first?

Your lawyer will inform you that you should call 911 immediately after having been involved in an accident involving many cars. When you call 911, you can and should request medical help and attention to ensure that both you and your passengers have not sustained any potentially serious or life-threatening physical or emotional injuries. A police officer will arrive at the scene and this professional can file a police report which is an objective recount of the details of the car accident. This recount is backed up by photo and witness testimony evidence.

Police reports tend to include the following sections:
● A summary of what the drivers, witnesses, and passengers remember having occurred at the time of the accident.
● The accident’s time, date, and location
● Diagram of the accident
● Any weather conditions

The police may or may not issue citations. Remember that you can still sue the other driver even if no citations are issued. However, even the police report can be used as evidence of the accident and combined with medical reports, it becomes solid proof.

Should you call your insurance company?

Any personal injury lawyer in Corona will tell you that you should definitely call your insurance company immediately after the multi-car accident. However, your lawyer will tell you not to issue a statement about the accident or accept a settlement that is out-of-court until you have talked with your lawyer. You need to wait before accepting the settlement even if it is a lot of money up-front because it may not cover all of your costs including your future medical costs. Indeed, you could be shortchanging yourself by accepting a settlement upfront because you could end up needing physical therapy from your sprained back eight months after the accident. Since these expenses were not immediate, you may or may not have the money to pay for this therapy. Also, you will generally not be able to sue the defendant in court since you have already accepted an out-of-court settlement.

There is hope after a multi-car accident if you hire a good personal injury lawyer, you can indeed craft the personal injury lawsuit that will convince the judge and jury of your true suffering and win you the settlement you want and need from the defendant.