If you find yourself involved in an auto accident, it is always possible that your children may have been passengers in your vehicle when the accident took place. When this is the case, you are of course most concerned about making sure they are safe. However, you should also consider the fact that they may play a key role in any legal action that may ensue following the accident. Additionally, they’ll likely remember how you responded and handled your auto accident when they are old enough and also in an accident. Here are four things you should always teach your kids about handling an auto accident.
Don’t Lie
First, you should always stress to your children the importance of telling the truth regarding the details of the accident. This will be especially important if they are talking to the police since officers will need to have accurate facts in order to complete their accident report. Since this report may contain an opinion by police regarding which driver caused the accident, always make sure your children are truthful from the beginning.
Some people feel like bending the story to be favorable to your own will enable them to avoid the consequences of the accident. However, lying can make things much worse. Lying to a police officer can have serious consequences, and can often lead to increased legal and financial complications following an auto accident. This is especially true if the police conclude that you were at fault for the collision, as your version of events may contradict their own findings.
When you are involved in an auto accident, it can often be difficult to remember exactly what happened during the incident. This is especially true if the accident was traumatic or stressful in some way. As such, it is important not to try and force yourself to remember everything from that moment, as this may only lead to feelings of frustration. Additionally, you don’t want to make up or fill in the gaps of what you remember as it’s likely that the gap will be inaccurately filled.
Don’t Discuss the Accident on Social Media
When your children are involved in an auto accident, they may be tempted to go online to their favorite social media sites and start talking about the accident. Since insurance companies monitor the social media activity of accident victims, both your accounts and your children’s accounts are likely being watched very closely. If they go online and say something that may contradict or implicate you, you likely to have issues with the insurance company.
For example, if you are suffering from whiplash as a result of an auto accident, one of your main goals will likely be to seek compensation for the treatment of your injury. This can often be a complicated process, especially if the accident was caused by another party and you need to pursue legal action in order to receive compensation. If you or your child posts on social media about being ok and fine, the insurance company may use that as evidence that you weren’t injured or need compensation for the event. Because of this, it’s better that you avoid posting about the ordeal online.
Work with Your Attorney
An important part of responding to an accident is working with the right people for your situation. In many cases, you’ll need an attorney to get compensation or to prevent a heavy fine for the accident. Working with an auto accident attorney can help decrease your stress and workload over the process since they can coordinate with everyone on your behalf.
It may be easy for your children to be intimidated upon walking into a law office. However, it will be crucial that your children be made comfortable enough to work closely with your attorney. This can include providing key details about the accident, learning what they may have to do should your case go to trial, and other important details that may make or break your case.
Get Medical Treatment
Should your children think they are not injured in your auto accident, they may hesitate to let themselves be examined by paramedics at the scene and by doctors at a hospital. Instead of letting this happen, stress to your children the importance of getting medical treatment after an accident. By explaining to them that some auto accident injuries don’t show symptoms until hours or days later, they will trust your judgment and let medical professionals assess their condition. Additionally, if there are injuries involved, they’ll need to be reported immediately after the accident in order for insurance to pay for the treatment. This makes the medical treatment process important to take care of as quickly as possible after the accident.
Just like many adults, your children likely fear the unknown. By talking to them beforehand about how to handle an auto accident, they will be much better prepared to speak with an attorney and use good judgment as your case plays out.
