When you’re in a car accident, there are many tasks you must complete before leaving the crash scene. One of the most important things you must do is get key information from the other driver – or drivers – involved in the accident.
Gathering this information will be vital when working with your insurance company, and can help your attorney if you file a lawsuit.
What Information You Need To Get
It’s essential to gather basic information – and contact information – from the other drivers involved in a car accident. This allows you to identify who was in the crash and gives you a way to contact them if you need more information in the future.
Some information you need to obtain is:
- Their name: Get their first and last name so you know who was involved in the accident. Make sure you get their full name, as written on their driver’s license.
- Their address: Obtaining their address gives you a way to contact them, which your lawyer or insurance company may need for paperwork and documentation.
- Their driver’s license number: It’s essential to get the person’s driver’s license number. This lets your legal team request their motor vehicle record, as well as verify they have a valid driver’s license.
- Their phone number: This gives your insurance company a way to contact the driver if they need additional information about them or the accident.
- Their vehicle information: You need to get their vehicle information so you can correctly identify which car was involved in the accident. Get the vehicle’s make and model, year, and license plate number.
- Their insurance information: It’s crucial to get the driver’s complete insurance information. This allows your insurance company to know which organization they are working with, as well as lets you and your legal team verify that they have insurance. Some information you need to get includes the name of the insurance company, the company’s phone number and address, the driver’s insurance policy number, the dates their policy is valid through, and if possible, the claim number.
- Their statement: If the other driver happens to comment on the accident, or accepts blame for the crash, make sure to document it.
Additional Information to Obtain after a car accident
In addition to getting information from the other driver in an accident, it’s also important to capture information from others at the crash scene. This is especially important if there were witnesses to the accident.
If anyone saw the crash, it’s important to get crucial information from them before you leave the scene. Some data you will want to get can include:
- Their names: Make sure you document their full first and last names to pass on to your insurance company or lawyer.
- Their phone number: Get their contact information, including a phone number, so the insurance company can reach out and get their statement and ask follow-up questions about what they saw.
- Their address: Document their address so you have it to pass along in case it’s needed by the insurance company.
- Their statements: Get their statements on what they saw during the accident, who was at fault, and any other details they want to share.
We Can Help
If you’re in a car accident, you need help from top-rated, hard-working representation. At Shapiro|Delgado, our attorneys put their injury law experience to work for you. And we handle cases on a contingency basis, which means we don’t get paid unless you do.
Our car accident lawyers represent clients throughout Florida, including Sarasota, Bradenton, Tampa, Saint Petersburg, Pinellas County, and surrounding communities.
To set up a free personal consultation, call (941) 954-4000 or use our convenient online contact form.
Your family counts on you.
You can count on us.
