Traffic Accident Checklist
The Rapid Legal Solutions Checklist: What you need to do if you’ve been in a traffic incident
Traffic incidents can be a traumatic experience, more so when you or someone close to you has been hurt in the incident.
Understandably in the stress and shock of the moment you’re likely to be more focused on the welfare of those in the incident rather than collating evidence of what’s occurred.
Whilst it is likely with more serious incidents that emergency services including the Police will attend to some of the important steps, they might not necessarily capture it all. Alternatively, Emergency Services might not attend at all.
We have seen clients whose legal rights have been negatively affected by not obtaining important evidence immediately following an incident. To avoid this situation, below is a simple guide/checklist should you ever find yourself in this situation.
1. Registration & Contact Details.
Obtain the registration details for all vehicles as well as the contact details for all involved, not just the party that collided with you.
At the time of an incident, an at fault driver may admit fault. That said, at a later date and when questioned later on, they may change their story. Therefore, it is important to identify and record the details for all witnesses so they can be contacted to verify your version of events.
2. Photograph the registration & damage to all vehicles and other relevant objects.
As the old saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words and in the case of traffic incidents photographs that show the damage to vehicles can confirm that an incident has occurred in the first place. Additionally, photographs document the level of impact (between vehicles) and also provides information on the time and date of the incident whilst some photographs are also geo-tagged recording the location of the incident.
Photographing the registration and even drivers licence details of the other party/ parties as well as other witnesses can also ensure you don’t record them incorrectly.
Photographs displaying damaging to a vehicle/s is important also in the event of an incident with an unidentified vehicle or in the event of a hit and run.
3. Obtain a QP Number
If the Police attended the scene of the incident, you should have been provided with a QP number. The QP number directly correlates to the QPS report relating to your incident. The QPS report will contain details of all of the parties involved (including witnesses) and will also contain versions of events as to how and who caused the incident.
If the Police did not attend the scene, you should attend at your local police station to report the incident. At this time, you should be provided with a QP number.
4. Consult with your Doctor
The initial shock of an incident and adrenalin can often mask how severe someone has been impacted. It can often take time for a minor incident to have a major effect on your life.
By reporting to your Doctor as soon as possible after an incident, it establishes a clear link between the incident and your symptoms.
5. Securely store your information away.
Having collated the above information, secure the information in several places, not just one.
Paperwork, photographs and even mobile phones and the data on them can be lost or compromised and sometimes even information given to the Police, can also be lost or misplaced.
Therefore, collate and store the information in several secure spots. One such idea is to secure the information in a folder in a safe place whilst also storing it electronically in a cloud storage centre.
6. Obtain professional advice as time limits apply.
It is important to be aware that strict time limits apply in Queensland and that some vary depending upon if you’ve managed to identify the vehicle at fault.
It is important to seek advice following an incident to ensure you know the relevant time limits and to ensure your rights are protected.
Rapid Legal Solutions can help by providing you advice to ensure your rights are protected.
This post offers general information only and should not be relied upon as legal advice.