Your first steps after sustaining injuries in a motor vehicle accident

The aftermath of a motor vehicle accident can be incredibly stressful, particularly if you’ve suffered injuries. If injured on the road in Queensland, you may be entitled to lodge a motor vehicle accident compensation claim. Some of your actions immediately following the accident can optimise the success of your claim. So, we have created an easy-to-follow list of things you should do, as soon as possible after a road accident.

Seeking medical treatment

The injuries you sustain in a motor vehicle accident will usually lead to some form of medical treatment, either your GP and/or medical specialists or hospitalisation. Once you have sought the necessary medical treatment immediately after your road accident, you should consider starting a record of the medical practitioners you receive treatment from.

Keeping records of all the medical treatment you receive, the cost of that medical treatment and who provided that treatment will be highly beneficial during the life of your motor vehicle accident compensation claim.

A simple list of your treating practitioners, the dates you sought the treatment and any specifics of the treatment (including the cost), can be helpful in the future.  It is also useful if you ensure you keep a copy of any receipts.

One easy way to ensure you don’t lose these receipts is to ask that the medical practitioner email you copies and then save these emails into a folder in your Inbox.  If they don’t provide electronic receipts, then you can take a photo of it, email it to yourself and then put this email into your medical receipts folder.

This will make it easier for you during the claims process when IM Lawyers asks for copies of receipts.

Gathering other information at the time of the accident.

If you are able, you should exchange information with the other driver. If circumstances prevent this, such as:

• being too injured; or
• the other driver refuses to provide the information,

you can seek assistance from Queensland Police. If the other driver is not cooperating, you can call Policelink on 131 444 and request that a police officer attend at the accident to help facilitate this exchange. If you were unable to obtain the details due to your level of injury, Queensland Police should be able to provide details to you at a later date.

The key information that you should exchange about your motor vehicle accident is:

1. names and addresses of any other drivers (and that of the vehicle owners if the drivers are not the owners);
2. vehicle registration details of all vehicles involved in the accident (registration number and State);
3. make and model of all vehicles; and
4. license details of all other drivers (one way to ensure the information is as accurate as possible is to take a photo of the other driver’s licence).

Where possible, take photos of the crash, including of all cars, for your records. It is beneficial to take these photos so that there are location markers (such as street signs or shop fronts) within the frame to confirm the location of the accident.

Make a note of:

1. the time and date of the accident;
2. the location of the accident (include suburb, street names and the number of any buildings near to the accident);
3. the direction that all of the vehicles involved were travelling, including any maneuverers that the drivers may have been performing (eg, left turn, right turn, a u-turn, turn across oncoming traffic);
4. any witnesses to the accident (and obtain their contact information if possible).

All of the details that you have collected may be helpful in lodging your motor vehicle accident claim through CTP insurance and in any future disputes related to your claim.

In the days following the accident

If the accident was not reported to Queensland Police on the day it occurred, report the accident in the days following the accident. Keep a record of the police officer, station and report number when you do so.

Get help from a car accident lawyer

Have you suffered an injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident?

We can help you get back on track by taking on the stressful process of lodging a CTP claim. It’s important that your claim is lodged with all the relevant details, within the time limits required and covers all your injuries. It’s not unusual to concentrate on the primary injuries but it’s crucial that all your injuries and the impact of the crash, are covered.

It's important to remember that the insurance company’s interests are not the same as yours. Having a lawyer experienced in motor vehicle accident claims will optimise the success of your claim.