When accidents happen on roads and highways, it is always stressful for the persons involved to handle because accidents are unpredictable and can happen anywhere. Getting involved in an accident if the vehicle is rented is a more complex situation for the person driving it to handle. This is because your insurance company and that of the rental company have to manage the accident case, including your credit card company.
Generally, auto accident series are often caused by the negligence of another driver whose insurance company is obligated to pay a certain amount to compensate the injured parties.
Inform the rental company and the police
It is important to inform the rental company after a car accident because they will request that you fill out some documents. The car rental insurance company will make their policy available to you so that you can read it. You must inform your insurance company about the incident because most insurance policies demand that they are notified as soon as possible to avoid getting such a policy canceled.
In addition, victims of a car rental accident should report the incident to the police department so that you can get a written report, which can help to strengthen your claim with the insurance companies.
Gather relevant evidence
If you are injured in an accident and you want to request insurance claims, you must ensure that you are able to get every detail of the incident. Information including photos of the vehicles involved in the crash, personal details of the liable parties, rental vehicle’s number, and account of the accident from eyewitnesses.
Also, you must not share such evidence with anyone at the scene of the accident except the police officers and your car accident lawyer. The evidence you have gathered will support your claim and help the lawyer with the legal procedures involved.
Hire an attorney and get medical attention
Sometimes, you do not sustain physical injuries when you are involved in an accident, which should not mean you are healthy. Medical reports should be documented immediately after auto accidents because they raise your chances of getting higher compensation.
When you get into a car accident in a rental car and you sustain injuries, you should seek immediate legal assistance and not think of handling the situation without a lawyer. When an experienced attorney is hired, they will handle the documents; manage the conversations with the liable parties and with all the insurance companies that are involved so that your claims are well represented.
Conclusion
Accidents involving rental cars are more complicated to settle than other kinds of road accidents. Such accident cases can be handled perfectly with the expertise of legal counsel which if handled differently might weaken your claim.
If you decide to delay before hiring a lawyer after a car accident the physical evidence of the accident may be contaminated which also interferes with other legal steps. Therefore, you must understand which steps to take and what to avoid after a car rental accident.