Fast Actions You Should Take After a Catastrophic Tampa Car Crash

If you or a loved one are involved in a catastrophic car accident in the Tampa Bay area, you cannot afford to wait to see what the insurance company does. When it comes to commercial vehicles like semi-trucks, this is even more true. At Roman & Roman, P.A., we’ve spent over 100 years fighting to help Floridians recover compensation for their injuries, and we want to help you. Call us to schedule a free consultation.

Why Act Fast After a Crash? 

To put it simply, the law favors those with more information. The side that has early access to evidence has a strategic advantage. In catastrophic injury cases, there are a number of steps that a law firm must take to preserve evidence and protect the injured person. Here are some things that need to happen right away (within the first 24 hours).

Go straight to the hospital. If you are seriously injured, do not try to be tough. Take the ambulance; go to the hospital. Many injuries, including things like whiplash, can take days or even weeks to fully develop and manifest themselves. In the meantime, while you are trying to be tough, the insurance company will be working to build a case to deny your claim.

Call Roman & Roman, P.A. Immediately. If you are hurt badly, ask a family member to make the call. This may seem extreme or even a bit over-cautious, but just consider what is happening even as you are riding in the ambulance to the hospital.

• Police are investigating the scene
• The other driver may be talking to police and giving his/her side of the story
• Clean-up crews are on site sweeping up the evidence to be thrown away forever
• Tow trucks are hauling away damaged wreckage that is needed to prove your case
• Insurance adjusters are already opening their claims and looking for ways to deny you any compensation

Things We Can Do to Preserve Evidence 

As experienced personal injury attorneys, our team knows all the tricks to protect your case. Many times we can dispatch investigators to the scene within hours or even minutes to photograph the area, collect scrap, locate the vehicles at the tow yard, and take inventories of the damages. Likewise, our team can work to track down and interview key witnesses, speak with police, and look for potential surveillance videos or traffic camera footage that could help.  In fact, in truly catastrophic cases we may even need to use drones and other high-tech devices to document the accident scene.

Why We Do It 

It may seem like a lot of work to go to these lengths to preserve an accident scene and all the evidence, and it is. But we do it because we know how fast evidence can get hidden, concealed or forever destroyed. When everything is riding on your case being a success, you need the team that understands what it takes to make insurance companies take you seriously. Call Roman & Roman, P.A. today for a free initial case consultation.

Resource:

mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/whiplash/symptoms-causes/syc-20378921

https://www.romanromanlaw.com/can-your-compensation-be-reduced-by-the-seatbelt-defense/