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Never assume that any car accident that you have been involved in is minor. Even if you did not think that it was significant, you still may have an obligation to report it to law enforcement, and you certainly must inform your insurance company. Besides reporting the accident, you should also take steps to document the crash and begin to compile the evidence you may need in a legal claim. One of your first steps should be to contact an experienced car accident attorney to represent you in your possible legal case.
Delaware law requires you to report a car accident where there is either physical injury or at least $2,000 in property damages. It is difficult to know how much damage has occurred when your car has been hit because repair costs can be so high. You are always on safer ground by reporting the accident when you have any doubts. Filing a report gives you a record of what happened and a report that you may be able to use with your claim. You do not want to run the risk of either breaking the law or keeping yourself from getting insurance coverage to repair the damage.
If you did not call a police officer at the scene of the accident, you would need to file an accident report immediately afterward. You may not have noticed the damage to your car, or you may have realized that it was far greater than you thought at the scene. The law makes your obligation to report the accident “immediate.” Although the law does not give an exact time frame, you should not delay making this report in any way.
Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance company. Each insurance policy would impose an obligation on you for when you need to report the accident. You absolutely need to let your insurance company know of the accident! First, you may need to file a plan against your own policy at some point in the future. Second, they may be contacted by the other driver’s insurance company to discuss the accident. They need to be aware that something has happened because your insurance company is the one who would defend you if you are accused of any wrongdoing.
No matter who was at fault for the accident, you can have your car repaired. If liability for the accident was extremely clear, the other driver’s insurance company would cover the cost of repair even before they paid out your claim for other damages. If liability hangs in the balance, your own car insurance company could provide you with a rental vehicle and cover repairs in the meantime. If the other driver’s insurance company eventually paid the claim, your insurance company would be reimbursed for the money that they spent to have your car repaired.
If your car accident involved injuries, you may be entitled to financial compensation when you can prove that the other driver was to blame. First, you should get help from an experienced car accident lawyer who can review your claim and gather the evidence you need to prove liability. Your car accident attorney could work with both insurance companies to get you the fullest amount of financial compensation possible when you have a legal entitlement.
The New Castle car accident lawyers at Jacobs & Crumplar, P.A. are your advocates and the protectors of your legal rights when you have been injured in a motor vehicle crash. You can schedule a free initial consultation with one of our lawyers by calling us today at 302-656-5445 or contacting us online. We have offices in New Castle and Millsboro, Delaware, and we serve clients in New Castle County, Kent County, and Sussex County.