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The first thing you need to ask yourself when considering if you have a personal injury case worth pursuing is, “How serious are my injuries?” Do not downplay your car wreck related injuries. Even injuries such as neck and back strain from a car wreck can be long-lasting, lingering weeks or even months. Many times, it takes a few days for the pain to develop from a car wreck.

Many times, Tennessee or Georgia car accident victims can settle their claims without filing a lawsuit. But—do not believe those bus, billboards or TV ads by the personal injury “settlement mills” that they can get you hundreds of thousands of dollars without filing a lawsuit. It’s just fact — many times to get the best result following an accident you will have to file a lawsuit.

Hopefully, a car accident is a rare occurrence in your life. But nearly everyone will go through an auto accident, large or small, at some point in their life. You need to know what to do, not just for legal purposes, but also for insurance purposes. Here are some tips you need to know to handle the aftermath of an auto accident.

First and foremost, you’ll need an injury lawyer to help you with your case. While many people worry about the costs of a lawyer, the truth is that many insurance companies don’t pay out what you’re really owed unless you have legal backup. Learn more information about how to maximize your compensation after an accident.

• Call emergency officials if drivers or passengers are injured.
• Call the police to document the accident in the form of a police report.
• Move your vehicle, if possible, to prevent other accidents from occurring.
• Talk to other drivers or witnesses at the scene of the crime.

Read all the steps to take after a car accident.

After an accident, it’s very common for people to call their insurer before they contact an attorney. Talking to your insurer is fine following a minor crash, but you should keep the conversation brief and avoid the urge to help the adjuster gather information or piece together what happened.

For serious crashes or injuries such as catastrophic injuries or traumatic brain injury, it’s best to let an attorney handle all interactions with insurance. And here’s why: by the time you speak to an adjuster, they already have a pretty good idea of what happened and who’s responsible.

Learn how to deal with insurance adjusters in our article.