All the time people ask me, “What should you do right after a crash?” The first thing, of course, is to get to safety and get the right medical care. Fundamentally, find out who hit you and get their insurance information. Second, figure out who the witnesses are (information you can usually get from the police officer). And third, get photos. Get photos of your car and the other car or truck that was in the crash, and get as much as you can. If you have been badly injured, somebody else can do that for you.
One of the reasons you will want to get in and see an attorney is that a lot of that evidence will disappear. For instance, we have had truck crash cases before in which the truck – an interstate carrier which is very common in Western Maryland – ends up moving on and is out of state. There is a lot of information in that truck by virtue of what they call a black box, which can be really important. This is another reason to see an attorney.
