Things to keep in mind after a car accident

Santa Clarita accident attorney Robert Mansour discusses some basic things to keep in mind after an auto accident on "Out of the Rough" with local lending professional Fred Arnold.  Fred asks Rob about basic things to keep in mind, what to say to the insurance adjusters, the importance of photographs, getting medical attention early in the game, being wary of recorded statements, fixing your car, the importance of the police report and much more.  

If you have been involved in a serious accident and want some advice, free of charge, call the Law Office of Robert Mansour at (661) 414-7100 or visit our Contact page.  We are happy to assist the entire Santa Clarita Valley.

HERE IS A TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW:

Fred Arnold:   Welcome back to "Out of the Rough."  I'm joined by Robert Mansour.  Did I get that right, Mansour?

Robert Mansour:  Yes, Mansour, that's correct.

Fred Arnold:   A lawyer with the Law Office of Robert M. Mansour and, uh, a personal injury attorney –

Robert Mansour:   That's right.

Fred Arnold:   ‑ amongst other things.

Robert Mansour:   That's right.

Fred Arnold:   And I wanna, since the show is "Out of the Rough," I wanna talk to you about, um, something that happens in life, and it hasn't happened to me in a long time, but ooh, fender-benders or car accidents.

Robert Mansour:   Right.

Fred Arnold:   Um, what do you do?  How do you, you know, where do you start?  The first thing, if you get in a fender-bender or you get in an accident, uh, what do you do right away?  What's the first thing, step you do?  Do you call the police?

Robert Mansour:   Well, I think you should call the police if you suspect that you've been injured.  And I, some people don't call the police because they figure they need to be bleeding all over the place.  I say, look, if you suspect any injury at all, call the police, because there's several reasons.  Number one, you document the event.  The other party can't change their story later on because it's all written down.  Number two, when you tell the police officer about your injuries it's documented, so that the insurance company for the other party will say, oh look, he did complain of injury at the scene of the accident.  He was injured.  It makes it more likely that you were injured.  And finally number three, some insurance companies and some people will actually deny that they were even there.  They'll say, "Well, I wasn't involved in a car accident.  I, nobody, my car was in my driveway the whole time."  If you don't have any witnesses and nobody else, it's kind of hard to prove sometimes that an accident actually happened.

Fred Arnold:   So you have a third-party report in case the person is not honest about the accident?

Robert Mansour:   That's right, and also the police officer's finding it's in your favor can be very, very helpful when it comes to making a claim for injuries.

Fred Arnold:   So let's, fender-bender, middle of the road, when do you pull over to the side, because don't you want to get pictures that'll – let's talk about two things.

Robert Mansour:   Yeah.

Fred Arnold:   When you pull over, don't you wanna get pictures with your phone?

Robert Mansour:   Yeah, the, the – I must say, I think the best thing to do is to move over as soon as you can, unless there is a very strong dispute about liability; who did what to whom.  Take a couple of pictures and then get your vehicle out of the way for the safety of others, if you can.  If you're immobilized and you can't get out of your car, there's nothing you can do.

Fred Arnold:   Obviously, and, and medical attention should be coming at that point.

Robert Mansour:  Hopefully, yes and, of course, if you can call for 911 or the police.  If you think you've been injured, you should ask for medical attention at the scene of the accident, absolutely and take pictures.

Fred Arnold:   And then you can use the phone to document what's going on.

Robert Mansour:   That's the thing.  A lot of people have cameras on their phones now.  But, as I was telling a friend of mine, a lot of people take pictures with their phones but they don't know how to take the picture off of their phone.  So you can email it to the lawyer or email it to yourself, but make sure you can take – and also with respect to pictures, take pictures from every conceivable angle.  I have clients that come to me and they show me a picture of their car like very, very close up.  I'm like that's great, but I don't understand the scene.

Fred Arnold:   What...

Robert Mansour:   Exactly.  So take far, from the side, from every angle. 

Fred Arnold:   And it's good to seek medical attention just, even if you don't know you're hurt, because you could be but you don't realize it because of the shock?

Robert Mansour:   I had a client with a torn rotator cuff.  Six weeks going on he feels something is wrong with his shoulder.  He waits six weeks before he goes to the doctor.  The insurance company is now doubting that the, the rotator cuff injury is from the accident because he waited six weeks.  They will use two things against you; gap in the commencement of treatment and gaps during treatment.  So if you wait more than ten days to seek medical treatment, that's gonna blow up in your face.  And a lot of people try to brave it.  They say, oh, I'll be all right.  I'll be all right.  And the ten days, two weeks go by and they find that, wait a minute, I'm not all right.

Fred Arnold:   Yeah.

Robert Mansour:    And then it just explodes in their face.  And then they start treatment and then they skip therapy sessions and they don't go to the doctor and they miss their appointments and those are also used against them by the insurance company.  So yes, get treatment as soon as possible.

Fred Arnold:   And, and get advice, and this is sound advice that you're giving, but make sure you get advice.

Robert Mansour:   Yeah.

Fred Arnold:   Just a couple of last things.  Um –

Robert Mansour:   Mm hmm.

Fred Arnold:   ‑ recorded statements to the insurance company.

Robert Mansour:   Never a good idea.  I, in my 20 years of practice I've never seen somebody giving an insurance, an insurance company a statement to be in their favor.  Uh, they'll call you.  They'll call you really usually within 24 hours/48 hours.  Hey, we want to take your recorded statement.  Would that be okay with you?  Because many of them know that you may not realize the extent of your injuries yet.  They want to box you into a story and they'll, they'll use things against you.  Like, you'll say "Well, I'm fine.  How are you?"  They'll say wait a minute.  You said you were fine when we spoke to you on such and such a day.

Fred Arnold:   Right.

Robert Mansour:  And now you're saying that you're injured?

Fred Arnold:   Mm hmm.

Robert Mansour:  I always tell clients there is no legal obligation to give a statement and there is no pressing emergency to give a statement.

Fred Arnold:   Let me clarify that, your insurance versus their insurance?

Robert Mansour:    Yeah.  Your insurance company when you're dealing with them to help fix your car and everything like that, that's fine.  Talk to them.  But even then be very careful about what you reveal about your injuries, because you may not know the extent of your injuries.

Fred Arnold:   Mm hmm.

Robert Mansour:   And, if the other party doesn't have insurance, you may need to turn to your own company for coverage.  And if you've told them, "I'm fine.  I'm okay.  I think I don't have any injuries," it's gonna be very hard to claim that later on.  So talk, but be very careful about what you say.

Fred Arnold:   Should you discuss your case with an attorney?

Robert Mansour:   I think that you can't get hurt by that, because most lawyers will provide you with a free consultation.  Go to somebody who's been doing this a long time.  And if, if they tell you, if they tell you that you don't have a case or that they have concerns about your case, that's a good lawyer.  Because a good lawyer should anticipate the problems in your case and not just tell you what you wanna hear.  And most of these free consultations you have no obligation to continue with the lawyer.

Fred Arnold:   Mm hmm.

Robert Mansour:   So what do you have to lose?  Go spend 30 minutes and talk to somebody who's been down the river and can tell you what's, what's gonna happen.

Fred Arnold:   Yeah, get professional advice.

Robert Mansour:  Yeah.

Fred Arnold:   Because those you're going up against are professionals.

Robert Mansour:   Oh yeah, they've been doing this for years.  They're trained.

Fred Arnold:   They're trained professionals.

Robert Mansour:    Mm hmm.

Fred Arnold:   One last thing and, and uh, um, we're going to jump to a quick break but –

Robert Mansour:  Yes.

Fred Arnold:   ‑ who should fix your car?

Robert Mansour:   I like to go to your own insurance company to fix your car and here's why.  They'll generally act much more quickly, especially if you have the, all the comprehensive coverage under your insurance policy.  And also, even though you incur a deductible, they have an obligation to you.  They're your, you're employing them.  You pay their, you pay the premiums.  They have a, a loyalty to you and they have to do it right.

Fred Arnold:   Almost a fiduciary.

Robert Mansour:   A fiduciary duty.

Fred Arnold:   Yeah.

Robert Mansour:   Whereas, the insurance company for the other party they don't have any contract with you.

Fred Arnold:   Right.

Robert Mansour:   They can take their sweet time.  They can say, well, we need to investigate, and by that time you're sitting there without a car.  Your car is still sitting on your driveway all busted up.

Fred Arnold:   Yeah, and it affects you.  Uh, those that wanna reach you, reach out to you, how can they reach you?

Robert Mansour:    Yes, they can reach me.  I'm, I'm a local attorney here in Santa Clarita.  They can reach me at www.valencialawyer.com, or they can just call my office which is 661-414-7100.

Fred Arnold:   Perfect.  Oh, we're gonna jump to a break, uh, but do you mind sticking around?  I want to talk about one more issue.

Robert Mansour:    I would love that, Fred, thank you.

Fred Arnold:   We'll be right back.