What to Do If You Are Injured
LegalMatch Law Library Managing Editor, Ken LaMance, Attorney at Law 
If you are injured, there are many things you can do that will help you recover for your injuries.
At the time if the incident:
- Be sure to get medical attention to any bodily injuries
- If you feel up to it, talk to other people at the scene and get their contact information
- Make note of any details at the scene that may have contributed to the incident
After the incident:
- Contact your insurance company, other parties and witnesses
- If the incident concerns your car or homeowner's insurance, you will need to put them on notice that you will be filing a claim. Most insurance companies require that you notify them within a limited amount of time.
- You will also need to contact the other parties to find out what is going on with their insurance companies and to move toward settlement of the claims.
- Also contact any people who saw the incident. You will need to document their statements and make sure they will be available if they are needed later.
- Consider who might be at fault, and notify all potential parties.
- In an auto accident consider the fault of any other party present at the scene including the fault of other drivers or pedestrians who weren't actually involved in the impact. Consider the maintenance of the streets and traffic signals.
- If you were injured by a product, consider the fault of the designer, the manufacturer, the distributor and the seller of the product.
- If you were involved in a "slip and fall" accident, consider the fault of the owner, renter or employee of the property or business where you were hurt.
- When you have identified the parties that could potentially be at fault, notify them of the accident by writing them a letter explaining what happened. This puts them on notice that you may be bringing a lawsuit.
- Go back to the scene. Gather any evidence that you were not able to get or did not notice at the time of the incident. Take pictures in the day, if the accident was at night. Take pictures from many different angles. Talk to people who are often in the area - maybe they have information about other accidents that have occurred at that location. This may give insight to the cause of yours.
- Document as much as possible. Make notes, take pictures, and collect evidence.
- Write down the details of what was happening before the incident. What were you doing? What were you thinking? How did you feel? What were the exact events that led up to the incident?
- Try to remember and write down what happened as the incident occurred. What did you feel? What were you thinking?
- Take pictures of your injuries over time as they heal.
- Keep a journal of how you feel in the days, weeks and months after the accident. This will help track your injury over time.
- Keep a careful log of the ways that your injury has affected your ability to work. This may include days you take off or days that you go home early.
- Be sure to keep or get copies of all medical records. Be clear and thorough with all medical professionals so that their records accurately reflect your injuries.
Should I Contact an Attorney?
If you hire an attorney, you may not have to pay them up front. Hiring an attorney will increase the likelihood of a fair recovery and can take much of the stress out of bringing a legal claim. An attorney will take care of many of the details that you may not have the strength or time to deal with yourself.
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Last Modified: 05-29-2009 04:03 PM PDT
