What are the practical steps should you take after a car accident?

As a general rule, in every accident, some steps must be taken to exhaust the question of responsibility and damage and to receive the compensation you deserve, of course, if the basic conditions stipulated in the various laws are met. In this article we will focus on the steps to be taken following a car accident, assuming that the accident is covered under the Israeli Road Accident Victims law, 5735-1975.

The important questions:

Two very important questions are relevant and can entitle the victim to compensation in a car accident incident: the first question is the existence of the basic conditions for the applicability of the Road Accidents Victims Compensation law and the second question is bodily injury.

To determine what steps must be taken after being involved in a car accident, whether as a driver or as a passenger in a vehicle involved in a car accident or as a pedestrian who has been run over by a vehicle, we must know the facts and details in which, should they take place, they shall provide a basis for compensation according to the law.

To discuss the question of compensation due to a car accident, there are several basic requirements to deal with, including valid mandatory insurance for the vehicle involved, as well as a valid driver’s license for the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident. Another basic and no less important requirement is whether a person involved in the accident was bodily harmed, as long as we are not dealing with minor damage which does not qualify for compensation according to the law and the applicable rulings.

In many court rulings decided in the auto-injury lawsuits, the courts ruled that in the event of a car accident there is no self-evident applicability regarding “bodily damage” in the Law, and even rejected claims by ruling that the damage caused is only considered as a “trivial damage” [such as in the case: T.A. 4064/99 Akel Burhan v. Menorah, 19959/99 Zaro Abdo v. Eliyahu, Insurance Co. Ltd. and other cases].

Immediate steps to be taken:

After the occurrence of a car accident, and if bodily harm has occurred, the person(s) involved must seek medical treatment at the nearest medical facility, whether by ambulance or by self-evacuation. It is also important to photograph the scene of the incident, including the vehicles involved, if this becomes possible by the victim or someone else on his behalf at the scene of the accident.

At the medical center, it is important to describe, at the first opportunity, that the person has been involved in a car accident, and describe the pain in the parts of the body that he is suffering from, including if there is sensitivity, restriction of movement, dizziness, and any other complaints and/or injury and/or pain that the person is suffering from so that the medical staff can direct the patient for the necessary treatments and X-ray radiographic until the discharge is received whether from the emergency room, or the ambulatory facility or the Health Maintenance Organization.

Later steps to be taken:

After being discharged from the medical institution, you should remain under medical follow-up according to the recommendations given to you, and it is important not to be lazy and to seek the necessary treatments according to the medical recommendations. It is also important to seek further follow-up if there’s a persisting pain that does not go away or in case it worsens, because sometimes, with the daily tasks of life, whether it is at work or in the family or otherwise, we tend to neglect ourselves and we remain in our natural daily routine, because seeking medical treatment and follow-up takes time, and may even require to receive sickness certificates from your physician, and even sometimes we tend not to remain under medical supervision lest this comes at the expense of work, or then we may be at risk of being fired.

It is also important to know that sometimes the pains we suffered following the car accident and/or the sensitivity and/or the limitation in movements develop, and pain can even develop in other parts of the body, which can and will be related to the car accident itself. Hence it is important to follow and not underestimate all of these symptoms.

One of the least but not less important documents to be obtained after a car accident is a police certificate, which is a police report detailing the details of the drivers, vehicles, and victims involved in the car accident. The certificate can be obtained from the Israel Police after contacting them and reporting the details of the accident, its circumstances, and the persons involved.

The important steps we mentioned, including reaching the police station as well as this or that institution for receiving medical treatment related to the car accident, all of the above are rooted in expenses, such as travel, help from a third party, including relatives, buying medicines, loss of work days, beyond the pain and suffering caused to the person as a result of this car accident. Therefore, the law and the ruling stated that for these expenses the victim is entitled to compensation.

After exhausting the medical matters and collecting all the necessary documents, including the driver’s license, mandatory insurance of the vehicle involved, police certificate, and medical documentation, then you can contact the mandatory insurance company that insured the vehicle in which you were injured with a letter of demand, and at the same time, you can remain under medical supervision, if necessary of course. If the person involved in a car accident continues to suffer from pain, which resulted from the accident, and/or limitation in the injured organ(s), a disability may remain in his body as a result of that accident, and if so, then the compensation that may be received is much higher than the compensation that may be received without a personal disability.

Therefore, and since these steps are rooted in steps that require the expertise of a tort lawyer, especially a car accident expert, starting from the collection of the documents until the closing of the case with the appropriate compensation, it is appropriate to contact an expert in this matter.

Should you have any questions or if you need legal help from a tort and traffic accident lawyer in Israel, you are welcome to contact us. Our offices are located in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.