First response and emergency teams are regularly and rightfully praised for their amazing reaction speed and intervention efficiency. Wisconsin motorists cannot be expected to display the same skills if they happen to be involved in a crash, but a number of things need to be done right away to help others, and to preserve evidence of what happened.

At The Scene of an Accident:

• If you are uninjured or only slightly injured, find out if anyone is hurt and how badly. If so, call the police and explain your position, the number of injured people and type of injuries;
• Try to protect the accident scene: signal the crash to the oncoming traffic with flares and blinking lights and move the vehicle occupants away to a safe zone;
• Give immediate help to those injured, but do not try to move those who might have sustained serious head, neck or back injuries;
• Ask the investigating police officer where and when you can get a copy of his report;
• If your vehicle is out of service, have it towed to a repair shop, but do not order any repairs before you have the insurance adjuster examine the damage;
• Take the note pad and pencil you keep in your glove compartment and write down:
• o The name, address and phone number of all those who were involved in the accident;
• o The vehicles' license plate numbers;
• o The make and model of each vehicle;
• o The drivers' license numbers and insurance identifications of each driver;
• o The name, address and phone number of witnesses;
• o The names and badge numbers of police officers present on the scene.
• Do not make any declaration at the scene about who or what caused the accident, and do not enter into any sort of agreement, whether verbal or written.

After the Crash:

You should inform your insurance company soon after the accident, but take a few moments to look at your insurance contracts before you call them, and prepare your questions. If people were injured in the accident, it is highly recommended that you consult with an experienced Wisconsin car accident lawyer before signing any forms or handing over any declaration to your or the other party's insurance company.

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Hupy & Abraham, S.C. has offices in Milwaukee, Madison, Appleton in Wisconsin, and Gurnee and Bloomington in Illinois. If you have been hurt in a car, truck or motorcycle accident, contact Hupy & Abraham today at 800-800-5676 (toll-free) or 414-223-4800 (local) for a free evaluation of your case, or send us an e-mail with your questions.