The first thing you should do is check yourself for any injuries, and then check if anyone else was injured in the car.
After that, without getting out of the car, call the police to the scene of the accident. This is important for several reasons:
One, you can’t always tell whether you’ve immediately suffered serious injuries or not and should always leave that to the professionals – either healthcare people or police; and
Second, you don’t want to disturb the scene of the accident where it can then later create a debate as to how the accident happened and who might be at fault.
Q: Is it a good idea to videotape and take pictures with my phone?
The old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words is as true today as it was back before cell phones. Pictures are critical, not only of the accident scene, but also of the damage to the vehicles, the positioning of the vehicles, sight lines as to the roadway that you’re on and even injuries that you might have suffered at the scene of the accident.
Pictures are critical because they are snapshots of that moment in time that nobody can debate. Often memories change or people sometimes don’t tell the truth for a variety of reasons, but pictures don’t lie. If there’s a way to take pictures or videos, it could be critical to any claim you may bring in the future.