Sometimes life can be harsh and unpredictable, throwing things at you quickly and without warning. If you have ever been struck by a vehicle or involved in a car accident, then it is safe to say that you have most likely experienced this feeling as well. There are fortunately a few things that can drastically help to keep you calm when disaster does strike. The most important thing you can do is make sure that you are educated before something happens so that you are fully prepared and aware of your options when the time comes to act fast. This article will seek to outline a few things that you need to do after being struck by a vehicle in order to assume that you end up safe and healthy, and all legal matters are taken care of properly. By using this article as a launching point to create your own plan of preparedness then you can rest easy knowing that you should be able to handle anything that happens when being struck by a vehicle.

Catch your Bearings

The first and most important thing you should do after being struck by a vehicle is to immediately catch your bearings, collect your emotions, and just try to stay calm. There are a number of ways to slow the heart rate and calm the body when something has shocked you or started you to a great degree. Simple things like breathing exercises, mindfulness techniques, and other options will help to calm your body and mind, allowing you to accurately and calmly assess the situation at hand.

Assess your Wellbeing

The next thing you should immediately do after calming yourself down is to assess your physical wellbeing. It is recommended that you do not make any sudden movements, or try to do anything which requires too much physical effort immediately. If you feel any pain in your neck, back, or spine, then it is incredibly important to make sure that you stay still until help arrives. You can often feel a serious injury immediately, but there can often be lingering effects after hard collisions with vehicles, such as whiplash, head trauma, and moderate to severe concussions. There are a few simple tests that you can take to diagnose a concussion, which should be administered as soon as possible in order to determine if you have sustained one.

Get Help

After calming down and assessing yourself physically and mentally then if necessary it is highly recommended that you seek medical attention. If there is something seriously wrong then you or a bystander should immediately call the emergency services in the area and explain the situation to them. They may give you instructions over the phone based on the specifics of the accident. If the accident is not serious enough to call an ambulance then you may be able to get help from either the driver who collided with you or a bystander who may have witnessed the event. Make sure to seek help immediately, or you could see lasting negative effects for the rest of your life.

Call a Lawyer

Being struck by a vehicle can be incredibly dangerous and also extremely disorienting. For this reason, it is recommended that you get some form of legal representation to speak on your behalf after being struck by a vehicle, regardless of the severity. There are also many different facts about the way that traffic laws and lawsuits work which most people who are not professionals are unaware of. Pedestrians have only two years from the date of a pedestrian accident to file a claim against the driver, according to David Preszler with Preszler Law. There are also many other small details which normal people simply do not know. In order to make sure you are getting all the necessary facts and the proper advice just find a professional and you will save yourself countless hours of research, money, and time.

Take Pictures

If you are able to do so, you should begin to take pictures of any injuries you may have sustained. This will help later on if you are trying to get medical coverage or some form of compensation due to severe injury. You can also attempt to get pictures of the car which collided with you, the intersection, or the general scene where the accident occurred. This type of evidence can be invaluable when your lawyer is trying to put in a lawsuit or insurance claim. Since most people carry cell phones equipped with cameras these days, there should be no issue with collecting photographic evidence of the incident in question.

Seek Treatment

The most important thing to do after being involved in a collision with a car is to seek follow-up treatment in order to assure that you are physically well, or at least trying to improve and treat any injuries sustained from being struck by a vehicle. Depending on the nature of the accident, you may be able to get your medical bills covered as part of the compensation for being struck when it was not your fault. This can be extremely helpful if you live somewhere where socialized medicine does not exist, costing you thousands of dollars to be treated for an accident. Be sure to explore your different options, and perhaps seek legal counsel to see if you are able to get covered.

Hopefully, this article has been helpful and informative regarding the various steps that you need to take after being struck by a vehicle. The list of strategies and solutions above should be able to help point you in the right direction while also providing specific and practical advice for each possibility that you may have to deal with after being struck by a vehicle. The onus is on you to be prepared to take action and to also know your rights as a pedestrian. For this reason, having good legal counsel is highly recommended so that you can assume you are thorough in your thought process even while being dazed after being struck by a vehicle.