1. What to Do After a Car Accident? (5 Crucial Steps)
Deezer
In this episode Jonathan Rosenfeld chats with Gerald Bekkerman an Attorney at Taxman, Pollock, Murray, & Bekkerman, LLC. Here, they give statistics on car accidents in Illinois including injuries and fatalities.
They also go over the 5 crucial steps to take after a car accident:
What to Do After a Car Accident?
1) Check yourself for injuries.
2) Contact law enforcement.
3) Gather information about the incident. Take photos of the cars, intersection, etc.
4) Get medical attention.
5) Consult with an attorney.
For more information visit https://www.rosenfeldinjurylawyers.com
Read the Transcript
Jonathan Rosenfeld:
Hi everybody. I am Jonathan Rosenfeld. And today I am joined by my colleague and good friend, Gerald Bekkerman, who is a partner at Taxman, Pollock, Murray & Bekkerman, in Chicago, Illinois. And one of the things that I've always respected about Jerry is that he is a really a lawyer's lawyer if you will. I've known Jerry for over 10 years, and I've watched him develop as a lawyer, as a person, and really people, others have really started to grab onto what I sort of recognized early on, that he's really committed to his cases. He really is dedicated to his clients, people, other attorneys really respect him and enjoy his company, and these have not gone unnoticed by the legal world. Jerry is also... I'm not going to embarrass him too much, but Jerry has won numerous awards in the legal community recently, and over the past few years.
Jonathan Rosenfeld:
He is a 2018 Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, 40 under 40 very prestigious award, he is an Illinois super lawyer, a National Trial lawyers 40 under 40, top 40 in the country, he is a Illinois emerging lawyer for several years, and he's also a lifetime member of the million dollar advocates forum, and multi-million dollar advocates forum. Today, I am going to talk with Jerry and get his input about the steps to take after a car accident. And before we get into that, of all the different types of personal injury cases out there, every single person, I'm sure who's listening to this, can relate to being involved in a car accident, some type of motor vehicle accident, whether they are directly involved or they have a friend or family member involved, this is something that really impacts everyone. Before we started doing this, I just started looking around a little bit. And one of the shocking statistics that I saw was that in the state of Illinois, where we're located right now, there were almost 320,000 motor vehicle accidents last year.
Jonathan Rosenfeld:
And of those 300,000 plus accidents, there were 94,164 people who were injured, and 11,345 of those people sustained significant injuries which required extended hospitalization, or medical care. Over 1,000 people lost their lives, in motor vehicle accidents in Illinois last year. So this is an extremely pervasive problem that we have. And it is something that really everyone needs to be aware of. So, Jerry, I really appreciate you joining me today, and really looking forward to talking with you. I guess from the beginning, an ounce of prevention goes a long way. And I think a lot of times that people are aware of the things that they can or should be doing, after a car accident that can really go a long way towards helping them from a physical perspective, as well as helping them from a legal perspective, if they need to pursue a claim. So, first off, thank you for joining us.
Gerald Bekkerman:
Of course, John, thank you. And didn't embarrass me too much, I appreciate the kudos. Obviously we've known each other a long, long time and mutually respect what we've accomplished in the legal community, and I think podcasts like these are a great way to educate people on some of the missteps that I've seen, my 12 years of practice and what we see on a daily basis, almost in this firm. Auto accidents are the bread and butter of law firms. Even as large ones like us, we have 20 attorneys. We practice, everything from medical malpractice, civil rights work injuries, but the crux of the practice 80% of it is car accidents. Most of our clients come into our office as a result of injuries sustained in car accidents.
Gerald Bekkerman:
And as part of working with those clients over the years, we've picked up and some of the mistakes, some of the nuances in these cases, and unfortunately there's mistakes that are made and just steps that people aren't aware of. Maybe because they're just not educated enough. They've not experienced a car accident. They're shocked, they're surprised they're afraid. And they don't take certain steps that unfortunately wind up hurting them in the ultimate process of working with an attorney like myself, or here at our firm. So the main steps, the main things that people need to do, we can kind of go through them.
Gerald Bekkerman:
The five things that we always recommend somebody does when they get in a car accident, whether it's their first or their third, and they don't know what to do, are the following. First five are, so you check yourself for injuries. Are you hurt? Are you just in shock? Obviously, you can tell if you have a broken bone, you are going to be in excruciating pain, but are you unable to move your neck? Are you stiff? Did you feel something in your knee twist when you were putting your foot on the brake, did the seatbelt, give you scars and burns, and did the airbag go off and injure your face? There's a lot of elements involved pending on the severity of the crash. So first thing is check yourself for instance am I hurt? The second thing of course, and this one is commonplace. People do know that contact police, right? So get your cell phone. You know you have one in the car, OnStar or things like that with some vehicles. Get police, get law enforcement at the scene. Sometimes it might take a while.
Gerald Bekkerman:
The city of Chicago police officers could come quickly at some areas and other locations, maybe more rural places it takes the Sheriff's office a while to get there, be patient. Make sure the police arrive at the scene. You might be running late to pick up your kids from soccer, or to an appointment, but having the police come is really, really crucial to build your evidence in a case. [inaudible 00:07:14] police report and we'll go through these in more detail is very critical. So make sure, check yourself for injuries, contact law enforcement, and then take some basic evidence gathering steps that are so crucial to attorneys like us. Take [inaudible 00:07:29] of the vehicle, maybe take a photo of the intersection, maybe call somebody, give a statement to somebody, check in, all right. Obviously the police wait for them and give them all the actual information on what happened. Hey-
Jonathan Rosenfeld:
Now Jerry, If I can stop you for a second.
Gerald Bekkerman:
Yeah.
Jonathan Rosenfeld:
I think one of the things that every single person, as far as I'm aware of today, walks around with... they basically have them glued to their hand is their cell phone. And a lot of times people, after an accident, they may not be thinking clearly, they are clearly shaken up, but certainly, in today's world where every cell phone has a camera on it, documenting that the damage to the vehicles, documenting the area of the accident, is that something that you would suggest that people do?
Gerald Bekkerman:
Very, very critical, it helps us. When you call and speak with an attorney, which is the fifth step we're going to get into, get your medical attention for your injuries, contact a lawyer. But when you contact us the three questions I'm going to ask you are, were you injured? Is there a police report? And do you have any photos of your car, the other car, your injuries, and the scene of the occurrence, right? And that's really where it's really critical for us as lawyers, because that makes us figure out what we need to do and how quickly we need to move. What's good evidence. If you are claiming that you can't move your neck and your shoulder because of this really huge rear end and by a pickup truck, it would be great to have a picture to show that, that really happened as opposed to, I don't know, we don't have any photos.
Gerald Bekkerman:
In that a month or two later, the insurance claim gets open and we get a photo of the back of your car, and there's not even a scratch on it. We're going to be like, "Well, I don't understand, I thought you said this was a huge... you got to hit a 50 miles per hour by this pickup truck, and where's damage?" And t...