Utah Car Accident Resources

No personal injury attorney can honestly claim to care about their clients if they don’t extend that concern to the community at large. That’s why, in addition to the legal resources offered by the law firm of Christensen & Hymas, we have included on our web site numerous tips for Utah car accident avoidance, general safety advice, and guidance in the process of successfully filing an insurance claim in order to bounce back with as much grace as possible. In addition to the information available on our open-access pages, our 7 Biggest Mistakes booklet and others on bicycle accidents, animal attacks, etc. are available upon request, free of cost. The material at your fingertips, whether posted online or printed on pages, comes to you courtesy of compassionate, experienced, nationally-recognized lawyers whose reservoir of knowledge could save you inestimable time and sanity in the aftermath of a serious accident.

How to Get Your Police Report

Filling out a police report doesn’t have to be a nerve-wracking event, but you should know which facts to include and how to frame them for best results. The most innocuous statements can come back to haunt you if your narrative is disputed; and without twisting the truth, you can word your account in such a way that will show you are trustworthy and cast you in the best possible light. Just because something is there does not mean that it belongs on an accident report, and other things should be included without exception. A compact, thorough, organized, and strictly factual police report is a tremendous asset that you will not want buried in irrelevant details, misplaced guilt, or inaccuracy. There’s more to requesting services from an insurance company than pleasant conversations and a few forms. A claim for serious injury coverage may call for a surprising amount of documentation from a surprising number of sources by deadlines you forget at your own peril. Unfortunately, one cannot always depend on their insurance provider to show them the ropes, since insurance companies profit by paying less than a claim may be worth (or not at all). The higher the cost of an accident, the stronger the likelihood that you will be lowballed when negotiating a settlement and/or made to believe you have no other choice but to accept the first offer. This is where the 7 Biggest Mistakes booklet comes in handy: when you arm yourself with knowledge of what pitfalls you might expect and how to avoid them, you are no longer at the mercy of insurance agents who hold a monopoly of information on the claims process. The more you know, the better your chances of getting a fair settlement.

Car Safety

Safety in and around cars depends upon many factors that can be summed up in a handful of categories. First and foremost is focus: You cannot expect to be safe while driving or in driving areas without staying alert. Avoiding distractions is the highest rule of defensive driving; learning how to do this and committing to act responsibly, even at the expense of convenience, is the precept upon which all others are founded. These others include accommodation for the mistakes (or reckless behavior) of others, getting into a suitable driving mood/mindset, and seeing that your car is in good working order.

Car Maintenance

Setting out in a car in you have allowed to fall into disrepair is about as ill-advised as staging an Old West-style robbery on a horse that hates you.  You not only risk failure to make your desired destination on time; you also put yourself in danger of losing control in a dangerous situation. A car that doesn’t respond as it is designed to cannot be relied upon if you ever need to avert trouble on the turn of a dime.  Working brakes are an essential protection if you ever need to come to an abrupt halt, sound tires ensure a firm grip on the road, and clean windows allow you to spot a van hurtling down the road at warp speed before you make your left turn. Proper vehicle care is essential to safe driving.

Image “Photo#167 – Heavy Traffic” copyright by Tamara McCauley.

Free Consultation

Learn your Rights. Get Answers. Free.