Here's what the auto accident victim should do at the scene, immediately following the incident:

What you do once the broken pieces have been swept up and the various parties leave the scene is equally critical.

Insurance companies seem to value a claim "higher" if there are ambulance and emergency room visits following an accident.

From a logical perspective, this does not make a lot of sense on "soft tissue" or "sprain/strain' types of injuries, because there is not much that these services can do for your overall health or rehabilitation.

If you have neurological injuries, fractures or other "higher trauma level" type injuries, then these services make more sense.

At this stage, you should contact your attorney.

In the hundreds of automobile cases, THE LAW OFFICES OF ALLAN S. FIELD has handled through the years; I can say the SOONER AFTER AN ACCIDENT I HAVE BEEN CONTACTED BY THE INJURED PARTY, THE BETTER I CAN MAXIMIZE THEIR ULTIMATE SETTLEMENT.

Our offices will select the appropriate medical professional in consideration of the area you live or work (for convenience of treatment) and for the nature and severity of your injuries.

It is imperative, even at the initial emergency room level that you are clear and specific with the attending physicians as to the fact that you were in an accident which caused these injuries and exactly what hurts due to the trauma.

Clear and concise medical records help increase all case value at time of settlement.

One of the main factors in our election of the right doctor for your continuing treatment is to ensure that the records and reports of the medical specialists are designed to maximize the presentation of your claim at the conclusion of treatment.

Next time, we will discuss how the insurance company places a value on your claim.