How to show up, stay calm, and protect their future when it matters most
No one practices for a car accident, so it’s not surprising that so few people actually know what to do in the event of an emergency. Fear and adrenaline flood your brain, making it hard for even steady, capable people to make smart decisions in those moments after an accident.
But someone has to keep it together, and if a friend or family member calls you from the side of the road, it’s your opportunity to be that someone for them. Here’s how to make a difference for your loved ones if they’re in an accident.
Step 1: Stay calm so they can too
When your phone rings and a friend or family member tells you they’ve just been in an accident, your first instinct might be to panic right alongside them. It’s important that you take a few deep breaths and offer steady, confident support.
Start with a few basic questions to get them talking. Are you hurt? Are you safe? Is anyone else hurt? Keeping the conversation grounded in the here-and-now will help them slow down, think clearly, and focus on what needs to happen instead of spiraling into worst-case scenarios.
Step 2: Help them think through the immediate steps
Once you’re sure they’re physically safe, you can help them work through what to do at the scene. If you’ve already read our post on what to do in the first 10 minutes after a car accident, you can use that information to help them through it.
- Make sure they’ve called 911 and that a police report will be filed
- Remind them to take photos of both vehicles, the surrounding roadway, and any visible injuries
- Encourage them to exchange names, insurance information, and contact details with the other driver
- If there are witnesses nearby, suggest they ask for contact information before anyone leaves the scene
You don’t have to be a legal expert to help with any of this. You just have to be someone who’s thinking clearly when they aren’t.
Step 3: Remind them to get checked out
In those minutes after an accident, your loved one’s body is filled with adrenaline, which does a great job masking pain. A lot of accident victims feel relatively okay at the scene, only to wake up the next day in a lot of pain. Common accident-related injuries like whiplash, concussions, and soft tissue damage can take hours or even days to announce themselves.
That’s why it’s so important to encourage your friend or family member to get evaluated. If not by paramedics at the scene, then at a nearby urgent care clinic or with their primary care doctor. Getting checked out protects their health, but it also creates a medical record that could be important if they end up needing to file a claim.
Step 4: Be there in the days that follow
There’s a difference between being the friend who says “Call me if you need anything” and being the friend who shows up without being asked.
As your loved one is dealing with insurance companies, medical appointments, and piles of paperwork, it’s important that you check in. Help them get organized, drive them to appointments, make a couple meals, or just sit with them while they make stressful phone calls. Being consistently present isn’t showy or dramatic, but it means the world when everyone else has moved on.
Step 5: Let them know help is available
When the time is right, and your friend is ready, let them know they don’t have to navigate the legal side of things alone. A lot of accident victims don’t realize they may be entitled to compensation for their medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, or they assume hiring a lawyer is too expensive to even explore.
It isn’t. At Anthem Injury Lawyers, the first conversation is always free, and we never charge a fee unless we win. Sometimes all a person needs to take that step is a friend who says: it’s worth making the call.
Be the person they remember
Accidents are scary, disorienting, and exhausting. But they’re also moments that reveal who shows up. Be the friend who knows what to do, who stays calm, and who helps the people they love come out the other side protected.
And if someone you care about has been injured in an accident, we’re here to help. Reach out to Anthem Injury Lawyers for a free case review today.
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