Whether you are on vacation or an exciting road trip, getting into an accident in your rental car is never something you anticipate. There are often better things in your mind, such as your travel schedules and all the plans that you need to actualize to ensure your trip is one of a kind.
However, car accidents can happen when you least expect them to and ruin your vacation for you. You may even end up sustaining severe life-altering injuries from the accident. Dealing with accidents in a foreign place can be very stressful. It may even get more stressful considering it is a rental car.
Things to Do After an Accident with a Rental Car
1. Get Yourself and Your Passengers to Safety
The first thing you should do after an accident is to prevent further injuries or accidents. You can do this by ensuring that all the passengers in your vehicle are out of harm’s way. While you do this, also remember to confirm if you have sustained any injuries.
It would be best if you placed hazard signs on the road at a safe distance from your crashed car. If any of your passengers have sustained severe injuries, offer them first aid and find a way to get them to the hospital as soon as you can.
2. Inform the Authorities
Call the authorities and report your accident as soon as possible after the crash. If you are in a foreign country and are not familiar with the local language, seek help from a passerby.
Informing the authorities is essential since the police will arrive with an ambulance to help the injured and transport them to the hospital whenever necessary. Telling the police will also prove helpful if you require accident documentation to acquire your rightful compensation.
3. Inform Your Rental Car Company
Since the car you crashed is not your own, you will need to inform the rental company you hired it from. Strive to do this while you are still at the accident scene. In most cases, the company will direct you forward and send a car you will use as a replacement. They will also need to take your statement to have a filed report of what transpired and who was at fault.
4. Get the Other Driver’s Details
Before leaving the crime scene, you may need to take the other driver’s contact details. This would be extra beneficial if the driver were the one at fault. Get their names, contact details, insurance details, and any other detail that may help file for compensation from the driver or their insurance company. These details may also be helpful to the authorities while filing your report.
5. File an Accident Report
If you involved the authorities, they would automatically file a report on the accident. Accident reports are arguably the most critical documents you need to gather after an accident. They prove that the accident occurred and give a detailed record of the offending party. In this way, they may be used as evidence to indemnify you against any liabilities that may be wrongly raised against you in the absence of proper evidence.
You Don’t Have to Cancel Your Vacation
Unless you were seriously injured, you do not have to put an end to your vacation to deal with the compensation claims. There are many professional car accident attorneys who can fight your legal battles for you as you have fun bonding with your loved ones on vacation as you had earlier planned.
