QUICK TIPS: 3 Things NOT to Say After a Car Wreck or Crash

Picture this: a fender bender turns into a full-blown courtroom drama because of a few misplaced words at the crash site. Law Have Mercy! 

On this mini "quick tips" short episode of the Law Have Mercy! podcast, Chaz is laying out 3 things you should NEVER say after you are involved in an automobile crash including a car wreck, big truck collision, ATV crash, or otherwise!  Strap in for some legal lifesavers because Chaz is handing you the golden key to post-"accident" conversations. 

When involved in any unfortunate situation involving another party, such as a car wreck, you might think a simple "I'm sorry" or "I'm okay" couldn't possibly do any harm, but we're here to tell you—they can and they will! As someone who's been in the trenches, Chaz has witnessed how these words can backfire in legal situations. From the police reports to the insurance claims, Chaz breaks down why these phrases are the enemy in disguise and what you should say instead to safeguard your rights!

This episode is loaded with real-life examples & messes that had to be untangled for clients who WISH they knew these 3 tips *before* falling victim to a car crash that left them with damages! In addition to the apology trap, Chaz explains the potential pitfalls of bypassing police involvement—because sometimes that friendly exchange of information isn't as innocent as it seems! Tune in to equip yourself with the insights you need to navigate the post-accident scene like a pro, while protecting your well-being and your rights, all shared through Chaz's lens as your legal guide and advocate. Enjoy!

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This show is co-produced by Carter Simoneaux of AcadianaCasts Network, Chaz H. Roberts of Chaz Roberts Law and Kayli Guidry Bonin of Beau The Agency, and Laith Alferahin.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey, this is Chaz back with another short episode of Law. Have Mercy, I'm going to give you the most amount of information in the shortest period of time. This one is a good one, okay? So I'm going to bring you some true experience I've had. I've had all three of these issues pop up in cases, and so what I'm going to do right now is arm you with the three things you should never say after a car wreck. Three things you should never say after a car wreck. All right, and I've had experience with all three. Now I've been able to fix it, but why fight a battle that we shouldn't have to? All right, so I'm going to pre-arm you with this legit information. All right.

Speaker 1: 0:43

Number one after a car wreck, never say I'm sorry, right, what do you mean? Well, some people just apologize, just say I'm sorry. I'm sorry this whole situation ever took place. All right, you're just trying to say that this really shouldn't have happened, Even though you're not at fault. You're just like sorry that it happened. Okay, if you start saying that a police officer is going to assume that you're apologizing because you're at fault and they'll catch out on a body cam, a dash cam. A witness could overhear you saying that and all of a sudden it makes like you're at fault, because why would you be apologizing? Well, you didn't really mean it that way, but it's being construed against you. Apologizing Well, you didn't really mean it that way, but it's being construed against you. So never say I'm sorry or apologize at a wreck, because that is an admission of guilt or it could be perceived as an admission of guilt. I've had it in a case. It was not fun, we got it right, but why take that chance?

Speaker 1: 1:39

Number two never say I'm okay or I'm not hurt after a wreck, cause you don't know right Adrenaline's pumping. What you mean when you, when people say I'm okay, it means that it doesn't really mean that you're okay. It doesn't really mean you're fine. It doesn't really mean you're not hurt. It just means like my arm's not missing. All right, I just survived a wreck and I'm not dead. I'm okay, I just survived a wreck and I'm not dead, I'm okay.

Speaker 1: 2:09

That word okay or I'm not hurt really minimizes the reality of the situation. You could be dealing with adrenaline, which our bodies are programmed that when our adrenaline is jacked up, we're not perceiving certain pain that we may have. So the minute you get home the minute you wake up in the morning the next day, your neck's hurting, your back's hurting, your shoulder's hurting, because that adrenaline came down. Same thing happens to me as a runner right when I'm running a marathon, I don't feel pain. The next day, though, I can't get out of bed. My adrenaline is jacked up.

Speaker 1: 2:46

And also, when you say I'm not hurt, you may mean not hurt enough to take the ambulance, not hurt enough to go to the emergency room, but that doesn't tell the whole story, because tonight, tomorrow, you could be feeling it. So why even have that conversation? If the cops ask you, are you hurt? You can say look, I'm going to get myself checked out, but I don't need an ambulance. And I'm thinking I don't need a $2,500 ride two miles down the road. I'll get my wife to bring me, or I'll do something, I'll make arrangements, or I'll go to urgent care tomorrow. That doesn't mean I'm not hurt and it doesn't mean I'm okay. It just means I just want to get off the side of the road. Okay, I just want to get off the side of the road. I want to go home, all right. So don't say those words.

Speaker 1: 3:36

And number three, which I think could be the most important Never say let's just exchange information, let's not call the cops. So what happens is, let's say, you get rear-ended. Mrs Smith comes out of the car and says oh, I'm so sorry. Look, I have great insurance. I have all the money in the world. My husband owns a body shop. We don't really need to call the cops, do we? We don't need to stay here for two hours on the side of the road waiting for the cops.

Speaker 1: 4:12

Let's just exchange insurance information. I'm going to open a claim and they'll take good care of you. My husband will fix your car. I'll send you a check. Just here's my phone number. Here's my insurance information. Let's not wait on the cops. Wrong, bad move. Because when Mrs Smith gets home, her memory gets a little different and she thinks you might have backed up into her and at least that's what she's telling her husband, because her husband's pissed that this whole situation happened. Mrs Smith starts thinking about her insurance rates going up. Right, things change and guess what Newsflash people lie right. So if you call the cops, if you call 911, they come out to the scene. There's going to be a police report prepared. There's going to be police officers that conduct an investigation. They get all the insurance information, they get all the contact information and it's nice and neat and convenient and we can give that to the insurance company that's prepared five to seven days after.

Speaker 1: 5:10

Don't allow someone who just wrecked into you determine how this is going to go down. We have cops. We all pay taxes. Police are trained. They can do the job for us, all right. So never say let's just exchange insurance information or we don't need to call the cops, all right, those three things priceless, priceless information. We can get past them all. It's a dogfight. Why go through that? Okay, hope this helps. Stay tuned for more. Hey, it would mean the world to me if you subscribe to the podcast and leave us a five-star review. It helps keep the show free and it helps us book better guests to provide more valuable content to you. Hope you enjoy the show.