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Law Have Mercy!
Law Have Mercy! isn’t just about the law anymore—it’s about life, business, health, and everything that sparks curiosity. Join Personal Injury Attorney Chaz Roberts as he dives into candid conversations that mix legal insights with lifestyle tips, entrepreneurial wisdom, and personal growth. From breaking down complex legal issues in simple terms to exploring the challenges and triumphs of health, business, and beyond, Chaz brings his unique perspective and passion to every episode.
Whether you're here to learn, laugh, or find inspiration, Law Have Mercy! has something for everyone. Just remember: the opinions of our guests are their own, and nothing on this podcast is legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship—it’s all about entertainment, exploration, and empowerment. Let’s make it fun!
Law Have Mercy!
Been in a Crash? Here's EXACTLY What to Do Next | Personal Injury Tips
Navigating the aftermath of a car accident can be overwhelming and confusing. Drawing from over 15 years of experience handling cases from $15,000 to multi-million dollar settlements, attorney Chaz Roberts delivers a masterclass on the critical steps to take immediately following a collision.
The moments after impact are crucial. Your first move should always be calling 911—even when the other driver suggests "just exchanging information." Without a police report, you're vulnerable to the other driver changing their story later, as happened with Chaz's client Mrs. Smith. Officers document statements at the scene, record insurance information, diagram the accident, and create an official record that can make or break your case later.
Documentation extends beyond police reports. Chaz emphasizes the importance of photographing the scene before vehicles are moved and seeking immediate medical attention—whether at an emergency room for serious injuries or urgent care for less severe ones. Both options establish a crucial medical record of your injuries, though many people don't realize that pain often intensifies days after the accident when adrenaline subsides.
Perhaps most importantly, Chaz warns against speaking directly with insurance companies about your injuries. When they inevitably ask if you're hurt, simply respond: "I don't feel comfortable discussing my injuries now. I'll send you medical records once we have them," or "I'm hiring a lawyer." This prevents insurers from using your own words against you later, especially since many injuries evolve in the days following an accident.
The guide also covers navigating property damage claims, understanding when a vehicle is considered totaled, pursuing diminished value claims, and ensuring you receive appropriate ongoing medical care. By following these expert recommendations, you'll protect your health, rights, and potential compensation.
Need help after an accident? Visit chasrobertslaw.com to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney who can guide you through this challenging process.
You can watch most full episodes of Law Have Mercy on YouTube!
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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.
Hey guys, my name is Chaz Roberts. I'm a personal injury lawyer. I have over 15 years of experience and on today's video, I want to give you a masterclass, a step-by-step process, of what to do if you've been involved in a wreck. I don't know if you're watching this because you want to learn if it ever happens to you or if, unfortunately, you were involved in a wreck. I'm going to give you a step-by-step process from the wreck to 10 to 15 days after. Before we get started, I want you to subscribe to our channel. We have a ton of great content and if you have any other questions or if you've been involved in a wreck, visit our website, chasrobertslawcom. So why should you listen to me? Look, we've had a ton of success Just in the past 30 to 45 days. We've had settlements of $4 million, $1.75 million, $500,000, $900,000, $800,000, big cases, but we've also had some smaller cases $15,000, $25,000. But the steps that I'm going to discuss today, they apply for huge cases where there's big injuries, lots of insurance, and small cases. There's a right way to go about things and I'm going to talk about that.
Speaker 1:So the first thing that happens, unfortunately, is you're involved in a wreck, someone rear ends you. You're T-boned, someone runs a red light. That's terrible. What do you do? The first thing you want to do is call 911. Why call 911? Because the person that hit you, the wrongdoer, is probably going to come up to you and say, hey, let's just exchange information we can get with our insurance companies. Don't do it, that's a bad idea. Okay, I had Mrs Smith. She was one of my clients and the guy comes up to Mrs Smith and says, hey, we don't need to do this, let's just exchange information. So Mrs Smith has his insurance information. She calls the wrongdoers insurance and wouldn't you know it? The guy changes his story and says oh, no, no, no, no, mrs Smith pulled out in front of me.
Speaker 1:So when you have the police, they get involved. They take statements at the scene from everyone, including any witnesses, and so people can't go and change their story after the fact. Not to mention, the police report is going to have names, insurance information, they take pictures, they document on a map how it happened. They get license plate information. You want a police report. In Mrs Smith's scenario, who's to say that guy didn't give an old insurance card or bad information. I'm not saying that without a police report you don't have a case because I do have saying that without a police report you don't have a case, because I do have some cases without a police report.
Speaker 1:But it's an uphill battle. If you take nothing else from this video, just remember 9-1-1. After a wreck, the next thing that you should do is take pictures and videos of the scene. Also, I want you to identify if there are any cameras located on any streets or businesses that are nearby that could have captured the scene. Also, I want you to identify if there are any cameras located on any streets or businesses that are nearby that could have captured the wreck. If it's a rear-end collision, we probably don't need it because that's easy to prove that that person hit you from the back.
Speaker 1:Now you are building your own evidence to help you. Sometimes you're so injured that you can't take pictures and videos. That's okay. We can live with that. We have an excuse why we don't have any other documentation. Sometimes people want to move from the scene and that's legal in most states. You can move for the flow of traffic. Those pictures might indicate where those vehicles were at rest and if there's a liability dispute he said, she said you have different stories Potentially those pictures could help. There's been cases where the police actually got it wrong, but my client had taken videos before the vehicles were moved, before the cops arrived, because when the cops arrived, the vehicles had already been moved and my client had actually videos of the vehicles before they were moved. And guess what? We were able to show that our client was not at fault and it was the other driver that was at fault.
Speaker 1:The next thing you should do is get medical attention. Okay, assuming you are hurt neck, back, head, hands, arms, legs, feet, any type of injury you need to get medical attention as soon as possible. Now there are two distinct paths you can go down. Number one is an emergency room and number two is an urgent care. In either scenario, you need to get this done as soon as possible, same day, next day at the latest. Right, if you are really hurt, because the insurance company is going to say you weren't really hurt because you didn't go to emergency.
Speaker 1:When do you go to the emergency room? If you have a broken bone, if you're bleeding, if you have head trauma, if you were knocked unconscious, if you had some kind of steering wheel trauma to your chest or your stomach and you fear internal bleeding. You got to go to the emergency room. I always say you know it when you need it. Also, you have to decision to make Are you going to take an ambulance? Well, if you don't have any transportation, you have to take an ambulance If you have a friend or a parent or a loved one at the scene and they can transport you. You just saved yourself $2,500 by not taking an ambulance. If you can walk around, if you're not internal bleeding, head trauma, broken bone, some type of bad, bad injury, you can walk around. I always suggest urgent care because an emergency room bill is very expensive. You're looking at $3,000, up to $10,000, maybe even more. Urgent care bill is $200, $400, $500.
Speaker 1:In both scenarios, the key is they are documenting that you were hurt. They're providing you with care Sure, and that's great. They're making sure you're okay. They're taking x-rays, ct scans, they're giving you medication, but they're documenting your injury. Remember, this is not your everyday type of injury. We're dealing with insurance companies who are going to scrutinize the file one day, and so we need a documentation. If it's not written, it didn't happen. That's what I tell my clients. If it's not written, it didn't happen. And both of those providers emergency room and urgent care will document the injury. You know, I've never had a case and I talked about those big cases I've never had a case where someone said, well, you went to the urgent care instead of the emergency room or you didn't take an ambulance so you must have not been hurt. That just doesn't happen. They are looked as the same in the eyes of the insurance company.
Speaker 1:You were hurt and because, let's face it, a lot of injuries that you may have aren't immediately present at the time of the wreck. Your adrenaline's pumping. You're on the side of the road. You're on the side of the interstate. There's cars horning. Your car's all busted up. Maybe you have loved ones with you. Your adrenaline's jacked up. You're not thinking about your lower back or your left ankle or your neck, you're just thinking get me off the side of the road. Thank God I survived. What am I going to do with my car? How are my kids going to get to soccer practice? How am I going to get to work tomorrow? You're not thinking about your own well-being. So it's completely okay if the pain shows up the next day. Two days, three days, in fact. A lot of times people are dealing with more pain, two, three, four, five days later than they are at the scene. And so, while I want you to get medical treatment ASAP, if that pain starts showing a day later, two days, three days, four days later, that's perfectly okay, but get medical treatment ASAP. After that, the next thing you should do is contact a lawyer, and again you can reach out to me, chasrobertslawcom. I'll be happy to help you.
Speaker 1:A lawyer is important because they tell your story. When you contact our office the first day or two, we do about 25 tasks on a file. Okay, so there's a lot of work that goes into it building the file, contacting insurance companies, setting up medical treatment, notifying everyone, ordering the police report. There's a lot of loopholes and things that you need to do, a lot of boxes to check. We do this all day, every day. We have a staff and we have lawyers monitoring everything, so it's critical that you get a lawyer. Also, a lawyer tells your story so that you don't have to communicate with the insurance company.
Speaker 1:When you communicate with the insurance company, you're opening yourself up to questions that may go beyond the scope of what you thought. Let me give you an example. You start talking about getting your car repaired and they ask you if you've been hurt. That's the same night. Maybe your adrenaline's jacked up and you say no. Then you realize that you are hurt. Or maybe you only talk about neck pain and then the next day you experience neck and back pain. Now they have you on a recorded line.
Speaker 1:I don't like when my clients talk to insurance companies directly. You need a lawyer to buffer you. I always tell people we're the sword and the shield. We fight insurance companies. We use our sword to poke at them and we also use the shield to protect you from things that you may not be aware of. So you should call a lawyer ASAP.
Speaker 1:The next step really is getting your vehicle repaired or totaled, and there are two big options that you have and you have to decide. Number one is do I use my own insurance? A lot of times I hear clients Chaz I don't want to use my own insurance because I wasn't at fault, and I say well, look, do you have collision coverage or property damage coverage, or do you have rental coverage? Because if you do, then we can get your insurance company involved the next day after the wreck. That's quicker you can get into a rental. That's quicker you can get your car repaired or, quicker, you can get money for your total loss. Some people don't have collision coverage or rental coverage on their policy and we have to wait. The problem would wait is sometimes police reports take 5, 7, 10, 14 days before that police report is prepared and we don't even know if that other person had insurance and we don't know what insurance they had or the company. And then when we open the claim with the other insurance company they have to conduct an investigation. So if you don't have collision and rental on your policy by the way, you should add it like right now we are at the mercy of the other insurance company and so we always make that determination. If we do know the other person's insurance information, because the officer gave it to you at the scene, then we open up that claim right away and that's quicker.
Speaker 1:To get your car repaired, totaled out, get put in a rental. You are entitled to a rental if your car is being repaired. You are entitled to loss of use if your car is totaled. If your car is totaled, the other insurance company has to pay you the market value of your vehicle. So if it's a $7,000 car because other Honda Accords sold for $7,000 within a 50-mile radius, then they have to pay you that plus tax, title and license. If the repair cost is greater than 75% of the total value of the car, it is deemed a total loss. If it's under 75%, then the insurance company is obligated to repair the vehicle. You also may have a diminished value claim, and I can make a whole other video on what diminished value is. But basically it's well, my car is not worth the same, even repaired, as it was, if it had not been in a wreck, and whenever I go to sell my car or trade it in, I'm going to take a hit on that. And so the other company, the other insurance company, is responsible for paying me that difference.
Speaker 1:And so you have a choice to make whether you use your insurance or use the other person's insurance. Now, if you have a deduct $500 deductible, $1,000 deductible on your insurance, then you're out that money. But when your insurance company recovers from that at-fault insurance, the other person's insurance, they will send you your deductible back in the mail, whether it's $500 or $1,000. And so I'm always there's no one size fits all response to this when my clients have property damage issues, which is basically every wreck I have to see. Are we going to use your insurance or use the other person's insurance? Are we going to use them both? Sometimes we use them both. We get the claim started here, we find out their information and we transfer it to the other side Again.
Speaker 1:These are difficult decisions and a lawyer, a good law firm, can help you navigate through these things. We've done the first part. You know a lot about property damage. By the way, I gave you a master class on that. Most lawyers don't know the intricacies of the whole property dispute I just discussed. We got to take care of your body, right. So the emergency room, urgent care I talked about that. They're documenting it. They're giving you medication. But what happens when you're still hurting after seven? Your med prescription has run off. You got to get to another doctor. Now.
Speaker 1:Some lawyers send clients to chiropractors, some lawyers help send to doctors, some to therapists. All of them do well under certain circumstance. Some chiropractors work wonders, some doctors work wonders. But basically, what you need to know is there's some type of aftercare treatment that needs to be set. They're going to help you, they're going to make recommendations. They may alter something, they may twist and crack and massage and do stem and do all kinds of things to help you to relieve your pain. That's a good thing. But what's critical is they're documenting the injury and by documenting the injury it's more evidence that we can use to show that you were hurt and how hurt you were and how you're affected.
Speaker 1:You need to understand any conversation you have with any doctor, therapist, nurse it's all being written down. That's a good thing for the insurance company. But also you need to know that if you downplay your injuries because you're having a good day but you really had a terrible day yesterday, they need to know it because it's only going to look like you're not having pain because you forgot to mention that you were having pain yesterday. So the property damage and the bodily injury claims are going on at the same time. Within those 10 days.
Speaker 1:If you talk to an insurance company because you set up your own claim, do not discuss your injuries. When they ask you if you're hurt, you say yes, can you tell me about your injuries? You say I don't feel comfortable discussing my injuries now. I'll send you the medical records once we have them, or I'm hiring a lawyer. They will stop that line of questioning. I'm only talking to you about my property damage. Okay, that's the best piece of advice I can give you. Do not talk to insurance companies about your medical treatment or your injuries. Let the lawyer handle that, all right? So to recap, number one call 911. Number two take photos. Number three get medical treatment as soon as possible. Number four call a lawyer. You have two options on how to handle your property damage. You can use your insurance, if you have it. If you have collision, you can use the other person's insurance, but you might have to wait for the police report. If you need any help, visit our website chasrobertslawcom, and don't forget to subscribe to this channel.
