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If you are a passenger in a taxi that unfortunately has an accident, you could sustain injuries and you might even be lucky to come out alive if the accident was severe. If so, you are eligible to consider taxi accident claims. These are the things to do after the crash to ensure that you will receive compensation because of what happened.
Get the registration number of the taxi
You need to take note of this information since you will use it when asking for insurance coverage. Some drivers will give you their name and licence number, however this is not enough. You need to get the registration number of the taxi since there are times when the owners of the cab are not the ones driving the vehicle.
If you can get the address of the taxi driver, this is also useful since you need this information for smooth progress, should you make a subsequent claim.
Tell the police that you were a passenger
Make sure the police come over and record what happened, as there needs to be a police report filed. The document should indicate that you were a passenger during the accident and explicitly tell that to the police. You will encounter problems when making a claim later when the police did not establish that you were even inside the vehicle at the time of the accident.
Go to the doctor right away
It does not matter how much visible injury you sustained, you need to see your doctor for medical attention. To begin with, you might have concussions and other issues that you cannot see as there are no wounds. Without thorough testing, you might start suffering from these problems later. Apart from ensuring your physical health, you also need to put everything on record to use it as evidence when filing a claim.
Never get involved in a fight
Whether you are angry because your taxi driver was too fast or you felt that the other party was at fault, you need to keep quiet; never get involved in a fight. Refrain from making biased allegations especially when you are emotional since anyways, you do not have legal obligations to make judgements on the spot. Even if the police ask questions, you can only provide information that you can recall and are sure of. Sometimes, your memory can mess with you.
Seek legal help
You need legal representation if you are making a claim. It might be challenging for you because you were only a passenger when the accident happened, however if it resulted in physical injuries that required medical treatment, you need that money. Worse, if the accident made it impossible for you to head back to work, you also need compensation coverage.
You are fortunate to have come out alive after this horrific accident. Next time, you need to choose a taxi company that has a reliable reputation in the industry. You also need to understand your rights as a passenger.
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