What should I do if I am in a car accident?

At some point within their driving career, a driver will most likely be involved in a fender bender accident or have witnessed one occur. Watch as Dr. Keith Murray DC talks about what you should, and the steps you should take if you are in an auto accident.

Initially, make sure the scene is safe and that you pull off if you can before getting out of your vehicle. If you are unable to pull off or more your vehicle be extra cautious and make sure it is OK to get out of your car.

Next, you should alert proper authorities this is especially important if you have more than one passenger or young children in the car.

It is also important to have emergency teams come out and evaluate you and if need be go to the hospital to have proper x-ray or diagnostic testing that you should have done. Although you may feel fine, your body may be in a type of shock, you also may be disoriented from the fast-paced events that have occurred with an accident.

During the upcoming days you can expect to be very sore, disoriented and you may even be suffering from a type of shock, not long term but of the initial accident – it may be difficult to remember the events that had happened leading up to and prior to the accident. It is important to write these down as it may help you later including how the accident occurred, what part of your body may have hit the inside of the car, what was initially agitated.

Days following the accident, you should visit nearest health care facility and be evaluated, a lot of time during a motor vehicle accident you can experience sprain and strains. This can happen in areas such as the neck or the low back or injuries to the knee or other involved limbs, head, elbows or wrists.

It is important to remember to take care of yourselves and those involved in the accident. Most times our initial reaction is “oh my car” or “how will I get to work”, “how much is this going to cost”. We often throw ourselves on the back burner when really long-term injuries can be avoided if treated properly and quickly.

If you have any additional questions or have recently been in a car accident in NJ contact our Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation facility to see how we can help.