What to Do After a Fender Bender in a Parking Lot

Unfortunately, there are over 6 million car accidents per year in the United States. Not all of these occur while driving on the road, though.

Getting into a fender bender in parking lot areas isn’t uncommon. However, not everybody knows how to handle one.

Let’s take a look at what you should do after a private parking lot accident.

Gather Key Information

Before you do anything else, there is certain information that you will need to acquire from the other driver. This includes their name, insurance info, license plate number, and contact information.

In some scenarios, you may find yourself dealing with another driver who is uncooperative. In this case, it’s best to de-escalate the situation and speak to any witnesses who were present.

If other people happened to see the accident, take down as much information as you can. A convenient way to do so is to take a video or audio recording on your phone (as long as you have their consent to do so).

If you choose to go this route, have the individual state their full name, the current time, the current location, and exactly what they saw.

You should not leave the scene until all of this has been sorted out. Parking lot accident laws still punish those who flee from the scene of an accident.

Take Photos of the Scene

As you might guess, it’s imperative that you take photos of the accident. These can be used later on to document any damage that occurred to the vehicles involved.

Key details of the scene to photograph include broken glass, skid marks, and other evidence that can be used to establish exactly what happened.

Call Your Insurance Company

The sooner you contact your insurance company, the more favorable the outcome will be for you. A common mistake that many people make is foregoing this obligation due to how benign a fender bender is.

Many insurance policies, though, require that you report all accidents no matter how minor they seem. Failure to do so could result in unwanted changes to your insurance policy, such as rate increases or even cancellation.

Consider Getting in Touch With an Attorney

Although fender benders generally do not result in bodily harm, it’s not impossible to get hurt in this type of accident. Additionally, you may find that the other driver places the blame upon you even though it is clearly their fault.

Getting in touch with a reputable attorney is the only way to protect yourself from having legal action taken against you.

Austin, Texas is a hotspot when it comes to parking lot accidents due to its large population. If you are dealing with this issue at this location, you can visit this resource to learn more about the next steps you should take.

Fender Bender in Parking Lot? It Doesn’t Have to Be Stressful

The good news is that this situation is much easier to handle than you might expect. If you find yourself in a fender bender in parking lot locations, keep the above information in mind so that you can take the appropriate course of action.

Want to learn more useful info that can help you out in the future? Be sure to check out the rest of our blog.

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