How Can You Support a Family Member Who Has Been in a Car Accident?
Car accidents happen every day. You might not have been involved in the traumatic experience, but your friend or family member was. When someone close to you has been in a car crash and suffered injuries and other damages, you’re likely wondering what you can do for them to be supportive.
The good news is that your desire to be helpful and supportive will likely mean more to your hurt family member than your actions. But your actions will also make their healing easier and let them know they have people behind them rooting for their recovery.
Encourage Getting Medical Treatment
After your family member was in an auto wreck, one of the most important things you can do to support them is to encourage them to seek medical evaluation and treatment. They may think they’re not hurt, or they don’t want to go through the hassle of another task by going to get medical help. But they need to be evaluated.
Even if they don’t think they’re hurt, that doesn’t mean they’re fine. They could have injuries from the accident but the pain was masked by adrenaline. Before your family member goes home and settles in after the collision, they should go to the hospital to see a doctor.
Advocating for your loved one’s health will show them you’re here for them and want them to have the best possible outcome from their crash. Seeking medical attention right away ensures they get evaluated and treated as well as getting record of the injuries they suffered directly as a result of the accident.
From there, they’ll be able to feel firmer in their actions moving forward because they’ll know if they suffered injuries, or what to look out for in the following days and weeks. Getting medical care quickly will inform them about what to do if they feel more pain, even after their initial injuries.
Having medical records will help them later if they choose to file a legal claim against the negligent party. Their car accident lawyer will need that information to build their case.
Help With Household Tasks and Chores
Other than encouraging medical attention, the next best thing you can do for a family member who was recently in a car crash is helping them with household tasks. Asking your family member if they need any help could be all they need in terms of help—just knowing someone is there to support them emotionally can sometimes be even more support than physically helping.
But they could also need the physical help as well. So if you’re offering, you need to be prepared to help them in any way possible. Here are some of the things you could do for your loved one who is hurt after a car accident:
- Getting groceries for them and other errands
- Carrying things into their house
- Cooking them lunches and dinners
- Cleaning their house
- Doing their laundry
- Taking care of any pets
- Spending time with them
- Allowing them to talk about the crash
- Listening to their concerns
- Helping them shower if needed
- Keeping up with their medical care
- Driving them to doctor’s appointments
- Assisting them in walking and other movements
- If they have kids, offer to take them for the day or arrange play dates for them
This might seem like a big list. That’s why the best thing to do before jumping in to help is to ask. Make sure you ask your loved one what kind of help they need and what they’re comfortable accepting from you. A simple conversation can help you both maintain boundaries while still showing your full support.
Tell Them to Hire a Lawyer
Your loved one may not realize they have a legal claim to file against the negligent party who caused their car accident. As their support system, you could lovingly tell them that they should seek legal help to file a car accident claim. They could be hesitant at first, but with your help, they could realize they deserve justice.
Filing a claim against the negligent party to get financial compensation isn’t the only benefit of hiring a car accident lawyer, though. Having an attorney on your family member’s side will ensure they have support to know how to speak with insurance companies, what documents are important to keep, and how to handle every step of the process.
Without a lawyer on their side, they likely don’t know how to handle their next steps. When you tell your family member to hire a car accident lawyer to support them, you are making sure they get the full help they need in getting justice.
Our Car Accident Lawyers Are Here for Your Injured Family Member
Corban Gunn, Attorney at Law knows how tragic a car accident can be for a family member. We also understand how that trauma extends to the family and friends of the victim. That’s why we’re here to handle the legal side of things so that your loved one can focus on their physical and emotional healing.
Reach out to our office today so that we can get started on your potential claim. With our help, your loved one can recover the full and fair compensation they deserve for the damages they’ve endured.
