Car wrecks happen fast. Really fast. Usually you don't have the time to react to avoid the collision and most of the time you don't even know a collision is coming. Even though you have been in wreck, you may not need an attorney to help you pick up the pieces. Depsite what you see on almost every television station and on billboard after billboard all over the highways here in Houston, Galveston and Pearland, every car wreck simply does not need the aid of a Houston Accident Lawyer.

With that in mind, here are six critical mistakes you need to be careful not to make in the immediate minutes, hours and days after your wreck that will simply DESTROY your chance at recovering anything for your injuries and lost wages from missing work.

1. Leaving the scene without making a police report. We see it all the time. A person contacts us through the website or calls the office for help. The story goes like this: "I was in a car accident and it was not my fault. I didn't call the police because [I was late for work, the other person begged me not to, I am afraid of the police]." Call the police to the scene. There is no excuse good enough for not calling the police to the scene. In order to prove you were not at fault you need for the police officer investigating the wreck to come to that conclusion and write it down in a police report. If you are ever in a wreck you must get the police to the scene. If you are reading this and your Houston car accident happened yesterday, go to the police station and fill out a blue report if the police did not respond to the scene of the car accident. The insurance company for the other driver will likely flat out deny the claim if there is no police report.

2. Failing to get the names and contact information of all witnesses. After a wreck all of the people involved are excited, anxious, worried, nervouse and probably injured. The police officer is going to hear different versions of the same event and come to her conclusion as to how the car accident happened and which person is at fault for the car wreck. If you are injured you must tend to those injuries. If you can, you must get the names and contact information for all witnesses and let the police know who these people are! Write this information down and keep it in a safe place so that you can provide that information to the police officer or to a Houston accident attorney.

3. Giving a recorded statement to the insurance adjustor of the other driver. This can be a real case killer. Do not do it. Do not sign anything from the other insurance company either. They will go out and get medical records on you from when you were 18 and claim the injuries you now claim are caused by the wreck are really from some fall when you were a teen. You are under no obligation whatsoever to give a recorded statement to the insurance adjustor that is working on behalf of the insurance company that does not want to properly compensate you for your injuries. The accident report and your medical records and bills will give the insurance adjustor all the information needed to evaluate your claim. At a minimum, spend some time on this webiste reading the information we have made available to you. Request a copy of our FREE book What Every Houston Accident Victim Needs to Know and read it before speaking with any adjustor.

4. Not seeking immediate medical attention for your injuries. If you are really hurt, you should seek medical attention. We hear excuses all the time that involve work, family, and a number of other excuses. If you are injured, you are not going to heal on your own. Get yourself to the emergency room from the accident scene or follow-up with a doctor the very next day. Delaying treatment will only lessen the value of your case and cause you not to get full compensation for your damages and injuries.

5. Failing to tell your doctor all of your injuries and areas of pain. The emergecny room or your doctor's office is not the time to play tough guy or tough woman. You need to fully describe all of your pain, injuries and problems associated with the wreck so that your doctor can properly diagnose you and develop a treatment plan. This one is associated with number 4 above. It will do you no good in the long run to tell your doctor about the pain in your back but not about the pain in your knee because you think the knee pain will go away. Tell your doctor about everything. If the milder pain resolves in a few days, great. But if it doesn't you may not be compensated for that injury if you wait a week to tell your doctor about it.

6. Failing to follow the instructions of your doctor and therapist. Unless you are a doctor, you are not a doctor. The logic of this statement seems self-evident, but so many people try and diagnose and treat themselves by not following doctor's orders to the letter. Do not do this, it will wreck your case. Do what you are told so that you can get better. If you feel like the treatment plan is not correct for you get a second opinion but do not fail to follow your doctor's orders.

You may not need a lawyer, but in all frankness, you really should consult a lawyer to make that decision. At a minimum, read these 6 things that can destroy your Houston accident case and make sure that you use this information as part of the way you deal with the adjustors.