What Happens if You Get Into a Car Accident With Children?

Have you gotten into a car accident with children in the vehicle?

No one wants to think about getting into a vehicular accident with children in the passenger seat. Yet, sometimes, people make mistakes on the road, and things happen beyond anyone’s control.

So, what do you do when you get into a car accident with children? How do you care for the young people involved while going through the necessary steps of determining fault?

Below, we’ll give you our best advice on navigating car accidents when children are involved. Keep reading to learn more!

What to Do in a Car Accident with Children: Assess the Situation

Have you been in a car accident with children?

As soon as the impact occurs, check to see if you or anyone in your vehicle has been injured. Start with yourself, making sure you can move and are not in any immediate danger.

If you have children in the back, turn around and ask them how they are. See if they have any visible injuries or appear to be in distress. Should anyone have suffered any urgent damage, call 911 immediately and follow the directions of the operator.

At this point, if you see your vehicle smoking or find yourself in a life-threatening situation, vacate your car immediately, helping any children get free as well.

Unless they are in danger, though, you should leave your children where they are in case they have suffered any unseen injuries.

Shield Them from Distressing Situations

Unfortunately, accidents have the ability to cause distressing situations, including brutal injuries and loss of life.

Young children’s brains are very impressionable. To reduce the trauma they deal with afterward, do your best to shield them from any scarring details. Keep them in the vehicle, or if it’s too dangerous to stay in the car, move them to another safe location or ask an adult friend or relative to come to pick your children up and care for them until you have finished what you need to do.

If there are children from the other vehicle and all overage adults in the car have been incapacitated, ask if they have been hurt. Should they be in immediate danger, help the children exit the car safely, move them out of the way of any oncoming traffic, and stay with them until the police arrive. If not, leave them in the car to prevent exacerbating unseen injuries.

Call 911 if they have been hurt.

Offer to let them use your phone to contact a parent, relative, or trusted friend.

When it comes time to exchange insurance information with any other parties or talk to the police, refrain from growing distressed. Staying calm communicates to children that everything will be fine and keeps them calm as well. Whenever a child in car during accident situation occurs, it’s crucial for the adults to remain calm.

Take Them to the Doctor

As soon as possible, take your children to the doctor, even if they don’t report any immediate injuries.

Often, minor injuries, such as whiplash, don’t show symptoms until several days later. If these aren’t properly treated, they may not heal well.

Seek Professional Help

After the accident, consider taking your children to a mental health professional so they have the ability to process what happened. This becomes especially important if the accident was severe.

If you don’t know how to help your children, seek counseling yourself with a professional who specializes in parenting.

Need the help of another professional, such as a lawyer? Click on the link in this sentence to know when to start hiring an attorney.

Want More Advice?

When you are in a car accident with children, you might wonder what to do.

Getting a child involved in a car accident can be a frightening experience. Yet, you can take action to keep them safe and lessen the trauma. By following the advice above, you will be able to help any children in an accident.

Want more life advice? Check out the rest of our articles today!