If you get into a car accident, then the possessions you have in your car are likely the last thing that’s on your mind. However, when the time comes that you realize you’re missing certain things, you might wonder what happened to them after the accident. These might be things like your purse, your wallet, or your smartphone, even just a jacket or coat.
In severe accidents, you’ll have to get your car towed. If the accident proves serious enough to make an ambulance trip necessary, then your car might get towed once you’re on the way to the emergency room. Typically, the police responding to the scene of the accident are the ones to call a towing company who will remove your car and then store it for you.
Even if you don’t get seriously injured, your car might have taken damage like that to the heavy duty DC-DC electronic parts. The towing company might still be a necessity if you’re not able to drive your car safely following an accident. In cases like these, just remember to remove your valuable possessions from the vehicle before it physically leaves your sight. That will prevent a lot of headaches later on.
Emergency staff typically don’t go through vehicles for valuables. It’s a matter of professional integrity, as well as just not having time given their line of work. Any possessions of yours that are left inside the vehicle will just get towed away with it. Towing companies are legally obligated to keep those possessions with the vehicle, although if the vehicle can’t be secured any longer, they might inventory them for safekeeping indoors to return to you. They aren’t permitted at all to remove your possessions permanently.
Once you get out of the hospital, you’re free to reclaim your vehicle. However, you might face towing and storage fees. In many cases, anyone who was just involved in a bad accident can’t afford such fees immediately. As such, those drivers or passengers might ask to get their possessions out of a vehicle while they get enough money together for paying fees.
Unfortunately, there are quite a few horror stories where towing companies steal items or even just refuse people access to their vehicles. This isn’t permitted under the law. You have the legal right to have access to your vehicle, even if you’re not removing it from the towing yard or lot. You can also inspect your vehicle before it goes in for car crash repair. Another right you have is obtaining any personal property which isn’t physically attached to the vehicle. So, the wallet and phone sitting in the cupholder are free to come with you, as is the firearm you might have in the glove compartment. However, the high-end stereo you had installed or the fancy rims have to stay.
You’ll only have so long to pay towing and storage fees to get your vehicle either back or to a garage that can fix it up and look into metal springs manufacturers for proper repair. In cases like bad accidents such as these, though, some cars are totaled and the owners just don’t want them back. If this is the case, the towing company will try and sell what’s left of the vehicle to recover their fees. If they are successful and make more back, you get the difference. On the other hand, if they come up short, you’re still going to owe the difference.
