Even though car fires are not overly common, they still occur. Over the last few years, there has been an increase in news stories related to electric vehicles catching fire, and these stories are usually accompanied by challenges first responders face when putting these fires out. However, electric vehicles are no more likely to catch on fire than internal combustion engine vehicles, and it is important to understand how to handle a car fire if this situation happens to you.
Steps to Take if Your Car Catches Fire
Car fires may not be as common as they were decades ago, but they do still occur. Even though car fires are relatively rare, there is significant documentation of these incidents in many circumstances, particularly incidents that happened to electric vehicles. For example, a 2022 Tesla Model 3 caught fire and completely burned in Newark in September of 2023 after the driver reported hitting an object on the roadway.
The reality is that traditional gasoline-powered cars and electric vehicles can both catch fire, and there are steps individuals can take if they personally experience a car fire. For the purposes of this particular article, we want to discuss the steps you can take after the initial emergency is over. It is unlikely you are reading this article while your car is currently on fire, so we should focus on your next steps.
- Seek medical care. If you or anyone else sustained an injury in the car fire, you need to seek medical treatment before anything else. Prompt medical care can help ensure individuals have a better chance of recovering compensation for a potential personal injury claim.
- Call your insurance carrier. Your vehicle insurance carrier needs to know about the incident. You do not have to go into much detail when you call the insurance carrier to make the report, but you should file the report on the same day the car fire occurs.
- Gather documents related to the car. You should gather any documents related to the vehicle, including the title, lease contract, lien holder paperwork, maintenance records, warranty paperwork, and more. All of this will be valuable when moving forward with any insurance claim or a lawsuit against another party.
- Make a list of property damaged. You should make a list of any personal property damaged. This not only includes the vehicle that will need to be appraised but also anything else you had in the vehicle or outside of the vehicle that sustained damage. This can include computers, phones, houses, other structures, and more.
- Call an attorney. We encourage you to reach out to a skilled Coweta County personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney can conduct a complete investigation into the claim to determine any possible liable party. If the fire was caused by another individual or entity, then they may hold liability. In the event the fire was caused by a vehicle or part defect, this may morph into a product liability claim against a manufacturer.
Do You Need an Attorney After a Car Fire?
Contact our team for a free consultation after car fire caused injuries or property damage. In the event another individual, company, or entity was responsible for causing the fire, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses.