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Statistics show that nearly 80% of all drivers have been involved in at least one accident on the road. In Florida, car wrecks are an unfortunate reality. Everyone knows that if you are involved in one, you’re going to need to document what happened as completely as possible. But what does this exactly entail?

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), at least 95 percent of vehicles built since the start of this century contain what are known as “black boxes.” These devices record important information when a crash occurs—speed, brake usage, maneuvering and more—all of which are data that could prove useful in a accident settlement or personal injury lawsuit.

Florida has what is called parental responsibility laws on the books, which cover the actions of any minors, including driving incidents. However, the other party would have to prove negligence on the part of your teen to be able to prevail in a personal injury lawsuit.

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), the average cost of being injured in a vehicular accident ranges from $29,200 to $101,000 when all costs and losses are factored in, including wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, administrative expenses, motor-vehicle damage, and employers’ uninsured costs.

You hop in your car to set out for work or to meet friends for lunch and suddenly you’re rear-ended or struck in the side by another vehicle. You definitely feel the effects of the blow – your body gets jerked around and maybe an airbag pins you to your seat – but otherwise, you feel no pain, just the shock of what happened.

In this age of social media, many of us feel the urge – if not the need – to share virtually every detail of our lives with others. We do this through posting messages, uploading photos and videos, and interacting with others online, some of whom we may never even meet.

Just going about daily activities, you can be injured unexpectedly and often not because of something you did. For instance, you could be walking down the aisle of a supermarket searching for products when you suddenly slip and fall because of a wet spot on the floor. In another scenario, you could back out of your driveway to go to work, you get on the highway, another car strikes yours, and you end up being thrown back and forth in your seat.

You often hear the terms “fender bender” or “just a scratch” when someone describes a minor car accident they’ve been involved in; however, a scratch or dent on the outside of a vehicle is not always indicative of what happens to the people inside. The impact can cause a violent jerking of the people’s bodies and can result in injuries that are neither minor nor temporary.

Since suffering a childhood injury, you’ve experienced back pain your entire life. When the flare-ups get too intense, you take your prescribed medication.

What you do – and don’t do – at the scene of the accident can go a long way in determining the outcome of your insurance claim or your personal injury lawsuit. Here are some mistakes to avoid.