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Car Crash Injuries: What to Do When Symptoms Appear after an Automobile Accident
Commonly, when people are involved in automobile accidents, they inadvertently impair their legal rights by assuming they are not injured and making statements about this belief to police and witnesses. When you immediately tell people there is nothing wrong with you at the time of the accident, these statements can be used against you later on if you discover injuries after the accident and pursue legal action. Sometimes, injuries resulting from accidents display immediately, while others show up days or weeks later when you least expect it.
In 2012, the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration estimated that approximately 2.3 million people suffered injuries as a result of an automobile accident across the United States. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, approximately 28,000 individuals were involved in automobile accidents in Wisconsin in 2012. Many people walk away from accidents feeling happy to be alive. However, when the adrenaline wears off a few hours later, the pain may begin to set in.
Recovering for Personal Injuries When You Are the Victim of a Drunk Driving Accident
Automobile accidents are serious enough when they involve sober drivers. But when an individual gets behind the wheel after a long day or night of drinking, they place their lives and the safety of others in greater danger than necessary. All too often, drunk drivers do not realize the effect and destruction their actions have on the lives and families of those whom they injure. Commonly, as victims of drunk driving accidents often suffer long-term medical and financial expenses.
In many cases, if you are involved in an accident with a drunk driver, it may not be the driver’s first offense or accident related to driving while intoxicated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that drivers with a blood alcohol content (BAC) over .08 percent are six times more likely to have a prior alcohol-related conviction than drivers without alcohol in their systems. According to the CDC, approximately 10,000 people were killed in 2013 as a result of drunk drivers.
Negligence in Automobile Accidents
In mere seconds, the negligent conduct of another can significantly change your life. Accidents come in all shapes and sizes, and some happen in the most unusual of circumstances. In order to recover for any injuries you suffered, you need to prove that the negligent conduct of the other party caused your injuries.
In order to prove negligence, you need to prove that the other party owed you a duty, breached that duty, the breach caused your injury and that you suffered damages as a result of the negligent conduct. Under Wisconsin law, if you contributed to the accident, then you will be deemed to have been comparatively negligent; here, any recovery you are entitled to will be reduced by the percentage of your negligence or completely barred if you are over 51 percent negligent.
Multiple Vehicle Accidents: When the Negligent Act of One Causes Injuries or Death to Many
Recently, two individuals suffered non-life threatening injuries as a result of a three-automobile crash. A motorist driving an SUV rear-ended a motorist driving an Econoline Van, who was attempting to turn, causing the van to hit a pick-up truck. All it takes is for one negligent driver to set in motion a chain of events which results in a multi-vehicle accident. Typically, the more vehicles involved in the accident, the more complex the case will be.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, in 2013 there were over 118,000 automobile accidents resulting in more than 39,000 injuries and approximately 527 deaths. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimated that multiple vehicle accidents accounted for nearly half of the automobile deaths that occurred in Wisconsin during 2013.
The Truth about School Bus Accidents
There are almost a half a million school buses transporting more than 20 million children to and from school in the United States every school day. There are no escaping school bus accidents, given this level of travel, and all school bus accidents have the potential to be tragic, since our children are on them. While the school bus remains the safest mode of transporting children to and from school, in the last five years, there have been over 500 school bus crashes, averaging about 180 school bus injuries or fatalities per year.
School bus accidents occur in several ways. The bus may actually crash into another moving object or stationary object. The bus may hit a pedestrian, or a bus may be hit by another moving vehicle. Children or other occupants may get injured on the bus if the driver slams on the brakes, and many injuries occur while getting on and exiting the bus. Safety measures and public awareness have made school buses safer over the years, but school bus accidents still do occur with regularity.
Deer Collisions on the Rise in Wisconsin
State Farm insurance recently released a study which shows that motorists in Wisconsin are more likely to collide with a deer than motorists in 44 other states. The national average of drivers hitting deer is one out of every 169 drivers, while the Wisconsin average is one out of every 77 drivers.
According to the study, you are 10 percent more likely in 2015 to hit a deer on Wisconsin roads than in 2014, and since October and November are the months with the highest car/deer accident rates, now is a good time to review the steps you should take if you are in an accident involving a deer.
What Should You Do If a Deer Collides with Your Car?
Getting into a collision with a deer can be terrifying, and it is important not to lose your focus if this occurs, no matter how difficult it may be. There are a number of important steps you should take if you are in an accident with a deer. Move Your Car to Safety We understand that if you are in a collision with a deer, you are most likely going to be quite shaken up afterwards. However, according to statistics, most collisions with deer take place early in the morning or at dusk and this is when it is most difficult for other cars to see you on the road. Therefore, the very first thing you should do if you are in an accident with a deer is to move your car safety. If your car will not move, at least move yourself to safety before taking any additional steps. Whether or not your car is safe to drive is another issue, and if it feels in any way compromised (or if your airbag deploys), you should take your car directly to your mechanic (or have it towed, depending on the extent of the damage). Call the Police If you are in an accident with a deer, it is important to call the police. This is true even if your car is not substantially damaged, and especially true if the deer is lying in the middle of the roadway. It is critical to make a report of what happened so that when you make a claim against your insurance company, there is already a police report containing your best recollection of the accident circumstances. If possible, it is also a good time to take photographic evidence of the scene, and if there were any eyewitnesses, try to get their contact information. If You Are Injured, Seek Medical Care Hopefully if you are in a car accident with a deer, you are not injured. Sometimes, however, injuries happen, especially whiplash type injuries from slamming on the brakes. If you think you have been injured in any way, you should go directly the emergency room to be checked over by a medical professional. Do not wait until minor aches and pains get worse – if you have any discomfort or pain after an accident, go to the emergency room. Report the Claim to Your Insurance Company This is the final step in the process, but it is important to be clear about your goals before placing the call, and to understand the insurance policy that covers you also covers accidents in your car. The insurance company always has the goal of minimizing any payments they have to make under the policies they issue, so it is important to be knowledgeable about what your policy covers and does not cover.Conclusion
What Happens When Minors Are Injured in Car Accidents?
The statistics on children aged 14 and younger in car accidents are grim. In 2012 in the United States, there were 33,561 fatalities due to traffic accidents, and children aged 14 and younger accounted for three percent of the fatalities (1,168). There were also 169,000 children aged 14 and under injured in car accidents in 2012, and motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death for children aged 4, 11, 12, 13, and 14. Wisconsin is not immune from these incidents, and many Milwaukee families find themselves unsure as to what to do when their minor child is injured in an accident.
Bringing a Lawsuit
The good news is that you do have recourse if your child sustains injuries in a car accident. A child who is injured because of the negligence of another driver has his or her own cause of action. This allows minors to maintain lawsuits for their injuries, including medical expenses and any other out-of-pocket costs.
Traffic Stops: Were You Pulled over by the Police without Justification?
One of the first questions your criminal defense attorney will ask you when you seek help for an arrest stemming from a traffic stop is why the police pulled you over in the first place. No matter if you have been arrested for drug charges, drunk driving charges, gun charges, or for any other reason, the police must have a constitutionally valid reason to stop you in the first place. If the police did not have a constitutionally valid reason to make the stop, any evidence found can be suppressed, which can often lead to dismissal of your charges.
Recent Legal Developments
The Wisconsin Supreme Court, in an opinion published July 14, 2015, has opined that any time the police have a reasonable suspicion that traffic laws have been or are being violated, then a justifiable traffic stop can be made. In Wisconsin v. Houghton, a police officer pulled a Wisconsin resident over after observing the car he was driving was missing the front license plate, and because there was an air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror and a GPS on the front windshield. The officer then allegedly smelled marijuana as he approached the vehicle, and after searching the car found 240 grams of the substance.
Dealing with Insurance Companies after a Car Accident
You don’t think much about your car insurance company until you have been in a car accident. But, once you have had an accident, you will be dealing with them and any insurance company that insures the other driver, a lot. When the cause of an accident is clear, people often mistakenly think dealing with the insurance companies should not be a big deal.
Does Your Insurance Company Represent You?
The most important thing for you to realize is that no insurance company technically represents you in your car accident case. Even your own car insurance company is looking after their own interests. Insurance companies are for-profit organizations that do not make profits by paying out more than necessary in car accident claims.
Biggest Mistakes People Make in Car Accident Claims
After your car has been towed and you have been to the doctor, comes the part of a car accident most people hate the most - dealing with insurance. While every car accident is different, there are several common mistakes that people make when they have a car accident claim.
Not Doing Your Own Research on Your Car
If your car has been totaled by insurance, you are going to have to figure out the value of your vehicle. Often, the insurance company will do that for you. The mistake many people make is to simply accept the insurance company’s value without doing their own research.
An offer from the insurance company is just an offer. If you can demonstrate your car was worth more than they are offering, you may be able to get more for your car.
