Featured Posts
- Urgent Hospital Readmissions are Avoidable in Nearly One out of Five Cases
- Medical Malpractice Risk Perception at Odds with the Reality
- Patients Need to Act Promptly in a Medical Mapractice Case
- Long-Term Care and Nursing Home Legislation Mandates Health Care and Prohibits Neglect and Abuse
- Recent Study Finds Doctors Unrevealing About Treatment Options
- Higher Standards in Hospital Policies
- Whither Medical Malpractice Compensation
-
Recent Posts
- Chronic Pain Injury Compensation
- Patient Ombudsman of Ontario A New Complaint Process
- Recent Medical Malpractice Case Shows What Can Happen When You Don’t Have A Lawyer
- Medical Malpractice Law Firms Owe a Duty of Loyalty
- Misdiagnosis of Cancer Cases Amount to 1 in 10 Settlements
- Medical Error Caused by Prevalent and Pervasive Surgeon Fatigue
- Medical Malpractice Claims Studied for Litigation Rate
- Rate of Prescribing Errors in General Practice Revealed
- Pathology Errors Continue at Windsor Hospitals
- Misdiagnosed Patient
- Consequences of Bariatric Surgery Malpractice
- Measures of Hospital Safety are Incomplete
- Wrong Level Spine Surgery
- Medical Negligence Claims Shown to Improve Patient Safety
- Nine Types of Pharmacist Negligence
- Twelve Hospital Negligence Errors
- A Survival Guide to Obstetrical Malpractice for 2012 at the Mount Sinai Hospital
- Failure to Diagnose Cancer Cases Explained
- Urgent Hospital Readmissions are Avoidable in Nearly One out of Five Cases
- Medical Malpractice Risk Perception at Odds with the Reality
- Teaching Medical Malpractice Advocacy at the University of Toronto
- Medical Device Approval Process Is Defective
- Medical Errors Continue to Harm Patients According to a New Study
- Urological Medical Malpractice
- Lung Cancer and Medical Malpractice
- Wrong Site Surgery Increases After the Introduction of the Universal Protocol
- Practical Car Accident Tips
- Patients Need to Act Promptly in a Medical Mapractice Case
- Sudbury Regional Hospital Emergency Department Performance Worsening
- Long-Term Care and Nursing Home Legislation Mandates Health Care and Prohibits Neglect and Abuse
- Surgeons and Referring Physicians are Responsible for Wrong Site and Patient Procedures
- Recent Study Finds Doctors Unrevealing About Treatment Options
- Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Require Expert Opinion Evidence before Trial
- Gastric Banding Concerns for Teenagers
- Cataracts Lead to Diagnostic Errors
- Drug Side Effect Reporting
- The Elderly Continue to be at Risk from Anti-Psychotic Medication
- Champix Safety Brought into Question
- Surgeons Can Do More to Reduce the Risk of Infection
- Never Events Responsible for Every Sixth Claim
- Chelation Study Suspended
- Joint Commission Alert: Prevent Blood Thinner Deaths and Overdoses: Anticoagulant therapy linked to high rate of errors
- Antibiotic use in pregnancy linked to cerebral palsy
- Canada’s health care fares poorly when compared to Western Europe
- The Vulnerable Hurt by Caps on Medical Malpractice Claims
- Vaccine Risk Declarations and Nurses
- Loss of Chance in the Medical Case Alive in Massachusetts
- Higher Standards in Hospital Policies
- Drug Safety
- Promotion of Patient’s Rights of Regulatory Concern
Ways To Connect
Categories
Practical Car Accident Tips
Introduction
No one wants to be in a motor car accident but once you are you need to follow certain procedures to protect your legal position. Here we will give you the pointers necessary to guide you through the trials of what can be a disheartening experience. Please remember that these pointers are for information only. You should always seek legal advice directly from a lawyer who is aware of the entire fact situation.
Record all contact information
It is essential that you obtain all the contact information of the persons involved in the car accident. Almost everyone is aware of the need to obtain this information form the drivers involved in the accident. In the case of a driver it is also important to obtain the information relating to their driving license and automobile insurance liability policy.
However you should not stop there. It is important if at all possible to obtain the contact information of any witnesses to the accident. Often they will not want to wait at the scene of the accident so they should be the first priority. It is also important to note the description and number of passengers in the vehicles involved even if you are not able to obtain their names and addresses. It is also prudent to ask any tow truck drivers who attend the scene for their names as they may be able to supply useful information relating to conversations at the scene.
Report the accident
Notify the police immediately. This should be done with a cellphone at the scene. In most instances this is required by law. If you fall within an exception you will nevertheless receive instructions and direction as to what you must do. You should avoid moving the involved vehicles until the police have arrived at the scene.
Notify your own insurer as soon as possible. This will preserve your rights as typically the insurance policy or legislation will require you to act within a certain time. If fault for the accident is disputed then having your insurer involved from the outset will allow them to investigate the accident fully. If you have concerns that the responsibility for the accident will be disputed then inform the insurer so that it is aware precautions may be taken. The insurer’s resources are greater than yours and you will want to get them working on the caseĀ at the outset. At some point you will be required to meet with yoru insurer’s representative to give a statement.
Memorialize the accident
While at the scene take photographs or video of the vehicles before they are moved. This will preserve details of the location of the vehicles after the impact and the damage sustained. These can be important pieces of information to help in accident reconstruction if required. Most cellphones today have the capability to take pictures and so they should be used as these photographs will be better than none at all.
As soon as possible after leaving the scene notes should be made that record the details of all conversations with involved parties as well as relevant observations relating to weather, driving conditions and the conduct and behaviour of involved persons.
Self help
If you have been injured then you will need both medical and legal help.
If you have been hurt and emergency medical services have arrived at the scene you should speak to them and inform them of how you are feeling. Do not refuse their help. The paramedics have both training and experience beyond the ordinary person. They can assess your situation and give you the best advice as to what you should do according to proven protocol. This can include transport to a hospital even of only as a precautionary measure.
If you do not realize that you have been hurt or injured until later then it is important to obtain medical assessment and treatment either form your doctor or hospital emergency services as soon as possible. The most important reason to do this is to obtain treatment to minimize the impact of any injuries you have received on your activities. Another reason to do this is to preserve proof of the causal connection between the accident and your injury.
Once you have been assessed medically then you should see your lawyer so that you can comply with any applicable deadlines that must be met to preserve your rights and assert your claims. For more information about the services car accident lawyers can provide please visit our automobile accident litigation page.