A car accident is a terrifying experience. In some instances, you or other other diver are not hurt and can walk away from the accident. However, you may get into an accident in which you are not injured but the other person in your accident is hurt. You may not know what to do, particularly if you do not have a medical background. The following are some things you need to know if this happens to you:
What Should You Do First?
The first thing you need to do is call 911 to ensure medical help is on the way. Never leave the scene, even if you were not the cause of the accident. You can still be held legally liable for leaving an injured person, particularly if the person suffers severe injuries or passes away because he or she did not have immediate medical help. The argument can be that the other person would not have suffered as much had you stayed behind and made sure the ambulance got to the scene.
Should You Provide First Aid?
This is a difficult question because of the different variances in accidents. Typically, you cannot be held liable for not reacting when someone is hurt. For example, if someone was walking past you on the sidewalk and falls down, you do not have to help them up by law. However, the rules are different if you did something to cause the fall.
In this case, if you caused the accident, you need to do something to help the injured party. This includes calling for help, staying with the person until help arrives, and the like. You do not have to physically provide first aid unless you are professionally trained to do so. If you cause further injury trying to help, you could be held liable for those complications.
Are You Liable for Expenses?
Another question you may have is if you will be liable for expenses if you do not render first aid. In general, if you do not provide first aid, you will not be legally responsible for paying for the injured party's expenses. Individuals have legal protections in place to discourage people for not helping if necessary. However, the case will be completely scrutinized to determine whether or not you are at fault for not providing any sort of first aid. The injured person has to provide crystal clear evidence that your failure to provide any first aid caused further injury or otherwise correlates with his or her injuries. This is difficult to prove, but you need to be aware that it can happen.
Contact a car accident attorney for more help.
Share6 February 2019
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