If you are in a car accident while pregnant, you should see your doctor immediately. The best thing for you to do, regardless of the severity of your accident, is to see your doctor right away. The following are steps you should take after a car accident while pregnant.
Call 911
After any car accident, it is a good idea to call 911 as soon as possible. This will send the police to your accident scene where they will investigate what happened. They will speak with you, the other driver, and any witnesses. They will compile all of this information into an official police report.
While their accident report may not assign fault to the other driver, it will provide a detailed account of how the accident may have happened. This report may prove invaluable to show that you played no part in the accident.
Do Not Refuse Medical Treatment
Calling 911 will also send emergency medical personnel to the accident site. Do not refuse their help. Their job is to make sure you and your baby are okay, and they may insist on taking you to the hospital for further evaluation since you are pregnant.
Let them do what they need to so they can make sure you and your baby are healthy. Depending on the severity of your car accident and any injuries you suffered, you may need to stay overnight at the hospital for evaluation.
See Your Doctor
Once you have been treated at the accident scene or the hospital and released, it is important that you go see your physician and your OB/GYN. These medical professionals will be able to evaluate you after the accident, checking to make sure there is no risk to your pregnancy.
These doctors also know your body better than anyone and have detailed records on your pregnancy. When they evaluate you after the accident, they can compare that to your pre-accident medical records to see how your body has changed and how your injuries have affected your pregnancy. They will then be able to help you chart a path for recovery, keeping your pregnancy front of mind.
Keep Close Tabs on Your Health
After you have seen your OB/GYN, you should still continue to monitor your health, including your pregnancy. The best way to do this is to keep notes on how you are feeling every single day. Do not let anything seem too minor to note. You never know what could become an issue.
Keeping notes on your health and how your pregnancy is progressing is crucial to making sure you get the medical treatment you need to be safe. It may also prove vital to a legal case.
Give Yourself Time
After any car accident, you need to take a breath and calm yourself. Even in the days and weeks after the crash, you must give yourself time to heal, time to relax, and time to care for yourself. It is vital for both you and your baby that you take this time to reduce your stress levels.
Especially if your doctor has given you a clean bill of health and your OB/GYN has determined your pregnancy is not at risk, remember that it is okay to just put your feet up and take a minute to relax.
Speak With a Lawyer
It is understandable that the last thing on your mind after getting into a car accident while pregnant is a legal case. However, it is also vital that you take appropriate legal action against the driver who has caused you harm. To do that, you may need to file a personal injury claim for damages with help from a lawyer.
When you do, you will need to have enough evidence to prove that the other driver was negligent. You will need to show the following:
- The other driver owed you a duty of care to drive safely.
- The other driver breached that duty of care by driving in an unsafe manner.
- The other driver’s breach of duty of care caused your accident.
- You suffered injuries in the accident.
This might seem obvious to you since you were there, you know exactly what happened. However, you will need to prove this through conclusive evidence. That is where having a lawyer advocating for your best interests is beneficial. Your lawyer can investigate your crash, speak with witnesses, and collect the necessary evidence to make your case.
Your lawyer may then try to get you compensation for the following:
- Pain and suffering.
- Emotional distress.
- Lost income.
- Lost earning potential.
- Loss of companionship.
- Loss of life enjoyment.
- Present and future medical expenses.
- Rehabilitation costs.
Thinking about money after your car accident while pregnant may seem unnecessary. However, your injuries could range from minor to severe and even life-threatening. Your medical care, especially because you are pregnant, will likely be expensive. Even for minor injuries, as a pregnant person, your medical treatment will likely be more expensive than someone with similar injuries who is not pregnant.
You may also have to take extended time off work. This will result in further pain to your financial well-being. Your ability to get the compensation you need to get better depends a great deal on how quickly you act. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that evidence will go missing and witnesses will forget what they saw.
Act Fast
After your accident, you have limited time to file a personal injury claim for damages. This is called the statute of limitations, and the clock starts ticking on the date of your accident.
While you may want to wait until you have recovered from your injuries, or at least until you have seen your doctor to make sure all of your injuries are treated, waiting can hurt your case. Not only could witnesses no longer remember what they saw, but your lawyer could be up against a tight deadline, meaning they will not have the time required to fully investigate your case.
The sooner you act, the sooner your lawyer can get to work on your behalf and you can stop worrying about how to cover your medical expenses and other financial losses related to the car accident. Consider everything you may face during this time:
- Extended hospital stays.
- Multiple surgeries or medical procedures.
- Multiple doctor visits.
- Extended time out of work.
- Prescription medication costs.
Above all, you might suffer mental strain and worry over the health of your baby and the outcome of your pregnancy. By reaching out to a lawyer as soon as possible after your car accident, you give yourself and your baby the best chance of making a full financial recovery.
Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyers at McCann Dillon Jaffe & Lamb, LLC Can Help You if You Were in an Accident While Pregnant
Getting into a car accident anytime can be scary. When you are pregnant, it can be extremely traumatic. To help you hold the negligent driver responsible for your accident and injuries and to attempt to collect compensation, speak with one of our Philadelphia car accident lawyers at McCann Dillon Jaffe & Lamb, LLC. Call us at 215-569-8488 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation today. Located in Philadelphia, Abington, Media, Pennsylvania, as well as Wilmington, Delaware, we proudly assist clients throughout the surrounding areas.