Car crashes in Homestead and Florida can be caused by many factors. T-bone accidents can be caused by someone running a red light and distraction can lead to rear-end shunt collisions. Other, less frequent, causes of car crashes are medical issues.
Medical issues can include a sudden heart attack, stroke, allergic reaction, or other medical emergency which can cause a driver to lose control of their car or even lose consciousness. As the car loses control, it can crash into other vehicles, causing a chain reaction collision.
Medical issues can also be less dramatic. In some cases, undiagnosed dementia, sleep apnea, or vision problems can cause a slowly decreasing ability to drive, until finally it leads to a serious collision. In these cases, the symptoms may not be obvious but can still lead to serious injuries.
The treatment for medical conditions, too, can cause problems on the road. Some medications can lead to drowsiness which can be dangerous behind the wheel. Some treatments are physically taxing and can make drivers unable to reliably operate a motor vehicle.
Medically-related car crashes can lead to devastating injuries, including fatalities. They can also cause:
- Crushing injuries
- Whiplash
- Soft tissue injuries
- Brain trauma
- Fractures
- Concussions
- Back injuries
- Trauma
- Facial injuries
One of the biggest risks with medically-related car accidents is that the driver may be unable to mitigate or stop the collision. Someone who is having a heart attack and loses control of the car, for example, may crash through multiple cars and pedestrians and be unable to stop until the car is forcibly stopped by a barrier. This can make the severity of the injuries and the number of injured parties greater than with other types of collisions, where the driver will attempt some last-minute maneuvers to prevent the crash and will stop as soon as possible.
Who Is Liable?
Multiple parties may be liable for a medically-related car collision. In many cases, it is difficult to determine all liable parties without a full investigation, which is why speaking with a Homestead car collision attorney is important immediately following an injury.
While medical incidents such as heart attacks are unpredictable the driver may be liable if they were reckless with their health. If a driver knows they have a serious condition but refuses to treat it or knowingly drives recklessly, knowing he or she is putting others at risk, the driver may be held accountable.
In some cases, misdiagnosis or malpractice may lead to a medical incident. A pharmacist or doctor may prescribe the wrong medication, offer the wrong treatment, or fail to warn drivers about the impact of a condition or treatment on driving. In some cases, drug manufacturers may fail to correctly label or indicate their product may cause drowsiness. Your attorney can work to uncover all liable parties, potentially improving your chances of getting compensation for medical bills, property damage, and other losses.
If you’d like to speak to an attorney, contact Flaxman Law Group at 1-866-352-9626 (1-866-FLAXMAN) for a free accident consultation with a Homestead car collision lawyer. We have offices in Homestead, Hollywood, and Miami so we serve the entire South Florida area and may even be able to come to you if you are too injured to meet in our offices.