Medical Conditions That Can Cause Car Accidents & How To Find Witnesses To Help Your Personal Injury Case

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According to research, medical reasons are the cause of one in five car accidents. If you or a loved one was involved in a car accident that appeared to be caused by a motorist who had a medical condition that caused them to lose control of their vehicle, you may have a personal injury liability case to pursue. More importantly, a claim or lawsuit against the driver will help to get them off of the roadways so they will not cause another car accident in the future due to their medical condition. 

Here are several types of medical conditions that can cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles, what you can do to ensure your court proceedings result in the loss of their driving privileges, and how to obtain witness accounts of the car accident. 

Medical Conditions That Can Cause Car Accidents 

Car accidents can be caused by the following medical conditions: 

• Seizures. Those who have severe epilepsy are often prohibited from driving motor vehicles. However, epilepsy develops in one in 26 people during their lifetime and certain medical conditions put people at a higher risk of developing epilepsy, such as hypernatremia, malignant hypertension, and previous traumatic brain injury. 
• Sleep disorders. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in 25 drivers reported that they fell asleep at the wheel while driving during the previous month, which is a frightening statistic. Fatigue from sleep disorders is another cause of car accidents. A lack of sleep affects a person's cognitive ability and reduces their ability to appropriately react in an instant. 
• Diabetes mellitus. People with diabetes mellitus are at risk of causing car accidents due to they hypoglycemia they experience when their insulin levels are uncontrolled. Hyperglycemia causes sudden impairment and altered judgement. Sometimes, hyperglycemia can result in a loss of consciousness. 
• Heart attack. A heart attack while driving can also cause a person to lose control of their vehicle, especially if the individual blacks out. A sudden, throbbing pain in the chest can cause someone to grab at their chest, which can cause them to drift into oncoming traffic. 
• Stroke. In a study, researchers found that 16% of people who had a stroke while driving were involved in car accidents. More than likely, the cause of the accidents was due to the altered mental status they experienced from having the stroke. 

If you believe that the person who caused the car accident you were involved in had any of these or other medical conditions, speak with a personal injury lawyer with experience in car accident cases. Your lawyer will be able to request for a complete medical evaluation to be done on the driver who caused the accident. If a medical condition is discovered, the individual's driver's license will likely be medically recalled, which will prevent them from causing additional car accidents in the future. 

Witness Accounts of the Accident Can Bolster Your Case 

Typically, first responders to car accidents can quickly assess whether or not the drivers had a medical condition that resulted in a car accident. However, sometimes witness accounts can be powerful in a courtroom, particularly when they provide detailed information regarding what they saw the drivers doing immediately before the accidents. Hopefully, several witnesses stopped and gave their detailed accounts in written form. If not, your lawyer can contact any witnesses listed in the accident report and ask for their statements. 

Another way to reach out to anyone who witnessed the car accident is to use social media. You can make a public post on your social media account and ask for assistance in finding someone who may have witnessed the accident. Ask your friends and family members to share the post in order to reach more people. Include the contact information to the local police department who responded to the scene of the accident. 

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26 July 2018