The pressure of growing a new life adds an intense layer of concern to any situation. Being pregnant does not stop your life. You will still run errands like going to the grocery store, taking your kids to school, and visiting new places. Studies show that up to 200,000 auto crashes involving pregnant women occur each year.
Being involved in a car accident during any stage of pregnancy can be stressful. You could suffer serious injuries, pregnancy complications, or even lose the pregnancy in a miscarriage. The biggest challenge with these accidents is how to cover the costs associated with them while keeping your stress levels low for the child growing in you.
Knowing that you have a right to compensation for the injuries you or your fetus suffer after involvement in an auto accident will give you peace of mind. However, recovering compensation is an uphill task, requiring you to establish liability for the accident and battle insurance companies to secure maximum compensation. While you pursue compensation, you must have expert legal guidance by your side.
An Overview of Car Accidents Involving Pregnant Passengers
When you are involved in an auto accident while pregnant, the stakes are higher. This is because the impact of the crash on your body can cause injuries and sometimes harm your unborn babies. The body has various mechanisms to protect life growing inside you from external conditions. However, when the trauma from the accident is too high, the fetus can suffer other complications, including death.
The impact of an accident on your pregnancy will depend on the stage you are at. As the pregnancy progresses, the risk of severe complications increases. Unfortunately, pregnant passengers are not exempt from driver error and other forms of negligence on the road.
A pregnant woman who suffers an accident and injuries is entered for compensation for their injuries and complications with the fetus resulting from the accident. This is done by finding the liable parties, seeking compensation from the insurance companies, or filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Complications for Pregnant Passengers in Car Accidents
Involvement in a car accident can be physically traumatizing, especially for pregnant passengers. While these moms could still suffer severe and common injuries like broken bones, brain injuries, and cuts, there is an added risk to the life they are creating. Common pregnancy complications in auto accidents include:
Placenta Abruption
This is a condition where the placenta detaches from the uterine wall. The placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to the growing fetus. When the placenta detaches, the baby must be born. While this occurs naturally when the baby is ready, trauma to the mother's belly can cause the placenta to detach prematurely, causing the death of the fetus or premature birth.
Car accidents cause extreme trauma to the victims. If you experience severe vaginal bleeding after an accident, you should seek immediate medical attention to rule out this complication.
Direct Fetal Injury
When there is a forceful impact on your abdomen in a car accident, your baby could suffer a direct injury. This is common in the last trimester and can cause the baby to be born with injuries or physical defects.
Uterine Rupture
A uterine rupture is an injury that could be fatal for the mother and unborn child. This type of complication could occur when you suffer severe trauma from a car collision. Some of the symptoms of uterine tears you should look out for if you are involved in an auto accident while pregnant include:
- The fetus falling out of a normal position
- Vaginal bleeding
- Severe and constant abdominal pains
- Variation in fetal heart rates
Premature Birth
Trauma from an auto accident can send you into early labor, which results in premature birth. A child born prematurely often faces a wide range of complications. Even when the child survives, they may require constant care. This could prevent you from going to work or engaging in other activities. Additionally, spending a lengthy time in the hospital with a premature baby can cost a fortune.
Hypovolemic Shock
This complication occurs when a pregnant woman loses excessive blood. If you suffer multiple injuries in a car accident while pregnant, you can lose a lot of blood, leading to hypovolemic shock. This could cause distress to the fetus and, in extreme cases, cause death for the mother and unborn child.
Some of the symptoms you may have of excessive blood loss include confusion, low blood pressure, low body temperature, and loss of consciousness.
Miscarriage
A traumatic event like a car accident can cause a miscarriage. This occurs when trauma to your abdomen causes you to lose the pregnancy before the 20th week. Since a fetus at this gestational age is not viable, a miscarriage means the baby's death.
Losing your unborn child due to another person’s negligence can be traumatic. In this case, you will be entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the liable parties in the accident.
Steps Pregnant Passengers Can Take After a Car Accident to Protect Their Rights to Compensation
While you have a right to compensation after your accident while pregnant, you must take the right actions. The steps you take following the accident could significantly impact your ability to recover maximum compensation for your injuries. The following are steps you can take to protect your child and your legal rights:
Seek Emergency Medical Care
Whether or not you suffer a physical injury, seeking immediate medical attention after a car accident while pregnant is critical. You can ensure prompt medical care by calling emergency responders. Sometimes, the trauma and shock of the accident could prevent you from experiencing pain or injuries.
Some of the symptoms that could indicate that your unborn baby is in distress include:
- Fever and chills
- Abdominal pain
- Swelling in your extremities
- Difficulty breathing
- Severe headache
- Vaginal bleeding
- Dizziness and loss of consciousness
When you consult a physician, you must inform them of your condition and its occurrences. Your doctor will perform a thorough examination to ensure that your unborn child is safe and that you have not suffered any internal injuries.
This includes comprehensive assessment, obstetric examination and ultrasound. You must notify your regular healthcare provider if a different doctor treats you after your accident. Your doctor may want to perform additional examinations to ensure your safety and that of the unborn child.
In addition to ensuring your well-being, seeking medical attention helps ensure that your injuries are documented and the records can be used as evidence in your compensation claim.
Document the Accident Scene
If you are not severely injured, you should document the accident scene by taking photographs or a video of the scene. This shows each driver's position at the time of the crash and can help police officers write an accident report. If you have visible injuries, you can take photos of them and use the evidence to claim compensation for these injuries.
Seek Legal Guidance
Car accidents have long-lasting consequences. Besides the physical and emotional trauma caused by the collision, the impact of your collision can take a toll on your financial life. Since you have the right to compensation, you must hire and retain a reliable car accident attorney to guide you.
The role of your car accident attorney will include:
- Helping you collect evidence. While you deal with the shock and trauma of the car accident, your lawyer can return to the accident scene and collect more evidence. Additionally, they can subpoena additional evidence, like a police report, for your case.
- Assisting you in proving liability. Before you can receive compensation for the injuries you and your unborn suffered in your car accident, you must prove liability. Your attorney can identify the liable parties and hold them accountable for your injuries and losses.
- Helping you avoid scare tactics. Insurance companies may use scare tactics to coerce you into accepting a settlement for your injuries. Your attorney will ensure you receive maximum compensation by guiding you in the right way to avoid these tactics.
- Offering legal representation. If your claim goes to court, your attorney can represent your best interests by protecting and fighting for your rights to ensure you recover the compensation you deserve.
Filing an Insurance Claim
Most car accident claims are resolved out of court. If you are involved in a permanent accident, you can file an insurance claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company. This could compensate you for your injuries and complications without battling court cases.
Filing an insurance claim involves notifying the insurance company of the accident. An insurance adjuster will be assigned to investigate your case before negotiating a settlement. Insurance adjusters are employees of the insurance company and do not always have your best interests at heart.
Therefore, you should be careful in your interactions with them. The adjuster often works to shift the fault of the accident to you or other parties and lower the liability for the insurance company.
Some of the tips you can use when dealing with insurance adjusters include:
Do Not Admit Fault for the Accident
Although you may still be entitled to compensation when you are partially at fault for an auto accident, you should refuse any involvement with the insurance adjuster. This is because your information can be misconstrued and used to deny you compensation.
Do Not Divulge any Information Without Approval from Your Attorney
You must consult your lawyer before providing any information to the insurance adjusters. This helps you avoid insurance tricks aimed at demeaning your claim.
Avoid Recorded Statements
You are not obligated to provide a recorded statement to the insurer. Instead, you should only answer basic questions without giving your opinion or speculations.
Do Not Comment About Your Injuries
Most insurance companies will contact you before you receive proper medical care. Pregnant women can suffer a wide range of complications after a collision. Therefore, you will need enough time to receive the necessary checkups and treatment to ensure your well-being and that of your unborn child.
When you enter the negotiation phase of your claim, you should avoid accepting the first settlement. Instead, you must ensure that the amount you receive from the insurance company is enough to cover the expenses resulting from the accident.
When you accept a settlement from the insurance company, you cannot recover further compensation. Therefore, if you cannot agree with the insurance company, you can file a personal injury lawsuit.
Pursuing a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Unlike an insurance claim where you can negotiate a settlement, the decision of the amount you can recover for your injuries and pregnancy complications is made by the judge. When you file a lawsuit, the judge will assess the evidence you present and the evidence presented by the defendant. The amount determined by the court will be your final settlement.
Proving Liability in an Accident Claim
Whether you file an insurance claim or pursue a personal injury lawsuit after your accident, proving liability is critical. Establishing liability involves determining the parties responsible for your accident and proving they are accountable for your injuries. Identifying liable parties is done depending on the cause of your accident.
Several factors could contribute to your collision, including:
- Drunk driving
- Distracted driving
- Faulty vehicle parts
- Poor road conditions
- Poor weather and climatic conditions
In California, liability is based on negligence. Therefore, you must prove these elements of negligence before recovering compensation:
- Duty of Care
The duty of care is the standard level of care that each driver or road user must exercise to ensure the safety and well-being of others. For example, all drivers must follow traffic rules and avoid conduct like driving under the influence of drugs. If you are injured in a car accident while pregnant, establishing the duty of care is easy.
- Breach of Duty
It is not enough that a person owes you a duty of care for them to be held liable for your accident and injuries. Your attorney must prove that the defendant breached the duty of care. A breach of duty occurs when a person acts in a way that places you at risk of harm or death. Standard forms of breach of duty include:
- Driving under the influence of alcohol.
- Distracted driving.
- Failure to follow traffic rules.
- Driving vehicles with faulty parts.
- Causation
Another element of negligence that you must prove to establish liability for your injuries is that the defendant’s breach of duty caused your injuries. While the defendant's actions should not be the only cause of your accident, they must be significant.
- The Damages You Suffered
A pregnant woman can suffer a wide range of injuries and complications after a car accident. You can successfully bring a claim or lawsuit by establishing the damages you suffered.
Compensation Benefits for Pregnant Passengers in a Car Accident
If you are successful in your insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit, you can be compensated for:
Medical Expenses
The medical expenses for a pregnant mother after an accident may be higher than for other passengers. This is because the injuries can cause severe pregnancy complications. You will be compensated for these medical expenses in your claim. This could include the costs of medication, treatment procedures, and ongoing care if the child is born prematurely.
Lost Wages
Pregnancy is already a delicate time, which could limit your ability to work. Car accident injuries could put you on bed rest, which prevents you from going to work for weeks or months. Lost wages are the amount you lose from missing work and can be compensated in your lawsuit.
Support for Early Delivery
The challenges that come with having a premature baby can take a toll on your life. When you file an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit after your car accident, you can be compensated for the emotional distress caused by the ordeal.
Wrongful Death
If you suffer a miscarriage or lose your unborn baby after a car accident, you may be entitled to wrongful death benefits.
Find a Reliable Car Accident Lawyer Near Me
A car accident is a terrifying experience, but for pregnant passengers, the stakes are higher. Pregnancy is a fragile and unpredictable time in a woman's life. Although embryos and fetuses are well protected inside the body, excessive pressure resulting from a car accident could have devastating effects. A pregnant mother could suffer complications like fetal injury, miscarriage, placenta abruption, or uterine rupture.
Since most accidents result from negligence from other parties, you may be entitled to compensation if you or your unborn child are injured. Recovering the compensation you deserve requires you to follow the proper steps after an accident and pursue a personal injury lawsuit against the liable parties. This allows you to be compensated for current and future medical expenses, lost wages, or the wrongful death of your unborn child.
At Los Angeles Car Accident Attorney, we offer top-notch legal insight for our clients battling car accident claims. Call us at 424-237-3600 to discuss your claim.
