If you are in a car accident as a pedestrian, on a bicycle, or in another car chances are that when it happens you will be in shock. And when you are in shock your body will produce adrenalin.
Adrenalin is released into our bodies in situations of danger to sharpen our minds. It does not act as a pain killer but it can mask some pain. Occasionally I have had a client in my office who had a car accident but did not obtain the information of the other driver. They don’t bother getting the information because at the time of the accident they don’t think that they are hurt. The shock and adrenalin can mask the pain.
For some bizarre reason I have seen this sometimes when someone has suffered a small bone fracture. At the time of the accident they feel okay but then when the adrenaline wears off and a little time has passed – usually by the next day – the pain is intense and they wind up in the hospital.
This also happens quite often with whiplash type injuries. It’s often not until the next day that the pain starts in the neck or the back.
But here is the problem. If they didn’t get the information of the other driver who can we sue? Who will pay the damages for pain and suffering?
If you own a car and you are involved in an accident that hurt you it sometimes happens that the other car who is at fault flees the scene of the accident. In this case your own insurance will protect you. By law every automobile policy of insurance in Ontario has provisions that protect you in the event that you were injured by an unidentified driver.
But, what happens when you know who the driver was but you didn’t bother to get the information because you didn’t think you were hurt? Your own insurance company has a very good argument that they are not responsible.
So if you are involved in a car accident, even if you feel fine, and even if you don’t think you were hurt, please take the time to get the other driver’s information. Or at the very least get the license plate of the vehicle.