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You may have heard various news reports of medical emergencies happening as someone was driving and resulting in catastrophic crashes. But, how serious are these medical emergencies and are they are real danger to drivers? To some degree they should not be any driver’s primary concern unless the medical emergency is happening at that moment. Other things such as texting and driving, or drinking and driving a bigger risk to most drivers on the road.
All the same, most drivers have some concern over how medical health and a medical emergency can impact the roadway. Is it possible that you can have a medical emergency behind-the-wheel? Absolutely, medical emergencies can happen to anyone, which is one of the reasons why medical emergencies and driving aren’t as closely linked as some people think they should be. If you’ve been involved in a wreck, you should contact our Cincinnati car accident attorneys right away.
Heart Attacks and Stroke When Driving
Cardiovascular disease is still the number one reason for death on a global scale. And with so many people on the road, how likely is it that someone could have a heart attack behind the wheel? This is one of those situations where you really don’t need to worry so much. Heart attacks may come on suddenly, but they are not usually immediately debilitating.
Most drivers who experience a heart attack or a stroke while driving are able to pull off the road and stop their vehicle safely. Paramedics typically carry equipment to diagnose or intervene on a heart attack and usually when they respond to vehicles pulled over to the side of the road, this is one of the main issues.
One of the biggest issues that does come up is that stress on the road can result in a heart attack. In fact, a close call with a car accident can boost adrenaline, increase heart rate, and Spike blood pressure resulting in a heart attack.
Seizures and Epileptic Attacks
Seizures are most commonly associated with epilepsy, but epilepsy is not the only physical or mental condition which can result in seizures. Ohio has a really unstructured legal tie to seizures and epileptic attacks behind the wheel. When someone applies for an Ohio driver’s license they report while under oath any pre-existing medical or physical condition which could impair their driving.
Usually, when an applicant reports that they have epilepsy or a physical or mental disability which could result in seizures, they have to undergo a medical evaluation. Then the physician completes the medical form, indicating whether the condition is a present and constant struggle or if it’s relatively dormant. Ohio does not have a stretch of time where someone has to go without seizures before accessing their license. But their license may be provisional or restricted to an annual re-evaluation.
Who’s Responsible After a Crash Caused by Medical Emergency?
When it comes to fault and who was responsible for a crash that involved a medical emergency, fault is not clear-cut. In fact, the person who experienced a medical emergency may not inherently take full fault. For example, if someone was having a heart attack behind the wheel and significantly slowed their speed to pull off to the side of the road, and was struck from behind, they may not be at fault. If the person was following too closely, then they are the ones responsible for the crash, not the person trying to safely get off the road.
Most accidents that involve medical emergencies are actually single-vehicle accidents. Most crashes that happened because of seizures result in the vehicle being driven into a curb, divider wall, or fixed object. On rare occasions, a seizure will happen and result and a vehicle to a vehicle crash and in that case, default would come down to who caused the accident regardless of existing conditions.
Taking Action with a Cincinnati Car Accident Attorney
If medical emergencies lead to the crash which is responsible for your injuries, you might have some mixed emotions about moving forward for compensation. If the medical emergency happened to you, then you might struggle with how to proceed with a crash knowing that you contributed to fault. But experiencing the medical emergency does not mean that you were explicitly at fault.
Additionally, if another person had a medical emergency behind the wheel and caused the crash which led to your injuries, then you might feel uncomfortable about seeking compensation. The fact of the matter is that you need compensation to pay outstanding medical debt and to cover property damage that happened and insurance is there to cover these types of events.
Seek compensation with Young, Reverman, and Mazzei, your local Cincy auto accident attorneys.
