Nothing compares to the risk of losing your life. It is true that the fear of death kills faster than death itself. More people have lost their lives to the panic and scare of accidents.
According to car accidents statistics 2019, “there are nearly 40,000 fatal car accidents per year in the U.S. Each day, more than 90 Americans die in car accidents. On average, 2 million drivers experience a permanent injury every year. Almost 8,000 people are killed in traffic accidents involving drivers aged 16-20. Some 58% of fatal car accidents involve only one vehicle, and 38% are caused by a traffic collision. Each year, more than 1,600 children younger than 15 die in traffic accidents.”
These statistics are life threatening. If you ever survive an accident of any sort, no matter the type or level of injury sustained, there is a lot to be grateful for. If you made it out alive, don’t make an injury the end of your life, below are a few things you can do.
- Access the injury properly
The only thing worse than an untreated injury is an injury wrongly diagnosed and treated. Never assume you know the type of injury sustained. First aid can be administered but proper medical attention must be sort.
Late treatment or diagnosis can also be very dangerous. So you want to be sure that you are getting help as soon as possible. Injury sustained from accidents differs from person to person and from accident to accident. The good news is that the common injuries associated with car accidents all have known causes and symptoms.
Once the injury is properly accessed, the fear of loss of life is drastically reduced, opening up the survivor to treatment and subsequent healing. Seek to understand the level of injury sustained before any other step.
- Consider seeking emotional help
Beyond physical injuries sustained, one common injury following a car accident that seems largely overlooked till a much later time is emotional distress. Many people keep memories of accidents fresh in their hearts so long that this burden begins to lead them into making irrational choices and decisions.
When you are the cause of someone’s injury, it takes a mental toll on you. You may want to go and talk things over with the affected person (s). In doing this, be ready for any actions they decide to take. If speaking with them doesn’t help your emotional healing, seek professional help.
Emotional distress is a serious issue as long as accidents are concerned. Most people drive along with friends or family members. When accidents occur and injuries are sustained, it is capable of leaving emotional scars on victims and those affected.
In severe cases, victims can sustain PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Counselling and treatment in this line should be sort.
- Contact your insurer
It is fair to assume that if you are driving in America, you certainly possess some form of insurance for both your car and your life. Insurance covers are taken up to mitigate the financial loss in cases of loss or damage, as with the case of an accident.
To make your insurance work for you in the case of an accident, especially when you are at fault, never admit responsibility for the accident. Your insurance policy is a contract, and your contract for your insurance with your car insurance company states that you must not assume responsibility or liability under these circumstances. If you expect the insurance company to take care of your claim, let them do the talking.
- What if it was a truck accident?
No form of accident is to be looked down on, effects of any type of accident can be grave. However, The serious injuries caused by a commercial truck accident can wreak havoc on your health, happiness, and livelihood. Although any auto accident can cause significant injury and property loss, the risk of financial and human costs are significantly multiplied when a commercial truck collides with a passenger car.
The right thing to do in this case is to seek safely first. Don’t attempt to be an actor, truck accidents are no movie scenes, seek safety first. Next, find a way to document the accident. Gather your own evidence before the police arrives. When you have this, contact your attorney for next steps and protection from legal actions.
No one prays to find themselves in life threatening situations, but if it has come to you, be grateful you survived. It is not the end of life and you are certainly not hopeless: there are options available to you, use them.
