Road Traffic Accidents

Head injuries are often caused by road traffic collisions. Here are a few simple pointers to think about after an incident to help you or a person close to you cope with the aftermath. There may be legal issues where the incident was caused by the fault of another person.

• Getting medical help is always the top priority. If you did not receive immediate medical treatment in hospital, make sure that you visit your doctor or clinic to ensure that you get checked out, and receive the right medical advice.
• If you are told that you may have suffered from a head injury, ask if the doctor or hospital can provide you with further information about what a head injury means for you. You may be given a head injury observation sheet for when you leave hospital, for things to look out for and report to the doctor if problems arise.
• Check your insurance policies, or ask someone close to you to check on your behalf. You might qualify for financial or other support for example under a health or medical insurance policy, legal expenses cover or an income protection scheme. Strict time limits often apply so don’t leave this too long!
• When you feel well enough, seek legal advice. You may not feel up to it, in which case it may be possible for you to ask a close relative or friend who you trust to make enquiries on your behalf. It is generally much better to seek advice sooner rather than later from a specialist solicitor- it will help any investigations proceed more smoothly and quickly.
• If you can, try and get the details of the other driver(s) involved in the collision and their insurance company. Your solicitor will need to know this in order to start making enquiries for you. If the police were called to the incident, they should have the details even if you don’t already know them.
• Keep notes of who you have contact with and what they do. You may not feel up to this, and someone might be able to do this for you. After an accident, you might have contact with lots of different people and it is useful to have their names and numbers listed, for example police officers, therapists, your insurance company and solicitors.
• If possible, it’s a good idea to keep a diary. Again, you may not be well enough and someone else might help with this – recording details of appointments and making short notes on your progress.
• If you suffer from ongoing symptoms, ask about where you might get further care or rehabilitation. Your doctor may be able to refer you to a specialist head injury service as an out patient. You might need to contact your local social services if you think that you will need regular help with daily care or activities. If you have contact with a solicitor, they should be able to help you with this too.
• Certain charities and other organisations produce excellent fact-sheets and guides on different aspects of head and brain injury. For example, Headway – the Brain Injury Association produce helpful information sheets on a wide range of topics such as returning to driving and returning to work after head injury. Most major brain injury support groups/ charities have helpline numbers and websites (see our Support Groups page on finding further help).
• There may be local head injury support groups in your area that you or your family could visit or get involved with. More information can be found on our Support Groups page.
• You might be worried about your finances. If you have appointed a solicitor, or have contact with a social worker, talk to them about your worries, they may be able to point you in the right direction. In certain cases you might qualify for state benefits because of your injuries – learn about interim payments that may be available.