Memphis Elderly Related Accidents

Each state follows its own rules regarding the licensing of elderly drivers. Some states require elderly drivers to renew their licenses more frequently, while others require increased vision testing. Although older drivers have more experience, they may suffer from problems of aging and health that may adversely affect their ability to drive safely. Seniors tend to have more accidents than young people.

If you are in an accident, you may be able to recover damages by proving negligence. It is crucial to get a police officer to the scene whenever there are injuries in a car accident. The police officer can look into whether a driver is on any medications that might have resulted in impaired driving, and they can make sure that the other driver is authorized by a license to be operating a car. You may be able to hold someone who violates licensing rules or other safety laws liable under a theory of negligence per se. This theory applies when there is a violation of a safety regulation or law, and the injuries that arise from the violation are the type that the law was intended to avert.

If you are an elderly person who suffers serious injuries in an accident caused by someone else, you are entitled to recover your full range of damages, even if you are more vulnerable than a young person in the same accident would have been. Under the eggshell plaintiff rule, followed by many states, the defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them. Even if an older person is more vulnerable and suffers more harm from an accident than a young person would have, the at-fault driver may still be responsible for their damages. For example, a fracture might not be a permanent problem for a young driver, but it may incapacitate an elderly person or cause increased health problems of other kinds. When another driver was at fault, they are responsible for paying for the increased medical bills and other losses associated with the increased vulnerability.

Each state follows its own rules regarding comparative negligence. In most states, your damages are at least reduced by your degree of fault, if any. This gives incentives to defendants, their insurance adjusters, and their attorneys to look closely at ways in which you may have been to blame for your own injuries. In the case of an elderly related accident, it is especially likely that an adjuster or defense attorney will look for ways in which an elderly victim was at fault. Therefore, it is critical to retain an attorney to look out for your interests.

Family members of elderly people who know that their elderly relative is not a safe driver should be careful. A family member may be held responsible under a theory of negligent entrustment if they lend a car to an elderly driver who is known to be unsafe or who has serious problems like dementia.