Leesburg accident lawyer discusses a recent article that identifies higher rates of injuries and death from car accidents in pregnant woman.
Without having to do scientific investigation, most of us would think that pregnant woman are at higher risk of injury from car accidents. An article to be published in the November 2013 American Journal of Preventative Medicine looked at the rates of fetal injury in car accident case. The concern in car accident cases has to do with blunt trauma causing injury to the abdominal and pelvic organs.
The article looked at over 800,000 medical files in North Carolina over an 8 year period and determined that car accidents caused a higher incidence of premature birth, placental abruption and premature rupture of the membranes.
Additionally, the article mentioned that stillbirth rates were three times higher for expecting mother’s who were not wearing a seat belt during crashes verses those who were wearing seat belts.
If a fetus were to die as a result of a car accident, could the parents bring a wrongful death action under Florida’s wrongful death statute? No. In 1980, the Florida Supreme Court in Hernandez v. Garwood said that there is no cause of action for the wrongful death of a fetus in Florida. The Wrongful Death Act is unforgiving. Under the law, a “person” does not include the “unborn.”
The best thing we can do is try to drive safely and make sure our seat belts are fully functional. If you have any questions about a Stuart – Port St. Lucie car accident, you can always give me a call or shoot me an email.