Someone slams their car into yours; they’re clearly at fault. They could’ve killed you.
So why would you ask if they’re okay? They should be asking you that.
The phenomenon of the person getting hit by the at-fault driver, then asking if that driver is okay, is not as uncommon as you might think.
I know that if I were driving and someone rammed my vehicle, my first inclination is to wonder if they’re drunk or had been texting — two illegal behaviors while operating a motor vehicle.
Or had they taken their eyes off the road to look at a passenger while talking to them?
I’m going to be fuming mad that someone just took out at least half my day and possibly caused extensive damage to my car – and the collision could have a ripple effect lasting a whole week or more, disrupting my plans and interferring with my ability to earn money.
Not to mention that I could have been seriously injured — or killed.
All of that is going to be swirling through my head as I’m unbuckling and getting out my insurance information.
It makes no sense that asking them if they’re okay would be a prime response of mine — or anyone else for that matter.
The “why would you ask” is a very fair question.
Now before you view this approach as coldhearted, and before you chastise me for not considering that the at-fault driver perhaps lost control of their vehicle due to a medical condition – there’s a few things to consider.
This includes the fact that in the vast majority of motor vehicle accidents, a sudden medical event is actually not the cause.
Before I get into those, I want to say that I have not been in a motor vehicle accident.
The reason I’m covering this topic is because over many years, I have proofread several thousand deposition transcripts for personal injury cases relating to motor vehicle collisions.
The court reporter transcribes in steno code everything that’s being spoken in a discovery deposition.
The transcripts, after they’ve been “scoped,” then go to a proofreader, such as myself.
In nearly every case, I’ve gotten the plaintiff’s testimony.
Make It Make Sense
It makes total sense when the driver who believes they may be at fault asks the other if they’re okay.
When someone was obeying the road rules and gets hit, almost always they know that they did nothing wrong.
Sometimes their car goes spinning or gets pushed onto the median.
Sometimes in testimony the plaintiff will describe how, after their car came to a standstill, “I was in shock.”
Some will say they were crying or immediately felt pain in their back or neck.
But then – they get out and ask the clod who hit them, “Are you okay?”
This phenomenon has come up repeatedly in the transcripts I’ve proofread.
Could it be that, at the time of the wreck, the plaintiff thought they themselves were to blame?
Well, this theory doesn’t really hold too much water because in many of these cases, it’s so obvious who’s at fault.
The plaintiff is driving along and obeying the road rules, is alert and sober, is not texting and is paying attention, when BAM, someone suddenly pulls out in front of them or rams into them from behind while the former is stopped at a red light.
In the case I most recently read, the plaintiff was driving along, had the green light, was passing a big truck on their left one lane over, when suddenly, from in front of the truck, a car darts out (from the lane to the left of the truck), smack in the path of the plaintiff.
Turns out that the defendant, “Harry,” had asked the truck driver if he could get ahead of him to make a right turn (which would require turning in front of the truck) at the intersection.
The trucker let him, without realizing or considering that a vehicle was coming up from his (the trucker’s) right side.
Whose fault was this? It goes mostly towards Harry. I think the truck driver also shares a small percentage of blame, but he’s not a defendant.
I read Harry’s testimony, and I might be reading the plaintiff’s soon.
The examining attorney will always ask, “After you got out of your vehicle, did you say anything to the other driver?”
In one case after another, the plaintiff has responded, “I asked him if he was okay.” (or her)
I’ll bet that’s what the plaintiff in this recent case will testify.
It makes no sense, even if at the time, the plaintiff doesn’t feel injured.
Because even if you think your body is made of steel, you still have several hours stolen from you that you won’t get back, not to mention that you know you’ll need to get your car repaired – and all the hassle that will ensue from that – like having no car for up to a week. Or maybe you’re thinking your car was totaled.
These things would be flashing through my mind immediately after impact. I’d be – simply fuming.
What should you say, then?
Insurance companies and personal injury attorneys always tell you that, at the scene of a wreck, you should never behave in a way that suggests you think you’re at fault.
Seems to me that if you ask if the other driver – even if they overtly violated a road rule – if they’re okay or if they’re hurt – it could make you look partly culpable.
You’re not obligated to ask the other driver if they’re okay if you believe you did nothing wrong.
Would it be a nice thing to do, though? Of course.
But then again, the other driver might tell the responding police officer, and eventually their lawyer, that you asked if they were okay – which could then infer guilt on your part.
Insurance reps and PI lawyers also advise to only exchange insurance information, then say nothing more.
Human Nature
It could also be just human nature going overboard when someone whose car was just totaled by a reckless driver will then ask that driver — who appears barely scratched and is fully alert — “are you okay?”
There’s no blood, nothing to indicate serious injury, and thus, the plaintiff has no idea and is compelled to ask if they’re hurt.
But it still doesn’t make sense.
