26 Jun 2009

Road accident cases - how to deal with emergencies

Filed under: People and society by Hari
Posted at 08:42:39 IST (last updated: 26 Jun 2009 @ 09:10:04 IST)
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Recently a friend of mine was involved in quite a serious road accident where his car hit a bike and the rider of the bike sustained serious head injuries.

Now causing or at the least, being involved in a serious road accident in which you are not the affected party can attract either civil or criminal liability or both. It's very important that if you're the driver of a car or a bigger vehicle and has caused serious injury or maybe even death to another road-user (and especially to pedestrians or bike riders) on the highway, that you should not try and rush away from the scene of the accident.

This creates a very dangerous situation for the driver and owner of the car (or the bigger vehicle involved) and might be taken as a prima-facie evidence or admission of guilt. Hit-and-run is a sure way to attract severe criminal penalty - at least in India. And when the case involves accidental death, it may even attract a maximum of a 2 years imprisonment (with or without fine) if negligence on the part of the driver is proved (Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code - causing death by negligence). Even if there is no fault on the part of the driver, leaving the scene of the accident at the earliest possible moment is a big mistake.

To be on the absolute safe side, it's very, very important to follow these simple rules which can minimize liability (if any) and go a long way to ensuring that you're on the safe side of the Law. Accident cases can be very disturbing and being the accused in a criminal proceeding can be very unpleasant and stressful to the person or persons involved.

Stop and arrange to take the injured person to a nearby hospital

This is a legal duty! When an accident occurs, don't panic... It is very easy to think about running away and escaping, especially if there are no witnesses. Even without direct witnesses, the police can trace vehicles involved in highway road accidents by the process of elimination - even if it takes a long time. One such way is to get the records of toll collection and police check posts and finding out the registration numbers of which cars passed through around the time and date of the accident in question.

It's extremely important that the question of responsibility or guilt should come second if the person involved in the accident is seriously injured and is losing blood. It is common humanity to arrange for emergency medical care to the injured party as quickly as possible to save a life. If it is absolutely impossible to personally attend, a close trusted friend who will take all responsibility on your behalf should be left behind to attend to the injured. Calling a nearby ambulance service is highly recommended.

Note the name, address, vehicle number and contact details of the injured person(s) and their friends/relatives

This is another step to ensure that you are not caught unawares if the police are investigating the accident and you are not denied the chance to put forward your side of the case or defence in time. If you wait for the police to catch up with you before you admit involvement in the accident, it can create a bad impression.

Noting the names and addresses of the injured party will at least give you a solid piece of evidence that you HAD cared to stop and attend to the injured if the police do eventually arrive and inquire at your doorstep several weeks after the incident.

Keep your temper under control

Even if you do stop voluntarily, you might be tempted to leave when it appears that there will be trouble over the event. Especially on highways, the local townsfolk or villagers will gather together in hostile attitude near the scene of the accident. Tempers might flare up for a short duration, but avoid getting caught in a heated verbal altercation or a scuffle with the local populace.

Even if there appears that there won't be trouble, never take anything for granted. Particularly, don't trust local persons who tell you to leave the scene of the accident or those who try to act as mediators and take money from you promising to discharge you of liability. Your actions might still be taken as hit-and-run when the police ultimately arrive on the scene. Implicating the absent party is not only possible, but highly probable in such scenarios.

Inform the police of the accident and register a counter-complaint if warranted

If you are not at fault or at least there is a chance that the accident has been caused, in part, by the negligence of the other party, filing a counter-complaint at the local police station near where the accident has taken place as soon as possible will give you a better chance of avoiding criminal liability.

Here I'll say one more thing. It's important not to make a deal with the police without getting a written assurance from the other party that they will drop charges if you offer them some kind of monetary compensation. Never take the assurances of the police for granted!

In the less serious accidents, compromise is often possible and indeed desirable from everybody's point of view. But compromises should be made in the proper manner and the police should not be given a chance to take advantage of your absence to establish and file charges. Trying to bribe policemen can be a double-edged weapon and very dangerous! Be very careful in such a situation.

Inform your lawyers immediately

If there is a good chance of getting charged on a criminal offence, it is important to get in touch with a good lawyer as soon as you can and let them know the whole facts of the case. A lawyer can definitely be a help and a support in dealing with the situation and in the worst case scenario, a lawyer will help you wade through the technicalities of criminal proceedings.

If there are regular hearings of the case, you might be able to get the court's permission from having to appear in every single hearing.

That's about it. Being involved in road accidents is never pleasant and is nearly always stressful and panic-inducing. Following these tips will not be easy or natural, but it will save a lot of trouble in the long run.

Disclaimer: Ultimately, I am not a qualified lawyer (yet). I am a law student and I can only state opinions based on my own understanding of law. Consult a legal specialist in road accident cases to be properly and authoritatively advised. The suggestions in this article are purely general and advisory in nature based on my limited knowledge of Indian Law.

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9 comment(s)

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  1. If the driver of bigger vehicle stays there, chances are that public will beat him to death- that is the ground reality in India, which is why lots of people prefer to escape first and then think of anything else.

    Comment by Shrinidhi Hande (visitor) on 26 Jun 2009 @ 10:02:19 IST #
  2. Shrinidhi, I was talking from a legal point of view.

    Escaping and not reporting the accident is a tacit admission of guilt. If there is a crowd or threat of immediate physical danger, the driver should report to a police station in any case within 24 hours and explain the circumstances of the accident in writing and the fact that he could not assist the injured because of the danger posed by the crowd. Otherwise the danger of being prosecuted and being convicted of a crime under the IPC is much greater.

    Staying silent is not recommmended in any case. If physical presence on the accident site becomes impossible because of circumstances, the driver should take a close, trusted friend and a lawyer and report to the police ASAP. Otherwise it will be recorded as a hit-and-run case.

    The big thing here is that being classified as a "hit-and-run" driver is big trouble, especially considering the recent high-profile cases of that nature in India.

    Comment by Hari (blog owner) on 26 Jun 2009 @ 10:40:17 IST #
  3. We have met with similar situation. An old lady tripped and fallen on rear end of the car while she was standing on the divider. We have taken her to hospital. She was admitted there for 2 weeks. All the expenditure was taken care by her son's mediclaim. We have spoken to the family and agreed to give some compensation. But they are not coming to police station and give in writing that they don't have any complaint against us. Also, they are not even filing compliant against us. We are worried..if the old lady dies after some days and the family files criminal case against us...

    Comment by Veena (visitor) on 18 Sep 2009 @ 12:11:32 IST #
  4. Veena, you should get their statement in writing before you gave compensation. Also get in touch with a lawyer who knows the ropes in these cases.

    Also you should have informed the police immediately after the accident or very soon of your admitting the other party into the hospital and the agreement of this settlement when you pay them so that it is recorded officially. Don't give the compensation without consulting a lawyer and getting a written statement from the other party.

    Regardless, if they complain so late, their case will be weakened considerably especially since you had immediately admitted her in hospital and the records will show that clearly it was not a hit-and-run case, but you should not take any chances in this matter. Keep the hospital records handy so that you can prove that you did admit her into the hospital and not run away.

    All my advise is still not enough or sufficient. The best advisor in this situation will be a qualified lawyer.

    Comment by Hari (blog owner) on 18 Sep 2009 @ 13:12:03 IST #
  5. Hi Hari...thank you very much for the reply. When we took her to hospital, traffic police also accompanied us. And we have given a written information to the police station about the incidence and taken receipt also. And we have not given any compensation to him till now. We told him that we will give only when he gives a letter to police stattion to close the issue(as police has received a memo from hospital about the case). Our worry is as the lady is very old....and if she dies after some days, the family should not go and file criminal case against us.

    Comment by Veena (visitor) on 18 Sep 2009 @ 17:00:03 IST #
  6. Well, from what you write, it appears that you have done your legal duty. If they still refuse to accept compensation and you have clear proof/records to indicate that you have done all this, you should not worry any more from a legal point of view.

    Obviously you cannot stop their complaint if they make one, but you will be in a strong position to rebut and disprove their claim.

    Comment by Hari (blog owner) on 18 Sep 2009 @ 18:07:48 IST #
  7. My girlfriend went to leave the house and I got snagged on the mirror and got my foot ran over, she had no idea she did it or what even happened, but a neighbor here me yell and called the cops before I could say anything. Now the state is pressing felony hit and run charges on her, and she did NOTHING wrong. I want her out of jail now!

    Comment by chase (visitor) on 1 Oct 2009 @ 22:30:09 IST #
  8. even i went thorugh such situation where i hit a girl and ran away because the localities over there made me scared and i couldnt help her out to hospital. later next day came to know that she passed away and my car num,ber was published in newspaper and i surrendered. i had been attending court hearings. now they are asking for 12 lakhs as compensation where i cant afford much to give them. what do i do now. i am not from well off family where we can give lumpsum amount. please advice me

    Comment by rahul (visitor) on 6 Jan 2010 @ 10:33:08 IST #
  9. Rahul, yes, it's a tough situation to be in. I am not sure what you can do now except negotiate with the aggrieved party to bring down the amount of compensation.

    But please consult a good lawyer for advise. A hit-and-run is a serious case and you require professional guidance to navigate through the technicalities.

    Comment by Hari (blog owner) on 6 Jan 2010 @ 17:13:17 IST #

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