Taxi driver ran over my daughter's foot in Adelaide
January 9, 2016 6:56 PM Subscribe
Taxi driver ran over my daughter's foot in Adelaide this morning. She says it's swollen and bruised but not broken. She is not a doctor.
She has to be at the airport in 1.5 hours to fly home to Brisbane, has no travel insurance to reimburse her if she misses her flight, so unlikely to be able to see doctor there before leaving. Police station is 130m from her current location (she is hobbling there now). She reported incidence to cab company who asked if she had reported it to police (which didn't occur to her). She has booking reference number and taxi number. Given that you are not a/my/her/Australian lawyer, what steps should she take now?
She has to be at the airport in 1.5 hours to fly home to Brisbane, has no travel insurance to reimburse her if she misses her flight, so unlikely to be able to see doctor there before leaving. Police station is 130m from her current location (she is hobbling there now). She reported incidence to cab company who asked if she had reported it to police (which didn't occur to her). She has booking reference number and taxi number. Given that you are not a/my/her/Australian lawyer, what steps should she take now?
Response by poster: Suing isn't part of our culture, generally. However, if she has more damage to her foot that she realises, the cab company's insurance should be liable for the treatment. What else might not have occurred to us? If she doesn't report it, and have it checked then that option is ruled out, isn't it?
posted by b33j at 7:29 PM on January 9, 2016
posted by b33j at 7:29 PM on January 9, 2016
This should be covered under the taxi drivers CTP. Here's some info.
posted by kjs4 at 2:37 AM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by kjs4 at 2:37 AM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I handle Bodily Injury auto insurance claims, but for a US insurance company, not Australia. She'll need to see a lawyer for the finer details but there are some minor overlaps I'll point out.
Until she can get to a doctor, she will want to take photos of the injured body part (different angles in clear light) so that she has documentation of the injury in its acute phase. The more time that passes between "the incident" and "documentation (i.e. seeing a physician)" the more mitigating factors the insurance company has against her ("Why didn't you go by ambulance/see a doctor immediately? You were able to make it to your flight but not to see a doctor?" ----- obviously she has VERY valid reasons in her case, but I'm telling you what kind of questions she's likely to face).
And then she needs to see a physician immediately. And a lawyer - a good one. Even if her foot is not fractured, I have seen many "foot run over" cases that have lead to permanent nerve damage with lifelong flare ups. The lawyer will also be able to explain to her how coverage for medical bill payments, vs. a Bodily Injury settlement, work in that part of Australia.
posted by nightrecordings at 7:33 AM on January 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
Until she can get to a doctor, she will want to take photos of the injured body part (different angles in clear light) so that she has documentation of the injury in its acute phase. The more time that passes between "the incident" and "documentation (i.e. seeing a physician)" the more mitigating factors the insurance company has against her ("Why didn't you go by ambulance/see a doctor immediately? You were able to make it to your flight but not to see a doctor?" ----- obviously she has VERY valid reasons in her case, but I'm telling you what kind of questions she's likely to face).
And then she needs to see a physician immediately. And a lawyer - a good one. Even if her foot is not fractured, I have seen many "foot run over" cases that have lead to permanent nerve damage with lifelong flare ups. The lawyer will also be able to explain to her how coverage for medical bill payments, vs. a Bodily Injury settlement, work in that part of Australia.
posted by nightrecordings at 7:33 AM on January 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
Seconding that this is what we have compulsory third party insurance for. There are details on how to claim, time frames and what's required at kjs4's link.
posted by escapepod at 10:52 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by escapepod at 10:52 PM on January 11, 2016
Data point: My (loving, wonderful) dad accidentally ran over my foot when I was a teenager... three times in a row. (He ran over and pinned it, I yelped, he backed up (foot still pinned), I said "you ran over my foot!" he thought i was kidding and said "haha bye" and drove away). My foot was a bit swollen and a bit sore, but I had it x-rayed and nothing was broken; it felt fine within a day or so. I think the tire mooshed around it and spread the car's weight evenly over my sneaker, causing much less damage than I'd have expected. Hope her foot's as lucky.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 11:56 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by pseudostrabismus at 11:56 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
>> Suing isn't part of our culture, generally.
>My law professor told us NSW is the most litigious jurisdiction in the world and personal injury suits are a big part of that. Anecdotal but there you go.
Also anecdotal but I live in NY which has an extremely litigious culture, but I too would respond to that same comment with "suing isn't a part of our culture" implying mine and my daughters personal stance on the topic.
posted by wile e at 4:11 AM on January 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
>My law professor told us NSW is the most litigious jurisdiction in the world and personal injury suits are a big part of that. Anecdotal but there you go.
Also anecdotal but I live in NY which has an extremely litigious culture, but I too would respond to that same comment with "suing isn't a part of our culture" implying mine and my daughters personal stance on the topic.
posted by wile e at 4:11 AM on January 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
« Older Sichuan peppercorns .. not very hot .. so help me... | How likely will I be able to get a continuance on... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by andrewcooke at 7:06 PM on January 9, 2016 [1 favorite]