New research from the Mayo Clinic has found that 11% of medical interns surveyed admitted to being involved in a car accident while being involved in training. Another 43% of medical interns reported a near-miss. While training to become doctors, medical interns often get inadequate sleep and face extreme stress due to the pressure of their studies. The combined pressure and lack of sleep may mean that interns are getting into accidents caused by fatigued driving and distraction.
What Can be Done to Prevent Car Accidents Caused by Fatigued Driving?
In many cases, medical interns experience fatigue because of a culture of high-pressure and long-hour education. While technically the number of hours that medical interns work could be reduced, since the medical training system has always taken place in this manner there is not much pressure to change. This is despite the fact that fatigue may also contribute to medical mistakes and potentially medical malpractice claims in Miami Lakes and across South Florida. After all, if doctors and medical interns are too tired to drive, they may also be responsible for misdiagnosis and other preventable mistakes because they are too fatigued to place their full focus on their job. Changing the culture would go a long way towards preventing personal injuries caused by medical mistakes and by traffic accidents, some experts agree.
Who is Liable in These Types of Car Accidents in Miami Lakes?
If you have been injured in a car accident or pedestrian accident in Miami Lakes or another community caused by a fatigued driver, who is responsible? In most cases, the other driver will be the at-fault driver, but proving fatigued driving can be difficult. It often requires a personal injury attorney working with a private investigator to find answers. In some cases, if a medical intern caused an accident, the place of work may be held partly liable. If the vehicle of the at-fault had a mechanical defect, the manufacturer of the vehicle may also be held partly liable.
Finding multiple liable parties improves the chances that you will be able to pursue fair compensation after an accident. This in turn can help you pay for medical bills, car repair costs, lost income, and other costs associated with the accident. A good personal injury attorney in Miami Lakes or your community will carefully investigate your accident and will aggressively fight for your rights so that you do not have to pay the often-catastrophic costs of your injuries out of pocket.
If you have been injured in a traffic accident in Miami Lakes or in any South Florida community and you believe that the accident may have been caused by negligence, contact the Flaxman Law Group today. You deserve the facts about your rights and options. The legal team at the Flaxman Law Group legal team have decades of experience helping South Florida personal injury victims. They can discuss the likely total costs of your injuries and your options for next steps, so that you can make a decision about your future from a position of strength.