With gas prices steadily rising and no end in sight to the increase in cost, more and more people are switching to electric vehicles to get to and from work. That being said, there are some injuries that are unique to electric cars that you do need to be aware of. For those injured in a car accident, the right lawyer can make a huge difference. Take the time to find the team that is going to fight for you.
How Does an Electric Car Work?
It is always helpful to take a moment to figure out how something works when looking at the different risks associated with it. Electric cars work by using a battery that runs an electric motor that is housed in the car to make it run. The battery must be recharged and only works for a finite amount of time before it has to be charged again. The battery often has a miles estimate that will let the driver know how many miles they can go under the conditions that they typically drive under, before the battery needs to be charged again.
The electric motor does all of the things that the gas motor does in a typical car. You can use a home charger, which most people with electric cars actually use, and you can use chargers that are out in some public areas. The range of the vehicle does depend on the actual vehicle itself as well as things like how old the battery is, how long it was charged the night before, the conditions in which you are driving and the overall size of the vehicle.
There are three different types of electric vehicle. The first is a plug in electric. This is a vehicle that you have to plug in to charge and that runs totally on electricity. This type of vehicle is going to be one that produces zero emissions and that requires that you keep the battery charged in order for it to run. There are no backup fuel types with this vehicle.
Another type is a plug in hybrid. This is one that does have a plug and that can be charged to run off of the electric battery, but that also has a fuel engine that you can use that will act as a back up fuel if the battery does go down. This vehicle only produces emission when they are running off of the fuel not when they are running off of the battery.
The last type of electric vehicle is the hybrid electric. This is a vehicle that has a fuel engine and mainly runs off of the fuel engine, but also have an electric battery that recharges as you drive. This lets the driver switch between electric and fuel as they are driving so that they can determine what they want to use and what is going to work best for you. These cars are not going to be plugged in to recharge, they rely entirely on the vehicle driving to recharge.
Risks That are Unique to Electric Vehicles After an Accident
The first risk, and one that most people think of when they think of an electric vehicle, is a risk of electrocution. Though the risk of electrocution is very small when the vehicle is in operation, there is a nominal risk of shock for those that are responding to an accident. The issue with this is that there are various electrical systems that are at work when an electric vehicle is in operation. This means that when there is an accident and those systems are interrupted, there is a chance that they could produce a live charge and cause shocks to those that are responding to the accident and even to those that are in the vehicle.
The response to this problem for most is a kill switch that is located in most electrical cars that can be switched to help shut the battery and all electrical systems off completely in the event of an accident. This is to help the emergency personnel have some control of the situation and to be able to shut off the battery entirely so that there is virtually no potential for shock and no change that they are going to be injured by the battery and by the electric vehicle.
Another possible issue with electric cars after an accident is the potential for them to be dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists as they are very quiet. These vehicles do not make noise when they operate as a normal fuel engine does. This means that it is going to be dangerous for those that are walking or biking as they may not be warned that there is a vehicle coming up.
To fix this issue, the NHTSA requires that all vehicles that are made after 2019 have to have a warning sound that emits when the vehicle is going under 20 miles per hour. This will help the pedestrians and the bicyclists that are driving with the electric cars are going to be warned that there is a vehicle coming.
Still another issue that you might want to watch for with electric vehicles is that they are prone to fires after the vehicle has wrecked. Lithium Ion batteries, the battery that is used in most electric vehicles, does have a greater potential to catch fire after accidents. We have all heard of the dangers of these batteries in cell phones and other small electronics.
The issue comes when the case or exterior of the battery is compromised and the case is either leaking or exposed to air. This can cause the battery to catch fire and to even explode under the right conditions. These batteries are safe when the vehicle is in motion or when the vehicle is being used, but if the battery case or the battery itself is compromised, it can cause fire and it can cause explosions as well. With those that are with emergency technicians are going to need to be made aware of the fact that it is an electric vehicle so that they can respond appropriately and so that they can pay attention to the vehicle and how it needs to be treated.
Another possible danger is gas leaks or leakage of things like battery acid if there is an accident. Just like there is a danger of gas leaks and fuel leaks with a normal collision, you do have to pay attention to the battery and make sure that if it is leaking, that the battery acids be cleaned up properly and that they are cared for to prevent contamination and prevent issues.
The last thing you might want to worry about with an electric vehicle is that sometimes these batteries do go dead while you are driving and may cause an accident in that manner. These vehicles are not going to stop on a dime when the battery does die, they will give you plenty of warnings and lights to let you know that they are about to die, and they will also start to decelerate so that you can get to the shoulder or so that you can get off of the road.
It is always best to be aware of these issues and to be aware of the fact that if you are in an accident, you are going to have these added issues to deal with if you drive an electric car on top of the other issues that are common with a car accident. It is best to be aware of what you are doing and any possible problems so that you can be safer and so that the emergency responders can be safer as well.
What to Do After a Car Accident?
With a car accident of any type, there are a few things that you can to do to figure out what your next moves are. The first step is to contact the authorities and to get the medical care that you need. You need to be certain that if you are hurt, or if the other driver is hurt, that you are contacting emergency responders and calling 911 to get an ambulance and police on the scene.
If you go to the hospital, make sure you are paying attention to what is being done so that you can get reports if necessary for your attorney after the fact. After you have gotten to the hospital or the doctor, you may need to contact a lawyer. A great injury lawyer is going to be able to help you figure out what sort of a settlement that you might be entitled to and to figure out what you are then going to need to do for the next steps.
If you are dealing with a car accident and with the aftermath, it is always best to take the time to talk to an attorney about what your options are and about what sort of settlement that you might be able to get. An attorney is going to talk with the other lawyers, they are going to talk to the hospital to get the reports of what you had to go through and to get accident reports, and they can also talk to witnesses on your behalf as well.
It is always best if you do have the time to really speak with a lawyer about what you are going to do and about what sort of settlement that you might be able to get. If you are dealing with an accident that involves an electric car you might also be entitled to some compensation from the car manufacturers if you were injured further as a result of the car itself and the battery.
Your lawyer is going to be able to help you navigate the difficult issues that come with any car accident, but especially with those tricky issues that might come with an electric car and the extra dangers that come with them.
What Sort of Settlement Can You Get?
With a car accident that was not your fault, if you live in a fault state, there are some specific types of settlement that you can get to help you recover. The first thing that you can get is the cost of your vehicle and the cost of the repairs to your vehicle. This is going to help you either get your vehicle back on the road, or get a replacement vehicle as well. This means that you are going to be able to recover the cost of your vehicle so that you can get back on the road.
Another thing that you can get with a car accident settlement is the cost of your initial medical bills. These are the bills that are associated with the first visit and with the immediate care that you had to have to get better or to get to the point where you can go home. You can also get the cost of continuing care that is associated with the accident as well. If you do have something like continued doctors visits and you have to go back for other treatment, you can also get that cost cared for.
You can also get the cost of your physical therapy that you need to have paid for. On top of that, you can also get compensation for time off of work, for pain and suffering, and for overalls tress of the wreck itself. With an electric car, you might also have to deal with unique injuries that were caused by the vehicle itself, eve if it was your vehicle that caused the injury.
Your lawyer is going to be able to better help you figure out just what you can ask for, help you figure out what to include with your case, and help you to make the right choices when it comes to the case as it stands and getting the money you need.
What Determines the Settlement?
There are tons of different factors that go into the creation of a settlement and the amount that you can potentially get. The first factor is going to be the cost of the repair or replacement of the vehicle. This is going to help your lawyer figure out what to ask for. Factors like your overall medical cost is going to go into figuring the overall settlement as well. This is going to be the cost of the initial medical bills that you had to pay, the cost of the medical bills of ay continuing care that you had to have that related to the accident, as well as cost of things like any therapy you may have needed. This is going to help your lawyer determine what the overall medical costs are and what to ask for.
Your lawyer might work to help figure out how much time off of work that you had to take that might also factor into the overall settlement as well. The overall severity of the accident may also figure into the total amount of a settlement. If you are working on your own to secure a settlement, you are not going to be as successful as you might be if you did hire a lawyer and work with a lawyer for the overall case.
There are endless benefits to hiring a lawyer to help with your case and to help with your settlement. The first is that they have the ability to fight for you and they are aware of what you need to do and what to add to really help you get the best settlement possible. They are going to be able to help you get the best settlement possible and to really get a great settlement that can help you recover and help you take time off of work to feel better.
With a lawyer you are going to be able to get the best settlement possible, you are going to be able to sit back and rest so that you can focus on getting better and not worry about it, and you can really take the time off that you need. A lawyer is going to fight for you and is going to be on your side so they will help you get a great settlement, they will help you to stop worrying, and to really relax and heal.
Being in an accident is not something that anyone wants to have to deal with. That being said, you are going to have to take time to heal, but with a great lawyer you can sit back and actually heal rather than trying to figure out what your next move is. A lawyer is a wonderful help that can really get you the settlement you need and take the time that you are going to need to recover and to really relax and stop worrying about what you are going to do next.
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