You have been looking forward to your vacation for months. Although a trip may allow you to escape from the stressors of daily life, certain dangers are often vacation specific. According to Fasig | Brooks, there are a few common types of accidents that happen while people are away from home. They include:
- Car accidents
- Pool and snorkeling accidents
- Slip and falls
- Hiking accidents
- Food poisoning
You are more likely to get into a car accident if you do not know your way around a certain area. If you drive a rental car, you will not be used to driving that particular vehicle.
If you participate in an activity that you are not used to participating in such as hiking, skiing, or swimming, you might injure yourself. Busy restaurants often do not have time to clean or store food properly. Hence, food poisoning is not unheard of in restaurants. You are likely to eat out quite a bit more when you are on vacation.
When you have a car accident you should always call the police, wait for them to arrive, and request a copy of the accident report. You should also get the names of witnesses and take pictures.
If you are injured at a business, whether it is a slip and fall, broken limb, or food poisoning, you should file an accident report and get the company’s insurance information. If you have taken a tour, you should get both the insurance information of the touring company and of the business where the accident took place.
Filing an Insurance Claim
Filing an insurance claim can be more challenging if you are injured on vacation. Different states have different laws pertaining to injuries.
Let’s use an auto accident as an example. There are two kinds of insurance rules in the United States, fault and no-fault. In a no-fault state, a driver’s own insurance company will pay their accident-related bills no matter who caused the collision. In a fault state, the person who caused the accident must pay for its related expenses. You will always go by the rules of the state you are in when you have an accident.
Why You Need a Lawyer
The blame for the accident may not be immediately apparent. For example, if you were injured during a ski lesson, you may have caused your own injury, your instructor may have been incompetent, the ski area may have been unsafe, or the equipment you rented might have been in ill repair.
If you were injured in a foreign country, they may have radically different insurance and lawsuit laws than they would in other countries. A personal injury lawyer can help you figure out who is to blame, who to sue, and how much money would be a fair settlement amount.
Vacations should be fun, but when they are not, you should be able to get a fair insurance settlement, so your life can go back to normal.
