Whether living inside or outside of Ontario, any pregnant female faces more than the usual amount of risk, upon electing to sit behind a car’s steering wheel. Canadian researchers have discovered that the greatest degree of risk arises during the woman’s second trimester. Physicians have suggested 3 factors that could explain that peculiar finding.

Suggested reasons why a pregnant female increases her vulnerability to risks during her second trimester.

• She has become more fatigued.
• Sometimes she feels nauseous; at other times she experiences a strong desire for a particular food.
• She reflects the effects of a larger amount of stress.
• A pregnant woman can avoid the expected effect of such risks by taking certain precautions.

Precautions that a pregnant driver is advised to take:

• Watch for any movement made by another vehicle, a pedestrian or a rider on a bicycle.
• Obey all traffic signs and signals.
• Avoid using a cellphone; avoid engaging in any other form of distraction.
• Wear a seatbelt.
• Be certain that the vehicle’s air bag is ready to inflate, if necessary.
• Move the seat as far from the dashboard as is possible, without diminishing the driver’s ability to remain in control.

The challenge presented to the lawyer

In order to acquire useful evidence, the lawyer must rely on the doctor’s report. A pregnant woman should not take a routine x-ray or CT scan. Possible and anticipated post-accident challenges for the recovering woman. Such women should delay acceptance of any offered settlement until their baby has been born. If the infant has some physical abnormality, that might be linked to the effect of the impact, at the time of the collision.

It may take a while for any obvious symptoms to develop, if the woman driver were affected by the accident. During the early stages of pregnancy, most women experience a bit of discomfort. Still, evidence of a serious problem could develop before the woman’s child was born. If the detected problem could only be corrected with surgery, the use of anesthesia would put the baby at risk. The mother might be forced to have an abortion. The cost, financial and emotional would be included in the damages, for which a lawyer could seek compensation.

If the pregnant driver had been extra cautious, she may have stopped at a yellow light, when the car behind her did not expect her to take that particular action. An injury lawyer in Brampton for the other driver might claim that the bit of extra caution contributed to the accident. Then it would be up to the women’s attorney to show that, while sitting behind the steering wheel, she had every right to exercise a greater than normal level of caution.