Will Mann

A rental store employee out on a delivery was looking for the address on a busy street. While looking right and looking left, trying to find his delivery location, he was not watching the road. He looked back and there was a car stopped right in front of him. The employee had time to apply the brakes, but he still made slight contact with the vehicle in front of him.

Both drivers pulled to the side of the road and got out to exchange information. The other driver began to immediately complain about pain in her neck. The employee asked her if she needed medical attention and she said, "No." There was hardly any visible damage to either vehicle. What happened?

The rental store put its insurance carrier on notice of the accident and after several failed attempts to contact the driver of the other vehicle, they were contacted by her attorney. The employee was adamant that the impact was not severe and that he just tapped her vehicle. However, the impact felt in a large commercial truck is different than that of a small sedan. The attorney provided medical records that supported his client’s neck injury and the case was settled.

It doesn’t take a lot of speed to cause injury in an auto accident. There are instances where vehicle accidents have been fatal at speeds less than 30mph. If you are unsure where a location is, pull to the side of a road and consult your map, GPS or safely use a phone to contact your destination and ask for directions.

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This item, provided by ARA Insurance, Kansas City, Mo., is the story of a real-life insurance claim involving a rental store and is intended to help readers better understand and manage risk. For more safety and risk management information, customers of ARA Insurance can log on to ReSource. Access is free, so if you haven’t signed up yet, contact your agent or call 800-821-6580.