Captain Kirk Involved in L.A. Smash-Up

Few details were available after Canadian actor William Shatner, 90, collided with an unidentified woman in Los Angeles.

The incident occurred in Studio City on Ventura Boulevard. Photographs from the scene show moderate to severe damage to both vehicles. Shatner’s SUV had a smashed front end and a deformed front wheel. The other driver’s vehicle was parked on a sidewalk.

Since both parties refused medical treatment, police officers simply supervised information exchange. They did not file a report.

Hidden Car Crash Injuries

Vehicle collisions injure millions of Americans every year. Frequently, these people do not know how badly they are hurt, mostly due to the nature of car crash injuries.

Generally, adrenaline masks pain. This hormone is basically a natural painkiller. Normally, the adrenaline effect doesn’t wear off for several hours. If victims delay treatment that long, their injuries, especially internal injuries, could get much worse.

Additionally, head injuries are one of the most common vehicle collision injuries. The brain usually conceals its own injuries very well. For example, athletes with concussions often ask their coaches to immediately put them back in the game. These individuals honestly “feel fine” and they don’t see the need for treatment.

Prompt treatment alone isn’t always the answer. General practice doctors, like the ones in most hospital emergency rooms, cannot always recognize head injuries. If the victim complains of disorientation and soreness, two common head injury symptoms, practitioners often attribute them to shock from the accident.

Therefore, even if you do not feel hurt, a car crash physician should examine you. That’s especially true if your car is not driveable. A Los Angeles personal injury attorney can connect victims with these physicians, even if the victims have no insurance or money.

Insurance Information Issues

Some states only require insurance information exchanges in limited situations. But the Golden State requires pretty much all drivers to give their information to another motorist upon reasonable request.

Such exchanges are not always good ideas. Scammers are everywhere, and auto insurance summaries include a lot of personal information.

Fortunately, California law is a bit vague on timing issues. There’s no duty to immediately give another driver such information.

If you smell something fishy, give the other party your lawyer’s contact information. Your attorney can handle the matter from there and limit access to your personal information. Additionally, this move gives your attorney the rare opportunity to informally interview the other driver in the immediate wake of an accident.

On a related note, do not talk to a representative from the other driver’s insurance company. Telephone adjusters know how to extract damaging information from car crash victims. That’s especially true since, as mentioned above, many victims have hidden head injuries and aren’t thinking clearly. Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Los Angeles, contact the Law Offices of Eslamboly Hakim. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.