The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-06
rIRsr AscERTAIr HOW MUCH YOU
 ARE INJURED.
The Woman Traveller Who Has Met With Injury in Accident should Not Be. in Too Great
 Hurry to asettle.p
BY KATHERINE LOUISE SMITH.

8H hAInENHNR LOOASE SMffHs
 (copyright, 1907. by Joseph B. Bowles.)
 The alarming prevalence of railroad accidents in this country has drawn some severe criticisms on our mode of living by foreigners who contend that there is one accident abroad to ten here. Whether this be so or not. the daily papers are filled with ac- counts of accidents either by steam or street cars, and one can sympathize with the old sea captain. who. when congratulated on being safe on land and away from the perils of the sea, replied: Not at all. I feel safe on the sea. There is no danger of some blamed street sign falling On me as walk!''
 Railroad and street car corporations claim to take every precaution, but 1t is noticeable fact that when se- were accident occurs, some representa- tive is apt to call immediately and of- fer to settle, rather than to trust the law to collect damages. As many wo- men do not know what to do under these circumstances. few suggestions regarding accidents when travelling may not come amiss. Many a woman has, in the distress and fright caused by an accident, accepted sum for damages that later on she realized was in no way adequate or commensurate with her fright and injuries.
 A railroad or street car company Is liable for any injury caused by their carelessness or neglect. For this req son when woman Is injured in an accident in the cars or in q public, con- veyance, she should. if she is able, ob- tain the names and addresses of per- sons who were in the accident or saw 1t. If she is not able to do this herself, she should get some one to do 1t for her. The sooner this is dne the better. and an advertisement in the papers stating that the names of all parties who witnessed the accident are desired, will usually bring a number of names, either of persons who were in the &C., cident or saw 1t. It Is astonishing how many witnesses can be discovered for even a trivial matter.
 The railroad or street car corpora tion, on their hand. is not idle. for all companies who carry passengers em- ploy permanently man whose official title is "olaim agent" He looks up , the nature and cause of all accidents, and takes the names and addresses of persons injured, and the witnesses. If this claim agent<is not present he is represented by some ernploye on the train, who does 1t for him. If, after obtaining all the evidence, this claim agent decides that the company can be held for the accident, he endeavors to make a settlement with the injured passengers. It is >at this time that many mistakes are made by women who are anxious to settle, and who do not take precautions on their part to ascertain how much they are injured, or what grounds they have for dam. ages.
 Before accepting any offer or set. clement a woman who is hurt should have physician examine her to find out the real nature of her injuries. how severe they are, and whether tempo. rary or permanent. fasas
 It Is her duty. no matter what the report, to take such steps and treat ment as will lessen the injury as much as possible, but the doctors opinion will settle in her mind whethers she is Justified in Nclaiming damages, and if so, to what extent. Her doctors bill and medicine are added to the damages. if she collects. If the woman discovers she is injured, she should, on no ac- count, accept the offer of the company without first submitting the facts of the accident. the doctors report and the offer of settlement, to some lawyer or business man of experience that she may obtain his Judgment as to the ad- visibility of accepting the same.
 Under no circumstances should she sign any release or any paper at the request of the company until she effects her settlement. The reason for this is apparent. Many people have been known to sign releases of all claim for damages under the impression that they were signing a mere statement of
 he case. Women, In particular, are lpt to be rash about affixing their sig natures to papers, often not reading .hemsto see what the contents are. and sometimes not understanding that the signature is an agreement to stand by the paper.
 In most States when woman con- trihutes to her accident by her own carelessness, she cannot recover dam ages from the company. This is called contributory negligence, but how di- rectly woman is responsible is in many cases a mooted question. Where death results the company is obliged to settle with the executor or adminis- trator of the person killed. This is