I was involved in a car accident last night and was wondering if the good expat-blog community in Bahrain would have some advice. I was driving along slowly, minding my own business when a car on the opposite carriageway, that was traveling way too fast into a corner, lost control, mounted the median and slammed into the front of my rented Nissan Sunny. I was very lucky on many levels. I saw him lose control of the car and was hard on the brakes before he hit me, had I not been almost at a stop it would have been a lot worse for me. His car hit the passenger side of mine and for that I am thankful, if I had been 5 feet further forward it would have been a lot worse. My car was blown 10m back and up onto the kerbway dividing the two carriageways and the car is a complete write-off. His car is as bad. The air-bag deployed and destroyed my glasses and reddened my face, my neck and shoulders are stiff and sore and I'm wearing a collar because of whiplash. I was able to get out of the car but was dizzy and confused for a time. The police were absolutely brilliant, they were courteous, caring, kind and even had a sense of humor about it when it was realised that everyone involved was okay except for one passenger in the other car who appeared to have broken a leg. It was determined immediately that I was not at fault because there just happened to be some policemen at the next junction attending another accident and they saw the whole thing unfold.
I have had to go to the Hospital to get checked out, I had X-Rays of my neck taken, a visit to an orthopedic specialist and medication for pain and inflammation & as I mentioned, my glasses are ruined and I was wondering what to do next in order to get reimbursed for the costs? So far it's after costing me over 130BD and I have receipts for everything.
What do I do next? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hag:)
Was in a car accident last night, need some advice.
Hi Hag,
Sorry to hear that you were involved in an accident such as this and wish you a speedy recovery.
I hope you get the answers you're looking for as i'm sure it will help a lot of others out there too.
Jaz
Thanks Jazzy, as soon as I have the information I'll post it here so that anyone else who finds themselves in a similar predicament will have some guidance as to what to do. So far it's been a case of waiting, the police report was collected by the rental company this morning and I've been informed that it's not clearly stated that I wasn't at fault, so I'm in for a bit of hassle yet. I'm hoping that it gets cleared up quickly, the form does state that the other party is being prosecuted and I thought that would be enough to prove innocence on my part but no, either way I think it's better to have the documentation clear and unambiguous. I hope to have answers tomorrow. As for the reimbursement of my costs, the other party's insurance should cover it, but it might well be a drawn out process.
Quick Update:
I've been reliably informed (by a local legal eagle) that the rental company should not have collected the police report on the accident. It was incomplete and they jumped the gun. It has not be noted that I required medical attention and incurred costs as a result, it also, as I stated earlier, was not clearly stated that I wasn't at fault. I have to get the report back from the rental company and take it back to the traffic directorate to get it filled out properly which could take an inordinate amount of time and hassle so it's not something I look forward to.
DO NOT LET THE RENTAL COMPANY COLLECT THE ACCIDENT REPORT FROM THE TRAFFIC DIRECTORATE...IT WILL ONLY LENGTHEN THE PROCESS AND CAUSE UNDUE STRESS AND HASSLE. GET TO THE DIRECTORATE BEFORE THEY DO AND MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS RECORDED.
Hey Hag,
Sorry to hear about your accident but relieved to read that you are safe !
It took me time to reply as I took some Internet vacations and was unplugged for a few weeks 
My Bahraini friends are saying that your expenses for medical attention should be covered if they are mentioned in the police report. They also said that for the glasses it's gonna be "complicated" which in good Bahraini language is the euphemism for impossible 
Take care !
Olivier
Thanks Olivier, I have to get to the traffic directorate with my medical report for it to be recorded before the rental company gets it and has their insurance company begin processing it. It's a good thing I wasn't badly hurt, this would otherwise be a complete nightmare. I might just have to bite the bullet on the glasses.
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