Injury News

Auto accidents are the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of thirty-four. Annually, auto accidents are responsible for over 40,000 deaths. At an average rate of 115 fatalities per day, auto accidents cost a staggering 150 billion dollars yearly. Studies have proven that you are likely to be involved in at least one auto accident in your lifetime.

If you are involved in an auto accident, call the police immediately, even if no one was injured, and file an accident report. Auto accident reports are for insurance purposes to determine fault, so verify that the report is thorough. The auto accident report should include interviews with all involved parties and any witnesses. Photographs and/or diagrams of auto accident scenes are often supplied by the police as well. You can also take pictures of the auto accident, and gather as much information as possible. Get the names and phone numbers of all auto accident witnesses, as well as anyone involved in the accident itself.

Common auto accident injuries include whiplash, head and brain injury, paralysis, and joint, bone, and muscle injuries. Auto accident victims should seek medical attention as soon as possible if they believe they are injured.

Damages sought after auto accidents can include cost of medical treatment, loss of property, and loss of wages.

Too often, property owners neglect the condition of their property and create dangerous and hazardous conditions for others. Whether a property owner allows ice and snow to accumulate on walkways or a grocery store or neglects to clean up a slippery spill in an aisle, these conditions can be extremely dangerous.

If you have been injured as a result of property owner’s neglect, notify the owner or supervisor of the premises of your injury, complete an incident report and keep a copy for yourself. You may be entitled to monetary awards.

In the immediate aftermath of a serious accident or injury, such as a plane/aviation accident, victims are bombarded with paperwork, and critical evidence is destroyed immediately following the disaster.

If you have been injured in an aviation accident, whether it is a plane crash or airline disaster, you may be entitled to monetary awards for your injury.

In many longshoreman accidents, the injured party may bring a claim for benefits beyond longshore benefits, including general damages for pain, suffering, or disability. Circumstances exist where a claim may be brought directly against a vessel owner, an employer, or vessel operator.

The most reported type of boating accidents involved collisions with other vessels, although more than half of the fatalities reported were due to capsizing or falls. In general, inattentive or inexperienced operators, careless or reckless operation, and excessive speed are the leading causes of all boating accidents. Additionally, approximately 80 percent of all boating accident fatalities occurred on vessels where the operator had not received boating safety instruction. Alcohol was involved in 39 percent of all fatal boating accidents.

Under federal regulations, the operator of any recreational vessel must report a boating accident to the U.S. Coast Guard under four circumstances: a person dies; a person is injured and requires medical treatment beyond first aid; damage to the vessel or the other property totals $2,000 or more, or there is complete loss of the vessel; a person disappears from the vessel under circumstances that indicate death or injury. The Coast Guard stated that there were 12,854,054 numbered recreational boats in operation in 2002. Reported boating accidents totaled 5,705 and resulted in 750 fatalities and 4,062 injuries.

Since 1966, over 100,000 motorcyclists have been killed in a motorcycle accident. Lack of seatbelts and outside protection make motorcycle accident victims especially vulnerable to serious injuries. However, those who were wearing helmets during a motorcycle accident have a much higher chance for survival than those who were not.

The most important thing to do if you are involved in a motorcycle accident is to remain calm. If possible, get the contact information of everyone involved in the motorcycle accident. Exchange insurance information, and review the police report if possible. Make sure the details of the motorcycle accident are included: weather, road conditions, number and types of vehicles, and even diagrams of the motorcycle accident can help insurance companies make the correct conclusions as to cause and fault.

The injuries received in motorcycle accidents are generally much more severe than those from regular vehicular accidents. Motorcycle accidents can result in debilitating injuries and even death.

If a motorcycle accident has affected your quality of life, or if a loved one has been severely injured or killed in a motorcycle accident, please click here or submit the form below. You may be entitled to monetary awards for your injury.

Every school day, roughly 440,000 yellow school buses transport more than 24 million students to and from school and school-related activities, accounting for more than 8.8 billion student trips per year.

In the decade between 1991 and 2001, an average of 26 children died each year in school bus accidents, 19 as pedestrians-getting on or off a school bus-and seven as passengers. A small number, albeit tragic, when compared to the average of 800 school-aged children who are killed each year as passengers in other motor vehicles, walking or riding their bicycle during school transportation hours. Half of all school-age pedestrians killed in school bus accidents were between the ages of 5 and 7.

The low number of passenger fatalities could be due to the low speed at which buses usually travel as well as the large size of the bus itself. This size, however, often poses a threat to other motor vehicles sharing the road with the school bus. In fact, of the 1,479 total school bus accident fatalities occurring between 1991 and 2001, 68 percent were occupants of other vehicles involved.

Although school bus accident rates are considerably low, school bus accidents are still devastating for all involved.

A train accident has been defined by the Federal Railroad Administration in a number of different terms. A train accident is a “collision, derailment, and other event involving the operation of on-track equipment.” Train accidents cause “reportable damage above an established threshold” and generally involve collisions. Another form of train accident is derailment. A lesser-known category of train accidents is the occupational illness of railroad employees.

Even with decreasing rail service, in 1999 alone there were over 2,700 train related accidents. Although the vast majority of train accidents are minor, they can also be catastrophic. In 1999, more than 900 people died in train accidents, and many more were injured.