Today, Americans face a growing issue in today’s society where accidents, whether small or large, are caused by the growing negligence of a population that is either inebriated or distracted. These, of course, are automobile accidents and they occur at an astonishing rate in the United States.
It is a problem that happens whether the time is three o’clock in the morning or three o’clock in the afternoon. It is a problem that happens whether the traffic during the morning commute or during the wee hours of the night, when there are many police cars.
The challenge speaks to a larger issue at stake in American society: When is someone considered responsible for a crime, especially when mental and physical disabilities are in display? Can someone be considered liable if they are clinically considered mentally incapacitated? That is the question facing the ever present challenges in the courts.
A telling scenario may be this. An individual is driving down the road. They are minding their own personal space, staying within the lanes, staying beneath the speed limit, with all their turn blinkers and brake lights working. There’s another individual who is driving a little erratically. They are weaving in and out of lanes. Their blinker is not working.
The safe, correct individual who is driving is alarmed at this sort of behavior. Yes, it’s not entirely out of the ordinary, as individuals drive erratically frequently in America. However, this time the erratic driver is coming up behind them, seemingly unaware that there is another car in the lane.
The safe individual braces for the impact, which happens, and forces both cars off the road. There’s a screech of metal as both hit the guardrail. The safe individual’s head has been bounced against the windshield. There is a crack and a slight mess of blood. She looks behind her to check on the other driver. They are slumped over the car seat.
The erratic driver in this scenario is clearly at fault in terms of a financial and legal sense. A cop will have been called, reports issued out, the other driver possibly arrested for distracted or drunk driving, which are two of the most common reasons for a car accident, as shown in recent statistics over the past few years.
The driver who has been driving safely faces the struggle of healthcare costs, such as an emergency room visit to check for any internal injuries or broken bones. She faces the prospect of being out of a car for a period of time, while her other car is either repaired or replaced. She endures financial and emotional hardship.
In 2015, there were nearly 1.1 million people arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. That year there were an estimated 32,000 motor vehicle crashes in which someone died. And drugs other than alcohol (which causes a great deal of accidents on its own) are involved in approximately 16% of motor vehicle crashes.
A scenario may involve a drunk driver or distracted driver. Their focus is altered to the point that if they cause an accident–any kind of accident–they will be considered liable. The other driver or other drivers involved will then have the opportunity to sue the individual.
This is the case with personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits. Someone is considered negligent and therefore it is possible to sue them for damages, whether financial or emotional.
Seeking out personal injury attorneys is the next logical step for those who have been injured in a car accident and have gone through the financial rigors in the treatment and diagnosis of their injuries that they sustained in the accident. Personal injury law firms have the opportunity to represent the individuals.
A personal injury attorney also works with individuals who have been involved in workplace accidents and have sustained workplace injuries. Workplace injuries take place when a company does not enforce the safety rules or does not give enough education to the employees about the safety rules.
Workplace injuries lessen the stream of income to the employee, putting him or her out of work for an extended period of time. Workplace injuries put the onus on the employer; they are negligent, and as such can be sued for seeking damages.