It is not uncommon for adults today in the United States to face many dangers to their person, and even common places such as a road, construction site, or factory or even a park may present many hazards to life and limb. Often, drivers on American roads today are impaired, such as if they are driving drunk or distracted with an electronic device, or workers at a construction site or factory may face issues such as a slip and fall case, equipment failure, or negligence on the work site that leads to injury. If someone is injured on American roads or work sites today, due to a driving error, a car crash, or even slip and fall cases, a victim will probably want to, and need to, reach out to an accident lawyer and hire an attorney to represent them in litigation. While 96% of all personal injury cases (including slip and fall) are settled pre-trial, this does not diminish the need for legal representation. A car accident lawyer or construction lawyer can go a long way for their clients in the case of an auto accident or a slip and fall incident.
Accidents At the Workplace
A number of jobs across the United States demand physical labor and proximity to machines, vehicles, or materials that can cause bodily harm, and this is especially common with construction work. What might go wrong? A slip and fall incident may be likely, and even something as simple as that can be a real hazard if a worker falls off the second or third floor of an unfinished building or if they land on a pile of bricks, for example. At a construction site, slip and fall cases may happen if paint or other liquids are spilled and not cleaned up in time, and a worker may step on them and quickly lose their footing. Simple falling is a real hazard since such sites involve buildings that are not yet complete, so walls or windows may not be there to prevent a fall. Other hazards may include getting an arm or leg stuck in a machine or trapped under something heavy, getting hit by a bulldozer whose operator isn’t looking, or breathing in harmful fumes or airborne particle like silica particles or dust.
A construction worker injured due to falls, getting hit, or breathing in some hazardous may consult their crew’s construction lawyer, and/or reach out to a personal injury law firm and hire an attorney to represent them in litigation against whatever party is believed to be responsible for the incident. A worker should find a lawyer whose skills, experience, and personality are to the client’s liking.
The Road
American roads are not always safe. Drunk drivers are often on the highways and city roads, and due to their high BAC, or blood alcohol content, they will not have the judgment, coordination, or reflexes need to avoid hitting pedestrians, property, or other cars. Distracted drivers are also a serious hazard, since they are paying attention to an electronic device rather than the road, so they will be too late to notice such developments as a red traffic light, pedestrians using a crosswalk, or incoming traffic, and this often leads to accidents. Using cell phones while driving is often illegal for this very reason, and police often watch out for distracted drivers. And in some cases, the weather itself will be an issue and raise the odds of a collision. Heavy rain or snow can make the roads slick and greatly lower visibility, and heavy fog can also reduce visibility, making it more likely that a driver will hit a car or a pedestrian, or a motorcyclist.
Like an injured worker, someone injured on the road can look for personal injury law firms and find an attorney to represent them. This may be necessary to handle complications, such as if the at-fault party’s insurance company refuses to cooperate or if there are multiple parties involved where assigning blame and distributing settlement money can be tricky. A client may also want such a lawyer if their injuries prevent them from doing paying work in the future, and this is a complex financial factor best left to a lawyer to figure out.