Auto Accident Injury Update as of:

An Overview of the Legal Issues Attached to Serious Auto Accidents

The people of the United States need their vehicles to get around, to keep a job and to stay on top of their routines. Over the years, automobiles have basically become a way of life for millions of people, and suburbs have been built many miles from working and business centers with the knowledge that suburban residents possessed the vehicles to get to and from their jobs every day.

Unfortunately, this also leads to a serious amount of congestion, and congestion leads to serious auto accidents. More than 200,000 auto accidents occur in the United States every month that lead either to serious injuries or fatalities. Below is an overview of this serious problem and how it relates to the laws that govern these situations.


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United States Serious Auto Accident Statistics
A quick look at the years of 2006 and 2007 show that accidents causing serious injuries and fatalities remain high in number and steady in terms of statistical trend:
2006

2007

While there was a dip in both numbers, each remains shockingly high, especially when one considers the leading causes of serious auto accidents.

Leading Causes of Serious Auto Accidents
Several studies have been done over the years and statistics have been recorded as a result that details the leading causes of serious auto accidents.  These leading causes appear below:

  1. Distracted drivers – There are innumerable distractions that can steal the attention of a driver, and loss of focus for even one second behind the wheel can prove to be deadly.  Some of the most common examples of distracted driver scenarios include:
  1. Driver fatigue – According to the United States National Traffic Safety Administration, fatigued drivers account for approximately 100,000 auto accidents every year.  As one would expect, the risk is at its highest during the night, as this is when tired people tend to either begin to drive or continue to drive well beyond the point where they should take a break. 

  2. Alcohol – Despite the millions of dollars that are spent on marketing campaigns designed to persuade people to stop drinking and driving, it still occurs at alarming rates.  Almost 20,000 people every year are killed in the United States in auto accidents where alcohol is a factor, and that number is sadly holding steady. 

  3. Aggressive driving – We have all seen ‘that’ person on the highway who darts in and out of lanes, cuts people off and basically drives as recklessly as one could imagine.  Even though most forget these drivers as temporary annoyances, the fact is that they do real damage on our roadways. 

  4. Speeding – Speed limits are laws, despite the fact that so many people blatantly disobey them with alarming regularity.  The reasons for higher injury and fatality numbers when speeding is involved are many, but one of the most prominent is a basic matter of physics – it takes much longer for a driver who is going too fast to slow down or correct a mistake than someone who is traveling at a reasonable rate of speed.

  5. Weather and road conditions – When someone thinks of weather-related auto accidents, they tend to consider those parts of the country that feature cold winters and icy roads.  While there are certainly a high number of accidents in those areas, even parts of the country where rain is rare can cause problems when the roads are wet, as they become slippery quickly when water is dumped onto dry pavement.

How to Proceed

The information above should tell anyone that serious auto accidents remain a very large problem in our society, and the leading causes of these accidents can all lead to valid legal claims depending on the facts of the situation at issue.  The law of negligence basically governs bad decisions, and distraction, fatigue, alcohol, aggressive driving and speeding are all examples of bad driving decisions that could lead to serious or even permanent consequences. 

If this has happened to you or someone you love, you need to set your priorities and stick with that list.  First and foremost, you need to focus on your recovery.  For those who are seriously injured, medical care and perhaps physical rehabilitation are encompassing enough without having to deal with the legalities of the aftermath as well.

Therefore, you need to secure the help of a serious auto accident attorney who understands the leading causes of these situations and the general statistics so that you can rest assured that your rights are being enforced and protected.  Contact Parilman & Associates today to schedule a free initial consultation.