A recent four-year study found that an average of 137,000 emergency room visits, 12,100 hospitalizations, and 1,100 deaths occur in New York State each year due to motor vehicle accidents. While fatality and injury rates have decreased over the last few decades due to better vehicle safety specifications and mandated seat belt use, many hazards still remain on our roadways.
If you have been injured in an auto accident, and it led to medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, a personal injury lawyer can help you secure justified compensation.
Top 4 Causes of Vehicle Accidents
There are many potential reasons for a vehicle collision, but these four contribute to the majority of crashes:
- Distracted Driving: Despite national awareness campaigns and law enforcement crackdowns, this remains the biggest cause of accidents. Texting, checking email and social media, and non-hands-free calls lead to many car crashes each day.
- Speeding: The second-leading cause of crashes in the U.S. is driving at excessive speeds. Speed limits are posted to provide a safe, consistent speed at which vehicles should travel to protect other drivers and pedestrians. When these limits are ignored, the potential danger increases with each mile-per-hour a driver goes over the limit.
- Impaired Driving: In 2016, more than one million drivers were arrested for drunk driving or being under the influence of drugs, and 28 percent of all traffic-related deaths were caused by impaired drivers. This is another problem that continues to plague the roadways, despite ongoing efforts by law enforcement and safety advocates.
- Reckless Driving: This involves actions that display a disregard for the safety of other vehicles. Reckless actions can include driving at excessive speeds, running red lights or stop signs, switching lanes too quickly, passing on a double-yellow line, and failure to yield the right of way.
An experienced personal injury attorney can work with you to assess your accident and determine whether it was caused by a driver’s negligence and if any other factors played a role. Your lawyer can file a lawsuit on your behalf to seek compensation for the difficulties and expenses that resulted from the crash, including any long-term costs, such as physical rehabilitation or lost income from missed work.
Contact a Brooklyn Auto Accident Lawyer
Goldberg Sager & Associates is committed to the pursuit of justice for clients injured in auto accidents. Call our New York City personal injury attorneys at 718-645-6677 for a free consultation. If you are currently hospitalized or unable to leave your home due to injury, we will come to you and help you start on your path toward physical and financial recovery.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/laiza-king-/top-15-causes-of-car-accidents_b_11722196.html
