When it comes to motor vehicle accidents there are many things that individuals throughout the nation can do to try to reduce the number of crashes that occur. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tips for ways in which state officials might act to keep roads safer.
The first is to study crash and medical data to try to ascertain what causes crashes in each state to occur. Presumably this information would help to prevent collisions in the future. In addition, the information could reveal how much these crashes cost the state.
The second is to make sure law enforcement has a visible presence on the roads, perhaps through the use of sobriety checkpoints. Further, the state should create media campaigns regarding driving safety.
Last, they can take steps to promote:
- Teen driver safety.
- A reduction in drunk driving.
- The use of seat belts, booster seats and car seats.
There is definitely a need for actions such as these to be taken. The CDC indicates that in 2012, more than 2.5 million individuals in the U.S. went to hospital emergency rooms after car crashes. Of those individuals, close to 200,000 spent time in the hospital. Throughout the nation in 2012 the lifetime medical costs for crash injuries was more than $18 billion.
There is a good chance that the medical bills that accrue following and injury producing car accident will be difficult for the person who is hurt, to pay. Accordingly in some situations it makes sense that the victims might seek compensation from the party responsible for the accident via a personal injury lawsuit.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Motor Vehicle Crash Injuries,” Accessed Oct. 10, 2014