The unfortunate truth is that in the course of everyday life, many Americans get injured, and sometimes these injuries can be serious. Often, drivers on the road will get into collisions with one another or property, or a drunk driver may strike a pedestrian. Other times, construction or factory workers may get injured on the job, and they may seek out an attorney, such as a construction lawyer, to represent them. Anyone who suffers an injury may search for local personal injury lawyers to represent them in litigation, or even court if it comes to that. Good personal injury lawyers will have a soothing personality and use the law to help guide their client toward getting the settlement that they want. Personal injury law firms might be found in nearly any metropolitan area, and a person may have many choices among personal injury lawyers. What is there to know about injury on the road or at a construction site?
Injuries on the Road and Workplace
American roads and highways are not always safe, and impaired drivers or bad weather can make collisions more likely. It is estimated that about six million car crashes take place across the United States per year, and this results in nearly three million injury cases. Often, it is drunk drivers who are hitting other vehicles or pedestrians. A driver whose BAC, or blood alcohol content, is 0.08% or higher is legally driving drunk, and this can be deadly. These drivers have compromised coordination, reflexes, and judgment, and they are likely to strike pedestrians or other cars. In fact, merely driving with a BAC at or above 0.08% is illegal, whether or not a crash occurs. More than 300,000 Americans will drive drunk every day, but fewer than 40,000 arrests may be done. Police can spot a drunk driver by their erratic driving, but there are likely many more drunk drivers out there than police officers to arrest them.
Distracted drivers, meanwhile, are preoccupied with handheld electronic devices such as cell phones, and they may run red lights or stop signs or strike other cars and pedestrians. These drivers will not see an obstacle until it is too late, and that can be deadly. And what is more, bad weather can make collisions more likely, even if no one in that scenario is drunk or distracted. Heavy snow or rain may make the roads slick and also limit visibility.
Some jobs are certainly more hazardous than others, and construction workers face many threats on the job. Workers may get hit or run over by construction vehicles, or heavy loads might drop on them. Workers might get arms or legs trapped in machines, or they may inhale dangerous fumes or silicate particles. Lung-based injuries are in fact fairly common in the construction industry. These injured workers may search for personal injury lawyers, or specialized construction law attorneys to represent them in litigation. The American construction industry is enormous, but so are the court cases for injury on the work site.
Finding Personal Injury Lawyers
After an accident, a victim is strongly urged to find and use a lawyer to represent them in litigation, rather than represent themselves. Why? A victim will probably have limited expertise with relevant law, and they will be in an emotionally charged and subjective state. A victim’s injury may limit their paying work options in the future, and this is a complicated financial matter to handle. For these reasons and more, personal injury lawyers should be hired to represent the client. These lawyers will have not only expertise and experience with relevant law, but they will have a clear-headed and objective view on the matter.
A client may look for personal injury lawyers by researching personal injury law firms in their area, and some firms may specialize in car accidents or workplace accidents. The client may then visit and get consultations with the attorneys there (this may or may not incur a fee), and hire a lawyer whose experience, skills, and personality are to their liking. Together, they can build a case and pursue settlement money in litigation. The lawyer can also handle complications such as an insurance company that refuses to cooperate.