Summer is here, and while many Minnesotans are excited about the warm weather and the fun activities they have planned this season, we know that we need to stand ready to answer the call when someone needs assistance after an injury. That’s because summer is a prime time for personal injury accidents. You’ll be busy this summer, and we expect to be busy too!
There are a number of reasons why personal injury accidents tend to spike in the summer. Children are off of school, the warm weather brings people outside and it’s a wonderful time to get out on the lake or take the new ATV for a spin. All these factors can make it easier for someone to be negligent and play a role in your injuries. Below, we take a closer look at some of the more common types of summer personal injury accidents we see, and we discuss what you should do if you are injured at some point this summer.
Summer Accidents And Injuries
We see all sorts of personal injury claims throughout the summer season, and oftentimes they involve kids, large gatherings or recreational vehicles. We regularly handle cases like:
- Boating accidents and injuries
- Pool accidents, injuries and near drownings
- ATV and off-road vehicle accidents
- Heat-related accidents and injuries
- Firework injuries
- Pedestrian versus cyclist or pedestrians injuries
- Burn injuries
- Trampoline injuries
- Collapsed deck or patio accidents
- Alcohol-fueled accidents
Know that you’re not automatically eligible for compensation just because you’re involved in one of the above summertime accidents. In order to have a valid claim, someone must be considered at-fault or negligent of your safety. In general, in order for someone to have a valid personal injury claim, the injured individual must prove four elements:
- Someone owed you a duty of care.
- That individual or entity breached that duty of care.
- This breach of duty directly contributed to your injuries.
- You suffered compensable injuries as a result of the breach of care.
Once these have been established, your personal injury attorney will get to work putting a value to your claim. In most instances, they’ll assess the value of economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are expenses that are more easily calculable, like medical expenses, lost wages or other related expenses with a clear economic value. Non-economic factors are a little more challenging to assign value to, which again speak to the importance of having a lawyer by your side throughout the process. They’ll use their industry expertise to set values for non-economic factors like pain, suffering, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life and mental anguish. You probably don’t have much experience assigning value and building a claim to support these non-economic factors, but we do, and we’ll ensure you get what you’re owed.
So if you slip on a wet pool deck, you’re injured by the actions of a drunk boat captain or your child is struck by a vehicle while riding their bike this summer, the single best thing you can do is connect with a personal injury attorney. Let us handle the chaos of building a strong case and filing your claim while you sit back and focus on your health and your family. Summer is hectic enough without trying to juggle a personal injury lawsuit on your own.
Have fun this summer, and try to stay injury free. If you don’t, know that we’re here for you. Give the team at Hey Workers a call today at (844) 439-9675.
