The Top 5 Causes of Wrongful Death During the Holiday Season
The holiday season is a joyful but stressful time and it brings some particular injury risks. Some of the factors that lead to increased risk of wrongful death during the holidays are longer hours of darkness, people not handling stress in appropriate ways, and the new products that come in the form of gifts.
If you lost a loved one during the holiday season and you believe that it was caused by the negligence or willful act of another, contact a local wrongful death attorney as soon as possible. The wrongful death lawyer can discuss your legal rights and may be able to help you recover damages so you aren’t left with a financial disaster on top of the pain of losing your loved one.
Top 5 causes of wrongful death during the holiday season
- DUI car accidents
During the holidays, people tend to drink more and that increases the number of drunk drivers on the road. According to the NHTSA, during the New Year’s and Christmas holiday season in 2018, there were 285 drunk-driving-related fatalities. Thousands more are injured in DUI car accidents during the holidays every year.
- Nighttime car crashes
The risk of car accidents increases in the dark and let’s face it, at this time of year it’s dark from the late afternoon well into the next morning. According to the NSC, only about a quarter of the miles driven are driven at night but 50 percent of traffic deaths happen at night. This is because visibility decreases at night, and people are more likely to be tired and drunk at night.
- Medical malpractice
The stress of the holiday season affects medical professionals along with everyone else. Medical malpractice increases during the holiday season as doctors deal with stress, increased alcohol consumption and decreased staffing levels. It may be medical malpractice if a doctor or hospital breaches their duty of care to their patient by acting negligently and that patient is injured as a result.
- Pedestrian accidents
A drunk driver is just as likely to injure people in another vehicle as they are to crash and injure a pedestrian. When you combine long hours of darkness with increased alcohol consumption, the risk of car versus pedestrian accidents goes up. There is also an increased risk of hit and run pedestrian accidents during the holidays because of more drunk drivers (a drunk driver is more likely to flee because they don’t want to be arrested for DUI).
- Defective products
When a product has a manufacturing or design defect or it was improperly marketed, the end-user can end severely injured or even dead. For example, if a product has a major manufacturing defect, it can explode or cause a fire that burns the victim. A faulty car part can cause a fatal car accident. The manufacturer, distributor or seller may be held responsible in a defective product claim, depending on who was negligent along the supply chain.
Seek the help of a Bellingham wrongful death attorney
If you lost a loved one due to a preventable medical error or the reckless/negligent behavior of another, you have enough to deal with. Let an experienced wrongful death attorney fight for justice on your behalf. It is not uncommon to receive a settlement from the insurance company that is five to ten times larger with the help of a wrongful death lawyer. Call the most experienced practicing wrongful death attorneys Bellingham has at Tario & Associates, P.S. today for a FREE consultation! We have been representing grieving family members in Whatcom County, Skagit County, Island County and Snohomish County since 1979. You will pay nothing up front and no attorney fees at all unless we recover damages for you!
