Fatal car and truck accidents that backup the interstate tend to appear on the news more often than we would like to see them; however, a recent study shows that car-related injuries are more likely to occur when the car is parked or to someone who is not in the car at all.
The most common car-related personal injury accidents occur not from crashes on the road but from the simple act of closing the car door. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates almost 150,000 incidents of injuries from closing a car door each year.
The use of a car jack or other lifting mechanism causes approximately 10,000 serious injuries each year. Some of these jack-related accidents are due to a product defect; however, many of these injuries occur from improper use of the lifting mechanism.
Other car-related injuries occur from hyperthermia, electrocution, and other non-crash incidents (over 740,000 injuries). As in the case of jack-related injuries, injuries from electrocution can occur from either malfunctioning equipment or improper use of the vehicle or its components.
Falling vehicles and car parts cause another 74,000 accidents each year.
The NHTSA also looked at what its terms “non-traffic crashes.” These accidents are characterized as back-over crashes and single-vehicle crashes that did not occur on a national highway. Almost 100,000 non-traffic crashes occur, involving accidents on private roads, fender benders and more serious two-car accidents in parking lots and structures, and the striking of pedestrians in driveways.
About a third of non-traffic crash injuries occurred to pedestrians and cyclists, with 14 percent of the injuries resulting from a driver accidentally backing over someone.
If you suffered a car-related injury, whether from a typical car accident or trucking accident, from the negligence of another, or from a product defect, you may be able to recover damages. Contact skilled personal injury lawyers in Scranton, Pennsylvania to learn more about your legal options.