Colorado Springs Personal Injury Blog
Colorado Car Accident Deaths Impose Hefty Costs
When a car accident kills a loved one, a family’s world is turned upside-down in an instant. Grieving and healing require time and energy, and it can seem like there is no room in your life for anything else. Unfortunately, the financial burdens caused by fatal car accidents are also real and must also be dealt with after a crash.
Colorado residents lose about $623 million due to deadly car accidents each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About $5 million is spent on medical costs, and about $618 million is lost when an injured or deceased person can no longer work and earn wages or other income.
To Protect Yourself in a Colorado Rollover, Understand How Rollover Accidents Work
A rollover accident is one in which a vehicle rolls onto its side and/or roof. In high-speed or particularly severe rollover accidents, a vehicle may even turn over several times before coming to rest. Rollover accidents have a higher fatality rate than other types of crashes, but understanding how a rollover works can help you protect yourself and others in the vehicle, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
About 10,000 people are killed in rollover accidents each year, and thousands more are injured. Although nearly any vehicle may roll in the right circumstances, taller and narrower vehicles are more likely to roll over. In addition, a vehicle that is loaded with cargo over or behind its rear axle is more likely to roll over.
Understanding Colorado Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most serious types of injuries, along with traumatic brain injury (TBI). According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (SCISC), about 12,000 people suffer a first-time spinal cord injury in the United States each year. About 265,000 U.S. residents currently live with spinal cord injuries.
Spinal cord injuries are typically classified into one of two categories: complete and incomplete. A “complete” injury severs the spinal cord, ending all communication between the brain and any body area below the point where the cord was severed. Complete spinal cord injuries typically result in paralysis of one or more limbs and/or loss of function in one or more major organs.
An “incomplete” spinal cord injury damages the spinal cord, but does not completely sever it. A person with an incomplete injury may experience total or partial paralysis, motor function problems, and impaired functioning of organs below the injury site. In both complete and incomplete injuries, damage to the body and loss of functions may be permanent.
In Excessive Colorado Heat, Keep a Close Eye on the Kids
Any excessive heat source can cause injuries. Hot working environments, heat from fires or other heating sources, and especially the hot summer sun can all create a risk of heat exhaustion, heatstroke, burns, and other heat-related injuries and illnesses. Although any person or pet can be hurt by the heat, children are at a special risk for heat harm.
Kids’ developing bodies are still working on effective ways to manage internal temperature. When heat rises, a child’s body may not be able to cool itself as effectively as an adult’s body can. Children also have a much higher ratio of body surface to mass and are generally smaller, meaning their bodies absorb heat more effectively.
Colorado Couple Suffers Injury in Vehicle Accident, Fire
A Colorado couple was injured in a car accident that set their vehicle on fire, but they survived thanks to their seat belts, according to a recent article in the New York Daily News. The pair was commended by the Avon Police Department for their decision to wear seat belts on that fateful day.
The accident occurred as the couple, a 24-year-old and a 26-year-old, was riding in their car near Interstate 70. As they passed under the freeway, a semi truck that had lost control on the road above smashed through the guardrail and fell over the side of the overpass, landing on the couple’s car. The pair was able to pull themselves free of the wreckage and move to safety, although the woman had a severe leg injury that left her temporarily unable to walk. Although both are still processing psychological trauma from the accident, they remain optimistic.
Loveland Boating Accident Claims the Lives of Two Fishermen
Two fishing buffs who headed out onto a Loveland pond for some late-night fishing recently lost their lives in a fatal CO boating accident, according to a recent article from My Windsor Now.
The two men, ages 68 and 37, were related as father- and son-in-law. They went fishing that evening along with a 12-year-old boy, who was grandson and son to the two men, respectively. At some point during the course of their evening, their boat overturned, sending all three fishers into the water. Rescue workers later recovered the bodies of the two adults from the pond, where they had drowned. The boy managed to make it to an island, where he was found by rescue workers and taken to a local hospital for treatment.