Fatalities Due to Crush Injuries
I’m Ed Smith, a wrongful death lawyer in Sacramento. Crush injuries resulting in deaths occur many times in the United States each year, many of them because of negligence.
Causes of Crush Injuries
The following are some of the significant causes of crush injuries:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents: Rollover accidents are a common cause of crush injuries when the roof of a vehicle collapses. Lack of crashworthiness in a car can be inadequate despite the occupant’s use of seat restraints and working airbags because many cars use minimal safety standards. Passenger vans and SUVs are particularly vulnerable to crushed roofs, which can cause traumatic brain injuries, resulting in the occupant’s death.
- Building Collapse: Buildings sometimes collapse due to weak foundations, using the wrong materials, or employing cost-cutting measures to save money during construction.
- Crowd Size: At public events, the fire department determines the number of people who should be allowed inside at one time to prevent the dangers of overcrowding. When the number of people inside the venue exceeds the safety and panic ensue, people attending the event can end up crushed underfoot or at the exit doors.
- Workplace Accidents: Those who operate heavy machinery or work with machinery inside a building are subject to crush injuries. According to the Bureau of Labor Standards, crush injuries accounted for 82 fatalities in the workplace in 2016. This accounted for 7.3 percent of deaths in the industry reported by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
- Falling Objects: Materials, tools, trees, furniture, and other objects that fall can cause crush injuries to a person standing below, resulting in that individual’s death. More than 100 people die yearly after being crushed by a falling tree. In California in 2016, one woman died, and five others were injured after a large tree fell on them while they were at a photoshoot for a wedding at a park in the suburbs.
Compensation in a Wrongful Death Action
The following damages can be recovered in a wrongful death action by the decedent’s family members. While it does not bring back a beloved family member, it does help with the financial loss so the family can go on more efficiently with their lives.
- Loss of inheritance: This is the amount that beneficiaries would have received in the decedent’s will if the individual lived an average lifespan.
- Future support financially: The monetary amount in this category is calculated using the projected period of employment, education, job training, and earnings.
- Expenses for burial and funeral: The costs for the burial and funeral are reimbursed.
- Household services: Household services are calculated on the personal assistance of the decedent around the home that is no longer available. This includes mowing the lawn, child care, maintenance, landscaping, cooking, laundry, etc.
- Parental care: In addition to child care, parental care includes guidance and training.
- Consortium loss: This compensates the decedent’s spouse for losing their personal relationship.
- Loss of comfort, moral support, companionship, and affection: This is awarded for the loss of the decedent’s emotional and personal guidance and love.
- Punitive damages: If the loved one was killed in a particularly egregious manner, such as a felony homicide, punitive damages might be awarded.
Wrongful Death Lawyer in Sacramento
I’m Ed Smith, a wrongful death lawyer in Sacramento. Losing a loved one to a crush injury is traumatic for the entire family. It is also compounded by the financial loss. If you lost your loved one in this manner, I can offer you compassionate, friendly advice for free. Call me at (916) 921-6400 or on my free line at (800) 404-5400 for help. You can also reach me at AutoAccident.com through my online form.
For over 36 years, I’ve helped Sacramento and Northern California families with their wrongful death claims and other personal injuries, such as traumatic brain injury.
I belong to the Million Dollar Forum, a nationwide group of trial attorneys with one million-dollar client verdicts or settlements.
To review some of our former cases and results, please visit Verdicts and Settlements.
Finding a good lawyer to represent your personal injury case can be helped by seeing what others have said. My reviews are on Google, Yelp, and the legal page Avvo.
Photo Attribution: https://www.pexels.com/photo/american-back-view-burial-cemetery-356842/
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