Slip and fall accidents as well as trip and fall accidents are general terms for premise liability where a person slip, trip and falls from a property owned by another resulting in injuries.
There are a lot of factors that could cause injuries from a slip, trip and fall accidents. The usual cause in malls and public areas are slippery floors due to puddles of water or slippery substance left lying on the floor for a long time without warning signs.
Another common cause of slip and fall are slippery stairs which sometimes are coupled with code violations like absence of handrails and below standard construction of steps and rise of the stairs.
For public properties however such as walkways, the usual cause of slip, trip and fall accidents are uneven floor elevations, cracks and holes on walkways and poor maintenance also of the roads and walkways causing injuries to the public.
If you are injured as a result of slip, trip and fall accident, you are entitled to damages from the owner of the property. However, it would be much better if you are not hurt in the first place. It is better if you do not have to go to court to file suit for damages. Similarly, it is better not to be humiliated by falling on your bottom or flat on your face in plain sight of a lot of people.
How do you beat slip, trip and fall accidents? Be careful where you are walking and watch your steps. Prevention is much better than the claim and cure you need to face as a result of the accident.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Duty of Utmost Care for Passengers
Due to the worsening traffic congestion especially in California streets and highways, a lot of people are turning more and more to public transport as their central means of transportation.
People are now learning to be more economical. Instead of spending a lot in gasoline and car maintenance, they turn to rapid transit and public transportation to reach their destinations. Actually, public transport is less stressful since you are just sitting down waiting to arrive at your destination instead of stuck in traffic waiting for the snail paced traffic to move.
Unfortunately, California bus accidents are also increasing in number. There are different causes of a bus accident from bus driver negligence, negligence of other motorists or pedestrian, poor maintenance of buses and defective products to weather and road conditions.
A public or private transport owes you, its passenger, the duty of utmost care to make sure that you are made safe and secure from the time that you get in the public transport until you are delivered to your destinations. This duty of care is higher than the bus company’s duty to other motorists or pedestrians.
Hence, if you are injured as a result of a bus accident, you have a big chance that you are entitled to damages. Unless, the bus company can prove that they did everything to prevent or avoid the accident, then you have a great chance of claiming just and reasonable compensation for your injuries and damages.
People are now learning to be more economical. Instead of spending a lot in gasoline and car maintenance, they turn to rapid transit and public transportation to reach their destinations. Actually, public transport is less stressful since you are just sitting down waiting to arrive at your destination instead of stuck in traffic waiting for the snail paced traffic to move.
Unfortunately, California bus accidents are also increasing in number. There are different causes of a bus accident from bus driver negligence, negligence of other motorists or pedestrian, poor maintenance of buses and defective products to weather and road conditions.
A public or private transport owes you, its passenger, the duty of utmost care to make sure that you are made safe and secure from the time that you get in the public transport until you are delivered to your destinations. This duty of care is higher than the bus company’s duty to other motorists or pedestrians.
Hence, if you are injured as a result of a bus accident, you have a big chance that you are entitled to damages. Unless, the bus company can prove that they did everything to prevent or avoid the accident, then you have a great chance of claiming just and reasonable compensation for your injuries and damages.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Car Safety for Our Young Ones
Tens of thousands of children ride in cars or school buses to go to school everyday. Sometimes a lot of parents through one reason or another prefer to carpool than let their kids ride in school buses.
Whether going to school, or to a relative’s house to visit or even just to travel and have fun, kids need special protection when riding inside a car.
It is true that all cars nowadays have seatbelts even at the backseats of the cars. However, for children ages 12 and below, just wearing seatbelts are not enough.
First, if your child is 12 or below, don’t let them ride in front of the car. Always strap them at the back. Accidents, however hard we try to avoid them, sometimes happen. A child who is sitting in front in an accident can easily get badly hurt if the child’s head hits a hard object like the dashboard of the car.
Also, although most cars have airbags that deploy after an impact as a result of accident, these things are not that helpful to a young one. Airbags are designed to protect adults or individuals with bigger size or built and not young ones. Although airbags have saved a lot of adults in an accident, these airbags account also for a number of injuries in children when deployed due to impact.
Even with seatbelts fastened at the back, children’s seatbelts should be adjusted to conform to their built or size otherwise it could even strangle them in case of an accident.
For young tots however, booster sits may be need. This also allows the young one to be securely fastened to the seat to avoid sudden jerks or pulls when your car is hit by another vehicle.
Put the above safety tips in mind and drive safely.
Whether going to school, or to a relative’s house to visit or even just to travel and have fun, kids need special protection when riding inside a car.
It is true that all cars nowadays have seatbelts even at the backseats of the cars. However, for children ages 12 and below, just wearing seatbelts are not enough.
First, if your child is 12 or below, don’t let them ride in front of the car. Always strap them at the back. Accidents, however hard we try to avoid them, sometimes happen. A child who is sitting in front in an accident can easily get badly hurt if the child’s head hits a hard object like the dashboard of the car.
Also, although most cars have airbags that deploy after an impact as a result of accident, these things are not that helpful to a young one. Airbags are designed to protect adults or individuals with bigger size or built and not young ones. Although airbags have saved a lot of adults in an accident, these airbags account also for a number of injuries in children when deployed due to impact.
Even with seatbelts fastened at the back, children’s seatbelts should be adjusted to conform to their built or size otherwise it could even strangle them in case of an accident.
For young tots however, booster sits may be need. This also allows the young one to be securely fastened to the seat to avoid sudden jerks or pulls when your car is hit by another vehicle.
Put the above safety tips in mind and drive safely.
School Bus Warning Signs
School bus transports hundreds of thousands of grade school children throughout the United States. In California alone, school buses abound with the growing number of schools in the state.
With the growing number of school buses there is no wonder why there are also a growing number of school bus accidents. Sometimes, school bus accidents are not caused by the negligence of the school bus driver or the poor maintenance on these transport buses.
Often times, accidents are caused by vehicles who stick so close to the school buses while on the road. Remember, you must not be in a hurry to pass by a school bus because children might be going down or walking past the school bus to go to their respective schools.
School buses, especially nowadays are equipped with additional safety features like seat belts even for the rear passengers of the bus. However, without going into details of these new safety equipments, a car driver must be knowledgeable with even the basic warnings and signs printed and posted around the school bus. A simple understanding of these warnings could save a child’s life.
For example, a flashing yellow light means that the school bus is about to stop and load or unload passengers. The cars beside or behind needs to slow down and get ready to stop. When the red light flashes, on the other hand, this means that the school bus is already at a stop and children may be already getting on or out of the bus. This means that the motorists must halt, otherwise they might unwittingly hit a child who is running down the bus or hurrying to get in it.
With the growing number of school buses there is no wonder why there are also a growing number of school bus accidents. Sometimes, school bus accidents are not caused by the negligence of the school bus driver or the poor maintenance on these transport buses.
Often times, accidents are caused by vehicles who stick so close to the school buses while on the road. Remember, you must not be in a hurry to pass by a school bus because children might be going down or walking past the school bus to go to their respective schools.
School buses, especially nowadays are equipped with additional safety features like seat belts even for the rear passengers of the bus. However, without going into details of these new safety equipments, a car driver must be knowledgeable with even the basic warnings and signs printed and posted around the school bus. A simple understanding of these warnings could save a child’s life.
For example, a flashing yellow light means that the school bus is about to stop and load or unload passengers. The cars beside or behind needs to slow down and get ready to stop. When the red light flashes, on the other hand, this means that the school bus is already at a stop and children may be already getting on or out of the bus. This means that the motorists must halt, otherwise they might unwittingly hit a child who is running down the bus or hurrying to get in it.
Friday, June 22, 2007
To Tow Or Not To Tow
Nobody wants to get into an accident but sometimes it just can’t be prevented. Accidents do happen on the road especially in California where traffic is heavy due to the ratio of people and vehicles in the state.
If you are ever involved in an accident, there are a lot of “how to” help tips that you can get in order to instruct you on what to do and what not to do immediately after an accident. Usually, after an accident, you are told not to leave the scene. You are told to call the police as well as paramedics if there are injured persons involved. Aside from this, you are advised to get all the information you can get from the other person involved in the accident like: name, license, registration, insurance information and even witnesses.
However, after the police arrive, taking your statements and the witnesses also if there are any, what do you do then? What do you do if your car is not drivable? Do you ask the police department to tow it? Do you call a towing service to remove your wreckage from the street?
The first thing you should do is call your insurance company. They usually have tow service that could take your vehicle to accredited machine shops. If this doesn’t work, you can ask a tow service to take your vehicle to the nearest car repair shop. However, this will entail you costs for towing and it will take you a longer time to collect from the insurance if the repair shop is not one where they are accustomed to dealing with.
Last resort should be calling the police for towing service. The authorities can tow your car but usually they will take it to the impounding station. You will have to pay towing and warehousing fees for this until you get it towed out of the impound lot.
Remember, get your car towed only if you are sure that the car is not drivable. This will help you save a lot of money and frustration in the end.
If you are ever involved in an accident, there are a lot of “how to” help tips that you can get in order to instruct you on what to do and what not to do immediately after an accident. Usually, after an accident, you are told not to leave the scene. You are told to call the police as well as paramedics if there are injured persons involved. Aside from this, you are advised to get all the information you can get from the other person involved in the accident like: name, license, registration, insurance information and even witnesses.
However, after the police arrive, taking your statements and the witnesses also if there are any, what do you do then? What do you do if your car is not drivable? Do you ask the police department to tow it? Do you call a towing service to remove your wreckage from the street?
The first thing you should do is call your insurance company. They usually have tow service that could take your vehicle to accredited machine shops. If this doesn’t work, you can ask a tow service to take your vehicle to the nearest car repair shop. However, this will entail you costs for towing and it will take you a longer time to collect from the insurance if the repair shop is not one where they are accustomed to dealing with.
Last resort should be calling the police for towing service. The authorities can tow your car but usually they will take it to the impounding station. You will have to pay towing and warehousing fees for this until you get it towed out of the impound lot.
Remember, get your car towed only if you are sure that the car is not drivable. This will help you save a lot of money and frustration in the end.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
