Personal Injury Attorney in Winter

Winter often brings extra hazards that call for a personal injury attorney. Lawyers who specialize in personal injury cases are those that seek compensation for victims of accidents or mishaps that were due to another's negligence. Here are some examples of injuries more likely to occur during the winter.

Slip-and-Fall Accidents

During the wintertime, there is often inclement weather that includes snow, ice and sleet. While no one can control Mother Nature, they can control the clean up afterward. If there is ice on a shopkeeper's porch or walkway, for example, it is the store owner's responsibility to shovel the walk and get rid of the slippery surface. Ice is an especially disastrous issue because it can't be seen by the pedestrian. Salt or another chemical should be sprinkled in the slippery spaces to make it safe. If the area can't be made safe, there should be safety cones placed to curtail foot traffic.

Auto Accidents

Two common reasons for more crashes on the road during the chilly season are poor driving conditions due to the weather and more DUIs because everyone's out celebrating the holidays. In the case of hazardous driving conditions, it's the highway safety departments' responsibility to keep roads clear and safe or to close them to the public. Black ice on freeways and city streets must be eradicated or road closures should be ordered. In the case of a DUI, the inebriated motorist who caused the crash is at fault as is the bartender who kept refilling his glass.

Equipment Malfunction

When a company markets a toy or holiday decoration such as flashing lights or an inflatable Santa, it's their responsibility to produce a safe product. If a toy such as a play weapon with darts or arrows puts a child's eye out, it wasn't a safe product. Christmas tree lights that overheat can cause a disastrous fire. The Inflatable Santa might pop into a million pieces, breaking nearby windows and injuring the neighbor's cat. Who knew that that plastic was so flimsy?

Medical Malpractice

The doctor who was supposed to show up and deliver the baby might have been at a holiday party and simply didn't respond quickly enough. By the time the OBGYN finally straggled in, the baby might be in distress and the Mom, too. This might mean a longer stay in the hospital for both of them when it wouldn't have happened if the doctor had responded promptly.

Wintertime can be an unpredictable time for accidents and injuries due to inclement weather, drunk drivers and doctors at office parties. When these calamities happen, it's time to call in the legal eagle known as the personal injury attorney. He or she can obtain compensation for victims to cover medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering and more.