Summer seems so far away, especially since the snow doesn’t seem to be clearing anytime soon, however, the warm, sunny months are coming! Once they do and you spend more time outside doing recreational activities, there’s a higher risk that you could be injured. Personal injury lawyers handle many injury cases that occur from common summer activities. As you get prepared for summertime, here are some common summer injuries that occur and who can be held liable for them.
Bike Riding
Biking is a common recreational activity year round but the activity spikes in the summer as more people are pulling out their bikes to spend time outside. Bike injuries alone account for 1.2 million doctor visits, 23,000 hospital admissions, and 900 deaths every year in the United States.
If you are riding your own bike and you happen to injure yourself, there’s not much you can do. If you have rented a bike and get injured, the rental company could be liable (that is if you were wearing your helmet and being safe on your bike).
If you are riding a bike and get injured by a car, another bicyclist or a pedestrian, contact a personal injury lawyer to get help in proving liability.
Kayaking
Kayaking is another common activity during the summer months. Many people rent kayaks to go out on the lake and spend some time in the sun. However, what many people don’t realize is that kayaking is pretty risky. There were 94 kayaking fatalities in 2017, so make sure to be careful if you are going kayaking.
Depending on your kayaking accident, there may be a few different people who can be held liable. It could be the kayak rental company or the kayak manufacturer. However, rental companies usually make you sign a waiver before, which doesn’t allow renters or families to sue them if an accident occurs. Make sure to read these waivers carefully before renting a kayak.
Another kayaker could also be held liable for your kayaking injury. Personal injury lawyers have handled cases where kayakers act recklessly and injure other kayak users. When doing any recreational activity, make sure to be safe and responsible as not to hurt others around you.
Swimming and Lifeguard Liability
There are few things more relaxing than a day at the pool. However, it’s not so relaxing if you get injured while in the water. If there are lifeguards on duty that failed to help you, they can be held liable for your injuries, especially since they are trained to care for and save individuals.
Firework Injuries
Fireworks are a summer staple, especially around the Fourth of July. If you are handling the fireworks yourself and you get injured, you might have a personal injury case on your hands. If you were acting recklessly while using fireworks and injured yourself, then you are at fault for your accident.
If you were injured while using the fireworks in a controlled way, then there might be a few parties who are liable. It could be another person that you were using fireworks with or could be a defective firework. If there was a firework malfunction then the firework manufacturer is most likely liable and you can work with a personal injury lawyer to file a claim against them.
Summer injuries happen often and although some may be minor, others are more serious. If you are seriously injured this coming summer for something that wasn’t your fault, a personal injury lawyer here at Robert J. DeBry and Associates can help you prove liability and get you compensation for any damages or medical bills.