Falls
Individuals with declining health are the ones who are most susceptible to deaths by an unintentional fall. Due to the frailty of a weakened body, older individuals cannot withstand the impact of a sudden fall. Health conditions, impairments, and people’s surroundings often lead to these tragic falls. In the most recent recorded year, unintentional deaths from a fall tallied up to 33,381 nationwide.
In Utah, around 80 percent of those who die from an unintentional fall are over the age of 65. Anything below that and the numbers dwindle. This means that if you feel you have a case to make with a wrongful death lawyer, it is likely that it involves an older individual. There can be some nasty falls that happen with younger people but if they are anything severe, the injury they sustain would only require a hospital visit. However, with infants or extremely young children, there are chances that they will end up with mental conditions for the rest of their lives. In these situations, because it does not involve a death, rather than consulting with a wrongful death lawyer, a personal injury lawyer or some other lawyer that focuses on negligence would be better.
In a fall case that involves death, there is typically a factor that relates to poor health or impairment. Conditions like heart disease, dementia, and low blood pressure, or ailments like muscle weakness and failing vision are common contributors to deaths caused by an unintentional death. However, it is not always poor health that causes the fall; there are other physical factors that take part in unfortunate falls. Wet or recently polished floors that result in a slick ground, dim lighting, unsecured rugs and carpets, uneven sidewalk, and even stairs might be enough for a less agile person to go down. These instances coincide with a hard impact with a solid object that is too much for frail bodies. Unlike seniors and young children, developing youth and adults that still have nimble bodies are strong enough to withstand a bad fall.
Whether you are at risk of death from a fall or not, you can still prevent a nasty spill for yourself and older and younger loved ones. Some of the preventative steps are as simple as scanning your living area of hazardous grounds and educating yourself. Being aware of the health risks of yourself and loved ones along with other physical risks will give you the opportunity to counteract. Beyond this, you can advise those will a weakened body to take in more vitamin D, calcium, and even receive treatments for poor vision or low blood pressure. There is no need to wait! If you do, you might find yourself speaking with a wrongful death lawyer in regards to a more somber situation.
Other Accidents
Without getting into too much detail, it is also good to be aware of some other unintentional deaths that are less common than that of misuse of substances, auto accidents, and these unintentional falls. Things such as product liability, work-related accidents, and criminal acts can also contribute to an early unplanned death. Whether it is the faultiness of a design product, negligence of a company, or the recklessness of someone’s criminal actions that result in you losing a loved one, you will be wise to consult with a wrongful death lawyer in order to understand the situation more.
Robert J. DeBry and Associates knows these cases and will help you move forward after these kinds of accidents. Whether you are sure or not about your case, it can only help to consult with a wrongful death lawyer at no charge to figure out if you can be helped legally or not. Call us at 801-699-9999.
Sources:
CDC’s report on Unintentional deaths
Utah’s statistics on unintentional falls
Unintentional fall contributing factors