According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “The Nation lost 35,092 people in crashes on U.S. roadways during 2015, an increase from 32,744 in 2014. The 7.2-percent increase is the largest percentage increase in nearly 50 years.” But that refers to the fatalities, what about the injuries from car crashes?
“The estimated number of people injured on the Nation’s roads increased in 2015, rising from 2.34 to 2.44 million injured people,” the NHTSA reports. While we’re not sure what led to the rise in auto accidents, we can safely assume that distracted driving, namely texting while driving likely contributed to the spike.
CAR CRASHES & WORKERS’ COMP CLAIMS
As a worker in New York State, you’re familiar with workers’ compensation claims. When you think about such claims, you may imagine construction workers falling of scaffolds, logging workers being hit by trees, fisherman falling off of boats, and manufacturing workers getting their fingers cut off in machines. While these types of accidents happen every day, they do not claim as many lives as transportation accidents.
Auto accidents take more workers’ lives than any other type of accident. We’re not talking about car crashes that happen off the clock, we’re referring to crashes that take place during the workday and while employees are performing their work-related duties.
According to a news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “There were a total of 5,190 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2016, a 7-percent increase from the 4,836 fatal injuries reported in 2015.” According to the BLS, “work injuries involving transportation incidents remained the most fatal event in 2016, accounting for 40 percent (2,083).” That’s a lot and we’ve seen it in our firm.
Has your life been impacted by a work-related car crash? If so, we represent clients who have been injured in auto accidents on-the-job. We also represent surviving family members who lost a loved one in a transportation accident, which was work-related.
If you have a workers’ compensation case involving an auto accident, we invite you to contact our firm to meet with a Long Island workers’ compensation lawyer.
