(Newswire.net — March 28, 2020) —
One of the leading causes of death in children is by car accident. This is always a devastating loss for parents and other family members, one that can take years to get over. An attorney that specializes in car accident litigation may be able to help you find closure and monetary compensation if you have experienced such a terrible tragedy.
In 2017 alone, nearly seven-hundred American children under the age of twelve were killed in motor vehicle crashes where they were the passengers.
Studies indicate that the two biggest factors in childhood vehicle accident fatalities are failure to wear a seatbelt, and drinking/distracted drivers.
It goes without saying that parents and other caretakers must always insure that children are properly placed in safety seats or made to buckle their seatbelts whenever they are passengers in a car. Even if the trip is simply to go to the grocery store a block away, seat belts are not just a good idea, but mandatory. Parents can be heavily penalized for neglecting to have their children buckled in properly.
Children under the age of eight should always be provided with the appropriate car seat or booster seat. Over the age of eight, or when they reach a height of four foot eight they can safely use seatbelts.
To help lower childhood fatalities in vehicle accidents, parents should always practice defensive driving — that is, to assume that chances of meeting up with an impaired driver are better than average, and to take appropriate defensive precautions such as keeping the headlights on even in broad daylight and always going just a little bit below the speed limit.
Losing a child in a car accident is extremely traumatic. If this happens to you be sure to hire a good car accident attorney to help you sort out the confusing amount of paperwork involved and to advise you if a lawsuit to recover damages is possible.