What are the Top Ten Causes of Accidental Death?

Accidental deaths usually aren’t accidental. Car crashes, one of the top causes of accidental death in Texas, are a good example. Driver error causes over 98 percent of the vehicle collisions in the Lone Star State. Sometimes, bad weather, like heavy rain, contributes to car crashes. But driver error, usually excessive speed, substantially causes them.

A Sugar Land personal injury lawyer holds tortfeasors (negligent actors) responsible for the accidental deaths they negligently cause. In a perfect world, tortfeasors would voluntarily step up and do the right thing in these situations. But we don’t live in a perfect world. A lawyer also obtains the compensation these survivors need to pay final expenses and move on with their lives. At this point, moving on is the best possible outcome for everyone.

Poisonings

Until recently, unintentional poisoning deaths, mostly drug overdose deaths, were almost neck-in-neck with motor vehicle collision deaths. As of 2022, poisonings account for almost half of all unintentional deaths in Texas.

Legally, drug overdose deaths involve complex liability questions. Frequently, a doctor prescribed pills without asking too many questions and/or a shipping company transported the drugs to the pharmacy without asking any questions at all. Furthermore, many companies manufactured and aggressively marketed highly addictive pain pills.

Falls

A fall from as little as four stories above ground is usually fatal. Slip-and-fall injuries are the leading cause of injury-related death for people over 65, mostly because these individuals often have pre-existing medical conditions.

In Texas, property owners, including employers, have a legal responsibility to provide safe and secure environments for their invited guests. They must promptly address and remove wet spots on floors and all other fall injury hazards.

Motor Vehicle Collisions

Nationwide, car crashes kill or seriously injure millions of Americans every year. Usually, the official cause of death in a car crash is exsanguination (excessive blood loss), usually due to internal injuries.

Most drivers have a duty of reasonable care. If a breach of care causes injury, a Missouri City personal injury lawyer can obtain compensation for that injury.

Suffocation

Young children often fall victim to fatal suffocation injuries. The immediate cause is typically a plastic grocery bag or other such container, or perhaps improperly-used sleeping gear, like an oversized pillow.

Usually, manufacturers are strictly liable for the fatal injuries their defective products cause. In addition to compensatory damages, substantial punitive damages are usually available in these matters as well.

Unspecified Injury

Physical assault is the most common unspecified injury. Individuals are morally and criminally responsible for such acts. Property owners could be financially responsible for them, because of their duty of care, as outlined above. This duty includes a responsibility to provide adequate security.

Drownings

A few moments under the waves could cause brain hypoxia. When the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen, it begins shutting down other bodily organs. Swimming pool drownings are especially hazardous for young children, who can drown in as little as three inches of water. Once again, the duty of care requires public, private, and backyard pool owners to keep the water,and the area around the water, reasonably safe.

Fires

These injuries are usually collision-related, a topic we discussed above. House and structure fire deaths are usually smoke inhalation deaths. This smoke is highly toxic.

Natural/Environmental

Floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters cause considerable damage but, in the grand scheme of things, few fatal injuries.

Other Specified, Classifiable

Every year, freak natural disasters, like looking too long at a solar eclipse, cause a handful of wrongful deaths in the United States.

Other Specified, Non-Environmental Causes

Non-environmental unspecified causes of accidental death are usually related to defective products, like defective lawn mowers.

Count on a Dedicated Harris County Attorney

Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Missouri City, contact the Henrietta Ezeoke Law Firm. We routinely handle matters throughout the Lone Star State.

Source:

injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/deaths-by-demographics/top-10-preventable-injuries/#:~:text=The%20top%20three%20leading%20causes,than%203%25%20of%20the%20total.