Preventable Injuries Rank among the Top 10 Causes of Death for People of all Ages

Every year, thousands of people will sustain serious injuries or die from unintentional injuries; injuries where steps could have been taken to prevent them from happening. One example of such preventable injuries are those sustained from not wearing a seat belt.

A 16-year-old Str. Petersburg teen was killed and three other people were seriously injured in a three-vehicle auto accident. The driver of a Ford pick-up truck slowed to make a turn when he was rear-ended by a Chevy pick-up truck.  The impact pushed the Ford into the path of a Pontiac Vibe travelling in the opposite direction. The truck collided with the Vibe, then hit a wooden power pole and large rock. The Vibe spun and landed in a ditch.  According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the teen, a backseat passenger in the Vibe, was not wearing a seatbelt.  Police said fog was light, but was not a factor in the accident. An investigation is ongoing.

The numbers don’t lie; seatbelts save lives.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates seat-belt use reduces critical injuries and deaths by approximately 50 percent. It only takes a moment for an injury to happen, but it also takes just a moment to protect against injuries and make us all safer. Take a second to “click it.” It is one easy thing to save your life. Don’t let a deficiency of that one elementary act be your last

Mark Bello has thirty-seven years’ experience as a trial lawyer and over fifteen years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry.  He is the CEO and General Counsel of Lawsuit Financial Corporation, a pro-justice lawsuit funding company providing necessities of life appropriation to plaintiffs in pending, personal injury litigation.

The Power to Disconnect

Personal electronic devises (PEDs) make it possible to connect to information anytime, anywhere. They also enable new forms of distraction, leading to more serious and fatal accidents. It seems the public agrees.

A June 2014 poll by the National Safety Council showed that 73% of drivers think there should be more enforcement of texting laws, while only 22% said the current level of enforcement is fine. And, according to a AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety survey, the majority of Americans (88.5 percent) feel that a driver talking on a cell phone represents a somewhat or a serious threat to their personal safety. However, studies suggest that we are not yet making a significant dent in changing drivers' behavior. More than two out of three driver indicated that they talked on a cell phone while driving within the past 30 days. More than one of three drivers admitted to reading a text message or e-mail while driving, and more than one of four drivers admitted to typing or sending a text or e-mail. What will it take to turn this problem around?

The first step toward removing deadly distractions is to disconnect, but currently only 14 states and the District of Columbia ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving and 44 states and the District of Columbia ban text messaging while driving. None ban the use of hands-free devices. Hands-free is not risk-free! While such laws can help, legislation is not the solution; knowledge, common sense, and personal responsibility are.  There needs to be a cultural shift; everyone must embrace the concept of distraction-free driving. The road must become the priority.

We all have the power to make safer choices while driving; we all have the power to disconnect before getting behind the wheel. Lawsuit Financial hopes everyone will refrain from talking on cell phones, texting, and/or engaging in additional activities that cause you to take your eyes off the road or your hands off the wheel. The more we all educate about the dangers of distracted driving, the better chance we have to improve the safety of our roadways and avoid the road to nowhere.

Lawsuit Financial Corporation is headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, just north of Detroit. Our CEO, Mark Bello, has thirty-seven years’ experience as a trial lawyer and over fifteen years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry.