Common Summertime Personal Injury Cases

We all look forward to summer… the longer daylight hours, the sunshine, and the beach vacations make summer a season to celebrate. But with the increased outdoor activities and more active lifestyles, summer not only brings a rise in temperature but also a rise in accidental injuries. Though spending more time outdoors offers significant benefits to physical and emotional well-being, it also comes with the potential for increased risks.

While nothing sounds more appealing than a few months of pool parties, cookouts, and outdoor sports, every summer sees a rise in personal injury cases in the United States. So, what makes personal injuries a more widespread phenomenon during the summer season?

Car Accident Increases During Summer

Summer vacation means it’s time for day trips to the beach and family road trips. It also means an increase in day trips and drives to outdoor activities within the community. With more people enjoying pastimes outside of their homes during warm weather, there are also more people on the roadways, leading to congested traffic conditions and an annual summertime increase in car accidents. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), summer brings a greater chance of experiencing a car accident due to the following:

• Increased traffic as people travel to vacations, beaches, and summer activities
• An increase in the number of teen drivers on the roads while school is out
• Increased road construction during the summer months
• Greater numbers of intoxicated drivers are on the road during the summer when people enjoy time off and outdoor gatherings
• Excessive heat exposure leads to driver fatigue after a day of enjoying outdoor activity

While you might think wintery weather conditions and slippery roads would cause a rise in car accidents during the winter, accident numbers are typically higher in the summertime in most regions. This means far more personal injury cases claiming damages for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering during the summer months.

Water-Related Accidents Rise in the Summer

Summer is a time for beach vacations, pool parties, and toddlers splashing around in plastic pools. It’s also a time when more personal injury cases focus on water-related accidents such as:

• Beach drownings, and near drownings
• Boating accidents
• Small watercraft accidents (Jetski’s, rafts, kayaks)
• Slip-and-fall injuries at pools and beach access boardwalks, stairs, and food vendors

More activity on the water and at slippery poolsides means a greater potential for accidents, including accidental drownings, near-drownings, boat collisions, and slip-and-fall injuries.

Dog Bites Increase in the Summer Months

Warmer weather also lures pet owners to local parks, hiking trails, and outdoor events, and many bring their furry best friends along to enjoy the sunshine as well. But with more dogs enjoying time outside of their homes and yards, the summer months typically see an increase in personal injury claims for dog bites. In most states, a pet owner is liable for any personal injury damages like medical expenses, lost wages, trauma, and pain and suffering caused by their dog, even if the dog had no prior history of biting.

The Hidden Dangers of Summer Celebrations

Summertime is the perfect season for getting together with friends and family over barbecue grills, outdoor sporting events, campfires, and fireworks. While the idea of eating a grilled hotdog after a neighborhood baseball game while colorful fireworks explode in the summer twilight might sound idyllic, emergency rooms see an explosion of injuries in July including:

• Burns from gas or charcoal grills, and burns from campfires and bonfires
• Accidental amputations of fingers from firework accidents
• Sports-related head injuries, fractures, sprains, and strains

When more people are outside and active during warm weather rather than binge-watching the latest series under an afghan in snowy winter weather, hospitals see a rise in injury victims, and insurance companies and courtrooms see a rise in personal injury cases.