Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

• ATV accidents
• automobile accidents
• bicycle accidents
• boating accidents
• commercial bus accidents
• intersection accidents
• motorcycle accidents
• pedestrian accidents
• rear end collisions
• semi-tractor trailer accidents
• school bus accidents
• SUV rollover accidents
• train accidents
• truck accidents

The surviving family members of a fatally injured accident victim may be able to bring wrongful death charges against the defendant.

Automobile Accidents:
A car accident is a collision involving an automobile and anything that causes damage to the automobile, including other automobiles, telephone poles, buildings and trees. Sometimes a car accident may also refer to an automobile striking a human or animal. Car accidents — also called traffic collisions, auto accidents, road accidents, personal injury collisions, motor vehicle accidents and crashes — kill an estimated 1.2 million people worldwide each year, and injure about forty times this number.

Bicycle Accidents:
According to the Federal Highway Administration, over 67,000 cyclists in the U.S. are injured every year in accidents involving motor vehicles. Many cyclists who are injured in bicycle accidents are unaware that they have a personal injury case and that they may be entitled to compensation for injuries, pain and suffering, medical bills and lost incomes. In Utah, a bicyclist is governed by the same traffic laws by which a motorist is governed.
This may mean that the cyclist is not legally responsible for an accident. A cyclist may also be entitled to receive compensation for an injury sustained because of a pothole, poor road or defective sidewalk. 

Motorcycle Accidents:
Motorcycle riders are often exposed to dangers not met by automobile drivers and other motorists on the road. The lack of any substantial protective barriers, as well as the difficulty that other motorists may have in seeing or stopping for a motorcycle, leaves riders prone to serious personal injury in the event of an accident.

Train Accidents:
Train accidents can result in injuries such as sprains and fractures, catastrophic injuries such as head trauma, brain damage, paralysis, and in the loss of lives or property. Train accidents can include derailments, collisions with passenger vehicles or other trains, grade crossing accidents or accidents due to mechanical failure. It is the railroad company's responsibility to ensure that there are appropriate signals and gates at every railroad crossing for safety precautions. If the railroad company fails to take such precautions, it is liable for any injury or death that ensues. Victims of train accidents may be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, medical expenses, property damage, lost wages and loss of earning capacity.

SUV Rollovers:
Although SUV rollovers do not occur as often as other automobile accidents, when they do occur they have a higher chance of resulting in serious injury or death, and are considered to pose the highest potential for fatality of any type of vehicle accident on national roadways. According to the Federal Highway Administration, SUV rollover accidents account for more deaths than side and rear fatal vehicles combined, and SUV's are three times more likely than the average passenger car to roll over. 

Although SUV's were designed primarily for the purpose of off-roading, manufacturers have since discovered their immense popularity as family vehicles. Manufacturers have begun removing roll bars in current models.  SUV seat structures are not designed to keep occupants in place during a rollover, whether or not seat belts are worn. Vehicle roofs, windshields and side windows easily collapse, increasing the risk of occupant head, brain, spinal cord and back injuries. While the body of an SUV remains the same as it would if used for off-roading, the removal of the roll bars, combined with the high center gravity due to multiple passengers, make rollover accidents and occupant ejection much more likely to prove fatal.

Spinal Cord Injury:
Spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs when the nerves within the spinal canal are damaged. Most SCI's are caused by trauma to the vertebral column, affecting the spinal cord's ability to send and receive messages between the brain and the body's systems that control sensory, motor and autonomic function. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of SCI, followed by acts of violence, falls, sports injuries and diseases such as polio, spina bifida and Friedreich’s Ataxia. The spinal cord does not have to be severed in order for a loss of functioning to occur. In fact, in most people with SCI, the spinal cord is intact, but the damage to it results in loss of function.  

Traumatic Brain Injury:
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a medical phrase used to describe the damage to the brain suffered by sudden impact or physical force to the head. TBI can result when the force of momentum causes the brain to impact against the skull. This type of injury, often the result of a person hitting his or her head on the windshield, pavement or other object, is frequently referred to as a “closed head injury.” Whiplash can also cause TBI.  These closed head injuries can result in lasting physical and mental problems.

Burn Injuries:
People who have suffered and survived the agony of second-, third-, and even fourth degree burns describe the pain they experienced as among the most severe of all traumatic injuries. Personal injuries involving severe burns commonly result from explosions, premises fires, defective products, motor vehicle collisions, and electric shock, as well as accidental exposure to harmful chemicals and radiation.

Wrongful Death:
A wrongful death occurs when a person is killed due to the negligence or misconduct of another individual, company or organization. A legal action for wrongful death belongs to the decedent's immediate family members, usually a surviving spouse and children, and sometimes parents. Under certain circumstances, unrelated minor children living with and supported by the decedent may also bring a claim for wrongful death. In order to bring a successful wrongful death cause of action, the following elements must be present:

• The death of a human being caused by another's negligent or intentional conduct.
• The survival of family members who are suffering the loss of financial support, love, care, comfort, supervision, guidance, household assistance and general society previously provided by the deceased.

The general rule in wrongful death cases is that one is entitled to recover both economic and non-economic damages which are suffered as a result of the loss of a loved one. Economic damages in a wrongful death case include an award for the financial contributions which the decedent would have made to his or her spouse, children and/or parents had he or she survived. It also includes the recovery for funeral service expenses in memory of the decedent, and for burial cost. Non-economic damages include loss of love, society, companionship, comfort, affection, solace or moral support.

If you or someone you know in Ogden or throughout Utah needs the advice of an experienced personal injury lawyer, please call David Havas today at 866-635-2690, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.