According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 320 fatalities resulted from auto accidents in Connecticut in 2010. 220 residents of the state died in car crashes the following year.
The NHTSA’s data reveals that many of those crashes could have been avoided had drivers exercised more care both before and while driving. In 2011, intoxicated drivers caused 42 percent of fatal auto accidents while 33 percent of deaths in motor-vehicle accidents were attributable to speeding drivers in that same year. The data also pointed toward distracted driving, which includes actions such as talking on one’s cellphone or texting while driving, as having factored into significant number of traffic deaths in 2011. Driving while fatigued was also noted as a major cause of fatal car crashes in the NHTSA report.
Residents are obligated by law to exercise a reasonable level of care when operating their vehicles on Connecticut’s roadways. Ways to observe that duty include refraining from driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol and avoiding all instances of cellphone use while driving. These and other instances of negligence put other motorists and drivers themselves at greater risk of suffering serious injuries that could be fatal.
Whenever a driver is suspected of negligent actions in a car wreck that leads to a loss of life, that driver may be found liable for damages in civil court if the victim’s family files a wrongful death claim. A personal injury attorney could advise a victim’s family on the strength of a potential case. If retained for a wrongful death suit, such a lawyer would gather evidence from police reports on the accident as well as witness statements. Successful litigation by a plaintiff’s legal counsel would lead to a monetary award for accident-related losses.
Source: Findlaw.com, “Fatal car accidents claim hundreds of Connecticut lives each year – See more at: http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2013/Mar/1016367.html#sthash.exirgyJa.dpuf“, September 03, 2014
