We live in a day and age where misfortune always lurks around the corner. Every day on the news we see headlines like: “worker dies in a freak accident,” or “bridge collapses, crushes family of four,” or “subway accident leaves two fatally injured and dozens hospitalized.” Hearing about tragedies like this can make you question your own mortality and the mortality of those closest to you. You might wonder what the results would be if you or a loved one were to be met with sudden disaster. What would you do? How would you cope? What would you leave behind?
Facing Disaster
Accidents seem unavoidable, coming in behind heart disease, cancer, and covid-19 as the leading causes of death in the United States. Accidental deaths average at about 300,000 cases yearly, with nearly 400,000 personal injury cases filed annually. You might wonder: how can I avoid becoming a part of these numbers? The short answer is: you can’t. There is no way to plan for tragedy to strike. All you can do is plan for the aftermath of a disaster.
If you’re young and healthy, creating a will and getting your estate in order is likely the furthest thing from your mind. While it may be difficult to consider our own end, it has been said that ‘death waits for no man.’ This holds true, even to those who still seem far from death. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Life is full of surprises, both good and bad. That is why it is so important to get everything in order before it’s too late; that way you are not creating more unnecessary stress for your loved ones on top of already having to deal with the pain of losing you unexpectedly.
Surviving Disaster
On a more positive note, let’s consider what would happen if you faced disaster and survived. Let’s say you were in a road-related accident and made it out with your life but still ended up with a few broken bones. What should you do now? What steps should you take to make the situation right?
If you suspect that you suffered injuries as a direct result of someone else’s negligence, you should consider filing a personal injury lawsuit, as you may be owed financial compensation for any medical bills, damage to property, or pain and suffering from the incident in question.
Filing a personal injury lawsuit is not just important because of the way that it benefits you directly. If you file a personal injury lawsuit against someone who has a pattern of exercising careless action, you are forcing them to be held accountable for their negligence. Your choice to file a lawsuit against them could prevent others from suffering as you did–if not worse–at the hands of irresponsibility.
Coping With Sudden Loss
It’s not easy to lose someone you love so unexpectedly in a way that seemingly could have been prevented. Like with a personal injury lawsuit, if you think that the death of your loved one was a direct result of someone else’s negligence, you are encouraged to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit.
While pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit won’t bring your loved one back, any compensation you receive for your loss could be used to help alleviate the financial burden of any medical bills, damage to property, and funeral and burial costs brought on by the incident. In addition, you could receive financial compensation for any pain and suffering you experienced due to your loss.
And again, filing a wrongful death not only helps to bring justice to your loved one, but it also holds people accountable for their carelessness by making them own up to their negligence financially–potentially saving other families from having to grieve the loss of a loved one. If you lost your loved one in a work-related accident, your wrongful death lawsuit could bring attention to outdated safety measures, causing the employer to review and revise their protocols to prevent the same unfortunate mistakes from happening again.
Minimize Your Risk
While there is no way to plan for or prevent tragedy from striking, there are ways in which you can help to minimize your risk for misfortune. Holding yourself responsible for the safety of yourself and others is important. Being negligent only puts you and others in danger, so be sure to follow any and all safety laws and regulations. Ultimately, dedication to keeping others safe is the only thing that can prevent tragedy.
