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Hasson D. Barnes, LCC Hasson D. Barnes
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When Vehicles Collide Into Buildings

CarInBldg

Imagine settling into a quiet evening at home, when suddenly an SUV comes careening in through your front window!  That’s exactly what happened in a Hampden home in May of 2021.  Fortunately, in this instance no one in the home was injured, although the driver of the SUV had to be hospitalized. In another terrifying accident, one man had to be hospitalized after a driver smashed through the window of a Maryland convenience store, throwing the man 20 feet across the store.  The incident resulted in 9 months of misery through a difficult recovery.  Surprisingly, this type of incident occurs more often than you might think.

Crash Rates Involving Buildings 

It’s crazy to contemplate, but around 500 people die every year in America as vehicles crash through walls and into buildings. Incredibly, there are 60 such incidents every single day somewhere in the country, killing hundreds and injuring 4,000+.  And no, the majority of these crashes are not the result of a dramatic police chase or smash and grab robbery; they’re simply accidents that happen to everyday people going about their business.  The vast majority –nearly 90 percent—occur around restaurants, stores and the like, and are preventable, as they are simply the result of poorly designed parking lots and protective features combined with driver error.

What We Know About these Events 

60 percent of these accidents involve drivers who make dumb errors as a result of distractions or alcohol involvement. Another big chunk of such crashes involve senior citizens over the age of 60 who mistake the gas for the brake pedal and lurch forward through a storefront.

How Can These Incidents be Reduced? 

There are a number of things that can be done to reduce these horrific kinds of accidents.  In addition to helping older drivers keep their driving skills sharp by requiring a doctor’s okay to retain a driver’s license after a certain age, every driver can make greater efforts to concentrate and commit to avoiding drugs and alcohol when driving.  Another answer lies in stricter building codes.  There’s just no reason to have parked cars facing directly into buildings, providing little margin for error when a driver makes a mistake.  Additionally, it would behoove builders to create barriers between parking lots and buildings to protect everyone in the event of a mishap behind the wheel.

Recourse Following Personal Injury 

If you are like most people, you assume you’re going to be relatively safe from traffic accidents if you are inside a building; and yet there is the very real possibility you could be the victim of a pedestrian crash. What recourse do you have in such a situation?  A local personal injury attorney can help you to reclaim expenses related to your injuries.  Additionally, you may be compensated for emotional trauma, pain and suffering, time off work, and more.  If you have been harmed in this type of scenario, the dedicated and experienced Baltimore personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of Hasson D. Barnes can help.  Schedule a confidential consultation in our office today.

Resource:

baltimore.cbslocal.com/2021/05/22/suv-crashes-into-home-in-hampden-injuring-one-person/

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