Costs of car accidents

Car accidents in Kentucky create many costs, the greatest of which is the human life that is lost. According to a nationwide study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 33,561 people were killed in car accidents in 2012. On average, this number means that about 92 people died in the United States each day in 2012 as a result of a car accident.

Even a car accident that is not fatal may result in auto accident injuries and property damage. A 2010 study by the NHTSA found that car accidents in the United States that year caused financial losses of nearly $1 trillion. Private insurers paid for about 50 percent of these losses while the remainder of losses were the burden of crash victims, health care providers and charities.

Some of the factors that contribute to the occurrence of car accidents are drunk driving, distracted driving, fatigue and speeding. Vehicles that run a red light also cause many car accidents as 900 people die each year after a driver fails to stop at a red light. Alcohol-related crashes accounted for 31 percent of car accident fatalities, up from 18 percent in 2010.

When a car accident is caused as a direct result of a driver’s negligence, victims who were injured in the accident may file a claim to seek compensation from the liable party. After a fatal car accident, a deceased victim’s family members are entitled to file a claim for compensation on behalf of the victim’s estate. An attorney may be able to help victims or their family members with the process of filing a claim by gathering key pieces of evidence to establish the liability of the driver at fault.

Source: Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, “Cost of Auto Crashes & Statistics“, October 10, 2014