Spring break is a time that most people wait for throughout the year. Spring break has a special meaning mainly because, in a lot of places, it represents relief from the long and cold winter. Parents, families, and friends make plans to go and do something fun during spring. While for most this is exciting and adventurous but for others, spring break injury accidents can completely ruin the holidays.
Many people put a lot of time and effort planning their break. Whether it’s a short trip to an exotic location or a family camping trip, spring is the time for fun and excitement. This fun and excitement can go down the drain due to personal injury accidents.
Personal injury accidents during spring break are not uncommon in Charlotte, North Carolina. Many families and friends head down south where the weather is warm, the waters are pristine blue, and there are tons of fun activities to do. Unfortunately for some people, their ideal spring break often ends up getting spoiled because of spring break accidents. Sometimes, these personal injury accidents are because of the high-risk behavior of youngsters and teenagers but at other times, these spring break accidents could be the fault of hotels, resorts, and restaurants.
Some common spring break personal injury accidents include:
- Slips and falls which are the most common type of injury during spring break. The combination of water activities, inadequate or no footwear, physical hyperactivity (e.g., running) and alcohol greatly increase the risk of slips. Injuries resulting from slip and fall accidents vary from an ankle sprain, low back pain, neck injury, or fracture in the wrist area. Most of these injuries require some type of medical attention.
- Binge drinking: Binge drinking is very common during spring break. Unfortunately, this is something that is not limited to spring break. Data from the CDC reveals that nearly 50% of students in the US binge drink at every opportunity they get. Binge drinking can have many negative repercussions including addiction, drinking while driving, falls, overdose when combined with prescription drugs, loss of memory and poor academic performance. In many cases of binge drinking, a comprehensive program of detox is required, but relapse is common. Most people only stop drinking after they run into legal difficulties.
- Motor vehicle accidents: These are also quite common during spring break. The reason is the influx of thousands of spring breakers who are too busy having a great time and often pay little attention to traffic. Plus, these days every graduate and teenager has a cell phone; hence distracted driving due to texting and playing music are also common causes of a traffic accident. These traffic accidents vary from fender benders to big league rollovers leading to serious spring break accidents.
- Drowning: Spring break is synonymous with water-related activities, but many times, these activities can lead to accidents. Students tend to drink and swim, and in some cases drive boats while drinking. What is worse is that these individuals rarely wear safety gear and when accidents happen, drowning is a common occurrence. Despite numerous signs posted all over hotels and pools, students have a tendency of ignoring these warnings.
The fact is that no one deliberately goes out of their way to hurt themselves during spring break. The goal, for most people, is to make the most of this break and to have as much fun as possible. People plan well ahead of time and spend a great deal of money to ensure that their break is as enjoyable as possible. Unfortunately, accidents happen, sometimes without any negative intention, but at other times due to the negligence of another party.
If you have suffered personal injuries due to spring break accidents, you should consult our Charlotte personal injury attorneys at Ted A. Greve & Associates. We realize that a large majority of these accidents are preventable, but if you have sustained injuries, you should be compensated for your loss. This is especially true if the personal injury accidents were not your fault. While students are often the cause of the injuries, in some cases, the hotels may have faulty equipment, lack of signs or lack of supervising staff that may be the cause. In such cases, it is important to hold them accountable for their negligence. This will not only get you the compensation you deserve but will also prevent similar accidents from happening in the future. Call us today, and one of our associates will be happy to assist you.
