Roller skating is hazardous, regardless of whether you do it around the neighborhood or at a roller rink. However, many roller skating accidents occur from other people’s malice or negligence. Knowing the duty of care owed to roller skaters can be difficult to decipher, since they’re both pedestrians and face restrictions other pedestrians do not.

Here is what you need to know about the various factors involved in roller skating accidents and the duty of care owed to roller skaters. If you’ve been injured in a roller skating accident, you may be entitled to compensation. A personal injury attorney will be able to help you determine your options. 

Common Injuries From Roller Skating Accidents

Common injuries from roller skating accidents include:

• Factures to forearms, wrists, legs, and ankles
• Sprains and strains, especially to the back and lower limbs
• Lacerations
• Soft tissue damages
• Head and facial injuries

Injuries are most common among inexperienced skaters as they learn a new skill. However, even experienced skaters can be injured, especially as a result of other peoples’ negligence, whether it be the product manufacturer, a distracted driver, or a neglected rink surface.

What Are Roller Skaters’ Responsibilities?

Roller skaters have a responsibility to:

• Skate where permitted
• Know their limits
• Follow all signs and warnings
• Avoid conduct that could cause injury to themselves and/or others

Roller skaters have a responsibility to be careful, as if their injury results from skating too fast, engaging in physical altercations with other skaters, or simply falling down from a lack of skill, they may be responsible for their own injury. Roller skating is a hazardous activity, and people must be aware of the hazards and exercise appropriate caution. 

Depending on the circumstances of your accident, you may or may not be responsible. If you are wondering whether or not you can sue for your roller skating accident, it’s best to consult with a personal injury attorney. Even if you think you were completely to blame, they may find that you were only partially liable – or not liable at all. 

Factors Contributing To Roller Skating Accidents

Roller skater manufacturers have a responsibility to provide a safe product with all parts. There have been cases where roller skates fail due to not being sold with all component parts or not having essential parts installed. 

Skaters can also be injured due to dangerous circumstances on the premises of inline rinks or skating parks, leading to physical or sexual assault. A lack of security allowing for such circumstances may be considered negligence on the part of the business owner. 

Roller rinks should keep their premises as safe as possible, such as by installing security cameras, routinely inspecting the rink for damage or other necessary maintenance, and clearly posting rules and warnings.

Drivers have a duty to watch the road, drive carefully, and adhere to traffic laws and signs. Roller skaters are pedestrians, after all, so drivers should treat them as such. 

Are Roller Skaters Pedestrians?

Since rollerblades are seldom permitted on sidewalks, you may wonder whether or not you’re counted as a pedestrian while roller skating. Roller skaters are considered pedestrians. Pedestrians include walkers, skateboarders, roller skaters, wheelchair users, and others using devices that are not bicycles or a motor vehicle. 

As such, roller skaters must ensure that they know their rights and responsibilities. Pedestrians do not always have the right of way and must be careful to obey traffic signs and signals. Roller skaters especially need to know where they can and cannot go. Laws and regulations vary depending on where you are. While roller skating on a sidewalk may be legal in one area, it may not be in another.

Complications With Roller Skating Accidents

While roller skaters are legally considered pedestrians, they are not permitted to go in certain areas that other pedestrians, like walkers, can. If you are injured in a roller skating accident somewhere you weren’t supposed to be, you may have difficulty achieving compensation. However, even if you were roller skating somewhere you shouldn’t have been, you may not be liable or entirely liable for your roller skating accident.

That said, you do need to exercise caution while roller skating and ensure that you’re only skating where it’s allowed. You may face consequences if you are roller skating somewhere it is not allowed. 

If you’re ever uncertain whether or not roller skating is allowed, it’s always best to be safe and not do it there. If you live near a roller skating rink, this is a great place to participate in this form of exercise. Check local ordinances before you go roller skating, and if you see signs prohibiting roller skating in certain areas, obey them. 

Ensure that you exercise all the proper safety precautions when roller skating. Skating on concrete or when it is wet outside can be dangerous. If you are roller skating outside, ensure that you wear sunscreen and carry water with you. You may opt for protective gear, like helmets, knee pads, and elbow pads to minimize your risk of injury if you fall. 

Follow traffic signs. Know the laws in your area. Roller skating outside can be more challenging than roller skating inside, since you must be mindful of the weather, obstacles, other people, and local ordinances

What Do You Need To Prove In Roller Skating Accidents?

As in other pedestrian accidents, you need to be able to prove the following elements in order to recover damages:

1. The other party owed you a duty of care.
2. They were negligent and breached the duty of care.
3. Their negligence caused your injuries. 

What To Do After A Roller Skating Accident

If you’ve experienced a roller skating accident, you’ll want to seek medical attention, especially if you hit your head at all. Adrenaline often masks pain and causes people to think that they are fine when they’re really not. Having medical records can link injuries to your accident, so insurance has less of a claim that the injuries resulted from something else. 

Gather evidence by taking pictures of the scene and getting the contact information of any witnesses, if you’re able. Ensure that you seek legal representation and file your claim sooner rather than later, as statute of limitations limit the amount of time you have to do so, and you don’t want your time to run out before you’re able to seek your rightful compensation. 

What About If You Signed A Waiver?

You may assume that liability waivers are ironclad, but this is not the truth. The language of the waiver is very important. The waiver may not protect property owners in cases of negligence, especially gross negligence. A personal injury attorney will be able to go over the liability waiver you signed and inform you about what your options are.

Do You Need A Personal Injury Attorney?

The law is a complicated beast, especially for roller skaters, since they are both pedestrians and face restrictions that other pedestrians do not. Having an experienced personal injury attorney on your side can help you achieve the best outcome possible. 

If you’ve been a victim to an injury, schedule a free consultation with the personal injury lawyers here at LeBaron & Jensen. We will tell you whether or not you have a case on your hands – and if you do, we will fight for you to receive the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to schedule a consultation or for any questions you may have about our services. 

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to proving your case in accidents, this could not be more true. Pictures are an ideal way to preserve the scene of an accident for your lawyer and insurance company. 

Here, we’ll go over how accident scene pictures can help your case as well as give you some tips on how to take them. Bear in mind that this is contingent on you being able to take pictures. Depending on the accident, you may be too badly injured to take accident scene pictures.

Types Of Accident Scenes To Take Pictures Of

Visible proof helps cases of all kinds. As such, whether you were in an auto accident, a truck accident, a bicycle accident, a slip & fall accident, or another type of accident, you could benefit from taking pictures of the scene. 

How Pictures Help Your Case

Photos increase case value, improve credibility, and make proving the case easier. They help with the investigation and analyzing the scene. Accident scene pictures can also help to refresh your memory when talking to a representative about the accident. They make testimonies more memorable. 

Witnesses can forget or remember things differently, people can lie, and you may have trouble talking about what happened. Pictures are a reliable piece of evidence of the scene that proves what occurred. If the other person involved claims that you’re at fault for what happened, pictures can show that you only had partial liability – or that you were not liable at all. 

Tips For Taking Accident Scene Pictures

These tips are all contingent on you actually being able to take pictures. Depending on the severity of the accident, you may not have been able to take accident scene pictures. If you were severely injured, your focus is on waiting for medical attention. However, if it is at all possible for you to take pictures, it can greatly help your case and insurance claims. 

The more pictures that you have, the more they can help your case. However, even if you only manage to snap one or two, these can still help more than not having any pictures would.

#1. Take Pictures ASAP

If possible, take pictures as soon after the accident occurs as you can. Investigators can also take pictures. If you are unable to, you can ask a witness or someone who is with you. If you happen to have a professional camera with you, this is best. However, most people only have their cell phones. Your tech may also have been damaged during the accident. Use what you can.

#2. Get Details

While you definitely want to get the full scene of the accident, if you can, don’t forget about details, like damage to the car, weather conditions, road conditions, and more. Including points of references, like a coin, can help communicate the size and scale.

Details give a more complete picture of what happened, such as tire skid marks and shake down (broken bits of cars, vehicles). If there aren’t any details like this, still take pictures, as the other person may try to claim otherwise. 

Even if something does not seem important, little details can affect the case. This is especially true when you’re not sure what to document. The more accident scene pictures you have, the better.

#3. Get As Many Angles As Possible

Get pictures from multiple angles. Up close, far away, the full scene of the accident, little details like a scratch on your leg, etc. 

Photograph everything involved. If a car, truck, or motorcycle was involved, photograph license plates. The interior of any vehicle can help too, especially if there is shattered glass and deployed airbags.

Photograph the surrounding environment, including signals, signs, trees, parked cars that may have blocked eyesight, etc. Including landmarks in each photo can depict the size and scale of the accident and work as a point of reference. 

#4. Document Visible Injuries

Take pictures of any injuries. Bear in mind that many people are pumped up on adrenaline after an accident. They may not even realize that they are injured. Accidents can also cause injuries you cannot necessarily see, like internal bleeding and traumatic brain injuries. This is why it is crucial to seek medical attention after an accident, even if you think you’re fine. 

This is also why you want to avoid saying that you are fine to anyone or on social media, because if symptoms do show up later, these comments will be used to try to prove that the accident did not cause your injury. 

Don’t take pictures of other people’s injuries without their permission.

#5. Take Pictures Of Documents

This is something that most people already do, but it is still good to note, as if you’ve never been in an accident before, you might not know to do this. Take pictures of the other people involved’s documents, such as licenses and insurance information. 

#6. Videos Can Help Too

If you can, you can also take videos in addition to accident scene pictures. Videos can show things that may be difficult to depict in pictures, such as showing how fast traffic was moving, how much time people had to react, whether there are blindspots, whether there was a distraction (like construction), and what would people have seen. 

Have You Been In An Accident?

If you need a personal injury attorney, don’t hesitate to contact us here at LeBaron & Jensen for a free case consultation. We’re here to fight for justice and ensure that victims receive fair compensation. 

Traumatic brain injuries can dramatically change your life in an instant. About 1.4 million people suffer a brain injury in the United States every year. Brain injuries are a leading cause of disability and death. They can impact your memory, make you unable to work, and lead to lifelong medical problems.

It’s important to know how to handle brain injury settlements in order to ensure that you get the compensation you deserve while recovering from your trauma. Here is what you need to know about some of the basics involved in brain injury settlements. 

If you have any questions about your specific case or need more details, consult with a personal injury lawyer. They will be able to provide you with the options available to you in your specific circumstances. 

Should You Take A Brain Injury Settlement?

An unfortunate fact that many people don’t realize is that insurance companies are seldom on your side. They have a tendency to pressure people into settling as quickly as possible. This is especially difficult in brain injury cases, as the true severity of the injury is seldom immediately apparent. 

They tend to offer settlements much lower than what you actually deserve in order to preserve their bottom line. In many cases, insurance companies don’t offer as much as your case is worth and initially offer less than what they’re actually willing to pay. 

Additionally, settlements are final. Once you agree to a settlement, you almost always lose the right to pursue additional compensation later on. It’s important to review all the options available to you and to seek out legal representation when needed, in order to ensure that you receive the best settlement possible. 

What Is The Average Settlement For A Traumatic Brain Injury?

There is no straightforward answer here because every case is different. There is no specific value that you can expect from a brain injury settlement, as this varies depending on the severity of the injury, liability, damages, recovery, and more. 

People with traumatic brain injuries could have a “mild” injury where they are mostly fine and able to resume life as normal, or they could die or end up comatose or in a vegetative state. Since there is so much variation and so many specifics that affect each case, settlements vary significantly. 

Something that is important to remember in regard to brain injury settlements is that what seems like a huge number may not be a good settlement in actuality. While hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions may seem life-changingly amazing, it could actually be a terrible settlement considering how your brain injury impacts the rest of your life. 

A personal injury attorney will be able to fight for you in order to ensure that you receive the best possible settlement for your case.

How Long Should You Wait Before Settling After A TBI?

As with everything both legal and medical: this varies. 

It’s crucial that you seek medical attention after being injured or being involved in an accident as soon as possible. This starts a paper trail. Since some symptoms of brain injuries may take months or even years to appear, it can be difficult to link them to the incident. Seeking medical attention as soon as possible helps to prove that the incident caused your TBI and not something else. 

Because symptoms may not appear right away, some people believe that they do not have a case or agree to a settlement without knowing the full extent of their injuries. Brain injuries can take days, weeks, months, or years to heal. They could also lead to lifelong disability or even death. 

Before you consider accepting a brain injury settlement, you will want to consult with a personal injury attorney. The last thing that you want to do is accept a settlement far less than what you deserve or to settle before all your symptoms have manifested. Based on the information provided, your lawyer will be able to advise you on the options available to you. 

How Are Brain Injury Settlements Determined?

There are many different factors involved in brain injury settlements, but the most common include:

• The severity of the injury. 
• Liability.
• Whether there are multiple defendants. 
• Insurance policy limits.
• Gross negligence. 
• Medical and long-term care needs.
• Ability to work.
• Pain and suffering. 

Here at LeBaron & Jensen, we work with people who have suffered TBIs in order to ensure that they receive the best possible brain injury settlement. We offer free, no-obligation case consultations and open communication. Contact us today to see if you have a case and if we are the right attorneys for you.