Drunk driving is a serious crime in Ohio with serious consequences including jail time, hefty fines and the potential to take a life in an Ohio drunk driving car accident.

But please remember that if you cause serious injuries as a result of your drunk driving, you can also be held civilly responsible for the injuries, damages and losses you cause as a result of your actions. The fact is that DUI accidents are entirely preventable. Do not get behind the wheel when you are under the influence. It’s as simple as that. There are many options available to drivers including taxicab services or special Tipsy Tow services during the holidays. These are tragedies that can certainly be averted.

Here are some tips to help avoid alcohol related accidents during the holidays:

• Use cabs, taxis and town cars. It’s worth paying the money
• Drive carefully even if you are sober. Watch out for those who are driving erratically. If you suspect someone is driving drunk, please report them to the authorities. You may have helped save a life.

If you or someone you know has suffered injury due to an Ohio drunk driver car accident, or you have lost a loved one at the hands of a drunk driver, order your free copy of The Ohio Wrongful Death Book or The Ohio Accident Book by calling 800.637.8170.

The holidays, especially the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, are a prime time for auto accidents relating to drunk driving in Ohio.

In fact, 38 percent of all wrongful deaths from auto accidents are alcohol-related and repeat drunk drivers are responsible for almost 60 percent of those alcohol-related deaths.

The holiday season is one of the deadliest times of the year for alcohol-related car accidents in northwest Ohio. According to Mothers against Drunk Driving, more than 1,000 people die nationwide during Thanksgiving to New Year’s drunk driving car crashes. There is no question that this is due to the increased consumption of alcohol during the holiday season.

Here are a few ways that you can help prevent Ohio drunk driving car accidents:

• Always choose a designated driver
• If you cannot find a designated driver or a friend to drive you home, stay the night.
• Never get in a vehicle with a drunk driver

If you or someone you know has been injured in an Ohio drunk driving car accident, order your free copy of The Ohio Accident Book by calling 800.637.8170.

Accidental poisonings kill more than 45,000 children each year. Children under 5 years of age make up the majority of this number. While you can teach an older child that chemicals and medications are very dangerous and should not be played with, you cannot trust a younger child to stay away from them. Young children are very explorative and always investigating the world around them. They can get into places that you may not have even thought of looking in for years. They play with anything they can find and usually place it into their mouths at some point.

They can usually only get into things that are at their own height, such as cabinets and drawers low to the ground. These areas usually contain household cleaning chemicals, which are very dangerous and deadly to not only children but also adults. These items must be locked up when a child is present in the household; this also goes the same for medications or anything that might cause harm to a child.

It might sound funny, but the best way to childproof your home is to crawl around at your child’s level to see what they can get into and then correcting the problems. Keep an eye out for any chemicals or cleaners that they can get a hold of and move them to a higher cabinet or an area of the house they cant get to.

A largely overlooked source of accidental poisoning is houseplants. Before purchasing a plant for your home you should research the toxicity level of them and if deciding to buy them they should be kept very high off the ground and away from children’s reach.

If you or someone you know has suffered injury due to poisoning, contact our Ohio child injury attorneys at 1.800.637.8170 for your free copy of Little Kids, Big Accidents.

Drowning incidents kill more than 175,000 children annually and about 3 million children survive but suffer injuries for very long periods of time afterwards. The highest permanent health injuries due to drowning are associated with brain damage and in turn drowning has the highest average lifetime health and economic impact of any other injury. There are simple steps you can take to keep your child safe and far away from becoming a part of this growing number.

1.) Never leave your child unattended in a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, or even a small wading pool. It can take less than a minute for a child to drown.

2.) Pools should be fenced in and equipped with self-locking gates. This includes neighborhood pools, apartment complexes, and backyards.

3.) Do not leave containers in the backyards where they can fill up with rain water. Since 1973, an estimated 500 children have drown in 5-gallon buckets and similar containers left full outside.

4.) Children should be given swimming lessons but they should not be considered “water-safe” until they are at least 14 years old. Never let your children swim alone.

These are just a few examples of ways to keep children safe from drowning incidents; any body of water can pose a treat to their safety and should not be neglected.

If you or someone you know has suffered in any way from tragic, water-related injury contact our Ohio child injury lawyers at 1.800.637.8170 for information or a FREE copy of our book Little Kids, Big Accidents.

Traffic accidents are the leading cause of childhood death and injury; they kill about 260,000 children a year and injure about 10 million more. Children between the ages of 10 to 19 are largely represented in this number. There are a few simple safety tips and precautions you can take to greatly reduce your chances to in being a part of this statistic. 

1.) Pay attention!! Obey posted traffic signs, they are there to help warn you of what may be ahead such as a winding road or a sharp left turn. 

2.) Drive according to the road conditions. Use slower speeds during rainy or snowy weather; wet roads greatly increase the required distance to break safely. 

3.) Wear your seatbelt. They will not only keep you safe in an accident but could help you prevent one.

4.) Don’t tailgate. Try to keep as much distance between you and other vehicles, this includes driving next to another car.

5.) Pay extra attention in parking lots, this is the area where most traffic injuries happen. There is a higher volume of people around and therefore there is a much higher risk of vehicle-pedestrian accidents. 

If you or someone you know has lost a loved one in an Ohio fatal car accident, contact our office at 1.800.637.8170 for some information or a FREE copy of The Ohio Accident Book.