More and more riding lawn mowers are being used by homeowners today to maintain their residential properties. With the increased use of riding lawnmowers, there has been an increase in the amount of injuries as well as wrongful deaths that happen each year. Among the many causes of these devastating tragedies, rollover accidents have been the most common. Our affiliated Arkansas Lawn Mower Accident Attorneys at Arkansas Attorney Group represent injury victims as well as their families. If you or a loved one has been involved in a lawn mower rollover accident, you may be able to receive financial compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and more. Our member Arkansas Lawn Mower Accident Attorneys will fight for you to protect your rights and to maximize your monetary award.
Common Causes of Rollover Accidents
Most yards, fields or open spaces where a riding lawn mower is often used likely has uneven ground and maybe even slopes down into a ditch or rises over an embankment. Such uneven terrains pose significant risks to those who use riding mowers to tend to their lawn maintenance. When riding mowers are used on uneven grounds, especially ditches and hills, they can become dangerously unstable. Rollover accidents happen all too often when a lawn mower is angled across an embankment or slope instead of traveling in the same direction as the incline.
Rollover Injuries
An average riding lawn mower weighs between 400 up to 2000 pounds. When a rollover accident occurs, the victim can become pinned and crushed underneath the mower, causing broken bones, asphyxiation, burns, and other severe injuries. If a lawn mower is used close to a pond, creek, or stream, a rolled over mower can trap and drown its rider under the water. On any riding lawn mower, the primary feature is the blade. Unfortunately, many mowers do not come equipped with kill switches needed to disengage the ignition, and then the blade, when the operator becomes separated from the lawn mower. When a rollover accident occurs, the blade keeps turning as if it is still cutting the grass, putting anyone near the accident in danger. Severe lacerations and amputations are not uncommon injuries in a rollover accident.
Prevention of Lawn Mower Rollover Accidents
Operators of a lawn mower have the responsibility for safe operation of the mower, but manufacturers also have the responsibility for equipping their mowers with the proper safety devices that can help prevent injuries when lawn mower accidents do happen. Rollover protection systems, ROPS, include roll bars and safety harnesses, which have been shown to reduce the amount as well as the severity of injuries associated with rollover accidents. Unfortunately, manufacturers have not yet made such important safety devices as standard features on their mowers
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Arkansas Lawn Mower Accident Attorneys
Most injuries that happen due to lawn mower rollover accidents are preventable. However, injuries will likely continue until manufacturers recognize that they have an important responsibility to consumers to make lawn mowers equipped with safety devices. If you or someone you care about have been hurt in a rollover accident, contact Arkansas Attorney Group so our affiliated Arkansas Lawn Mower Accident Attorneys can ensure you receive the compensation you are entitled for your injuries.
