With the winter weather setting in, Massachusetts residents face an increased risk of accidents due to wet and icy conditions. These include slip-and-fall accidents as well as car accidents. Parking lots, sidewalks and store entrances are areas that frequently accumulate ice. This can result in a slippery surface that’s particularly dangerous in the early morning hours.
A storm that rolled in on December 10 resulted in numerous schools throughout western Massachusetts being delayed or closed because of the dangerous icy conditions. In fact, area hospitals and fire departments took care of more than a hundred people who had suffered accidents as a result of the weather. Some people were injured in car crashes, although the majority were hurt in slip-and-fall accidents.
Most of these incidents occurred in the morning before black ice melted from the streets and walkways. Many of the patients seen in emergency rooms suffered head injuries, with about five treated for bleeding in the brain. People also received cuts and broken bones from falling on the ice. Black ice is one of the most dangerous causes of accidents since it can be hard to see or mistaken for wet pavement.
Over the coming weeks, more wet and freezing weather can be expected throughout the state. People can protect themselves by walking carefully on frozen surfaces, wearing ice traction devices on their shoes and spreading ice-melting products on walkways. However, sometimes businesses fail to take preventive measures against ice on their properties. People injured in slip-and-fall accidents on store property may wish to speak with a personal injury attorney.
Source: Daily Hampshire Gazette, “Slippery conditions Tuesday send some 50 people to Cooley Dickinson Hospital with injuries,” Gena Mangiaratti and Dave Eisenstadter, Dec. 10, 2014