Accidents

Although an injury or death wasn’t intended, people and businesses may be legally responsible to accident victims. If another person or corporation is responsible for an accident hurting or killing someone, Weitz & Luxenberg may be able to help you obtain compensation.

When people experience a traumatic brain injury in an accident, they may need financial help to cope with medical and living needs.

Weitz & Luxenberg’s expert airline law attorney obtained a major settlement for a woman who was injured when a suitcase fell from an overhead bin in an airplane and hit her on the head. The firm also secured millions for a man who fell from an apartment building’s second-story walkway.

Workplace

Thousands of workers are killed on the job every year. There were 5,283 fatal occupational work injuries in 2023, according to federal government statistics. The government calculated 3.5 fatal work injuries for every 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. ⁽¹⁾

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) keeps records of all reported on-the-job deaths. Some examples from 2023 and 2024: ⁽²⁾

• A worker died after falling 22 feet from a roof and hitting a neighboring driveway in New York.
• A worker lost his life when he was crushed between a closing electric door and doorframe in New York.
• A worker was killed in New York when he was suffocated by a collapsing excavation.
• One N.Y. Thruway worker was killed and the other seriously injured after they were struck by a tractor trailer while performing roadwork.

Data from 2023 indicates most fatal injuries at work involved transportation: 1,495 deaths resulted from transportation and materials moving incidents. Fatalities due to work related slips, trips, and falls made up 25.2%. Another 24.9% of people died from contact with objects or equipment. ⁽³⁾

Workplace deaths can be caused in a myriad of ways, some very unexpected. For example, between 2020 and 2024, 20 people died on the job in incidents involving insects. Most of these were from bee stings. ⁽⁴⁾

Occupations with high numbers of on-the-job fatalities included transportation and materials moving, construction, protective services, installation, maintenance, and repairs. The farming, fishing, forestry and hunting occupational category also had a high fatality rate, with 448 fatalities in 2023. ^{(5) (6)}

Shopping

Supermarkets and malls can be hazardous to the public. Accidental injuries and even deaths can happen in those establishments if the proprietors aren’t careful in making their stores safe for customers.

In 2023, there were 183 preventable deaths in the retail industry, according to the National Safety Council. ⁽⁷⁾

One example of retail incidents involves vehicle crashes. Data shows over 100 vehicles per day crash into retail and commercial buildings, resulting in 16,000 injuries and 2,600 fatalities annually, according to the Storefront Safety Council. ⁽⁸⁾ The preventative measures retail establishments are urged to implement include ensuring parking areas are located away from buildings and erecting protective post barriers. ⁽⁹⁾

Even grocery store shopping carts pose a substantial hazard to children. One study found more than 20,000 children are treated annually in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to shopping carts. Often the injuries involved head trauma and serious fractures. ⁽¹⁰⁾

Slips, trips, and falls are a leading cause of injuries, especially in parking lots. There are steps to take to help prevent such injuries. These are some recommendations: ^{(11) (12)}

1. Keep parking lines and markings in parking areas clear, not faded or difficult to see.
2. Promptly replace broken lights in the parking lot.
3. Inspect for and address trip hazards in parking lots — such as cracked pavement, potholes, and differences in elevation.
4. Remove snow and ice. Make salt, sand, or other deicers available.
5. Implement weather drainage control. Make sure gutter systems and downspouts run away from walkways and parking areas.
6. Trash cans and smoking urns should be easily accessible.
7. Properly maintain pedestrian walkways, ramps, crosswalk markings, and signage.
8. Clearly mark steps, curbs, and speed bumps. Use contrasting colors of paint when possible.
9. Keep the parking lot clean of debris.
10. Install video surveillance systems that cover the heavily traveled pedestrian areas of your property.

Highways

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), 44,680 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2024. ⁽¹³⁾ The 2024 U.S. crash fatality rate stands at 1.20 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). ⁽¹⁴⁾

Among other NHTSA findings, these categories showed fatality increases in 2024 as compared with the first half of 2023: ⁽¹⁵⁾

• Up 3% on rural interstates.
• Up 1% in crashes involving younger than 15 age group.
• Up 2% in crashes involving the 65-and-older age group.

Motor vehicle crashes, were a leading cause of death for children. In 2023, at a total of 1,019 deaths “An average of 3 children were killed and an estimated 442 children were injured every day in traffic crashes in the United States,” according to NHTSA data. ⁽¹⁶⁾

When you travel on any highway, you are trusting people you don’t know to exercise the same caution as you do — so everyone arrives safely at their destinations. But that trust isn’t always rewarded.

According to government data, over 5,297 people were killed in crashes involving large trucks in the United States in 2024. ⁽¹⁷⁾

A truck driver with a history of license suspensions, driving violations, and crashes is a higher risk driver than someone with a clean driving record. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Blood alcohol levels are also set at a lower rate of 0.04%. for truck drivers by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). ⁽¹⁹⁾

On the other end, motorcycle fatalities are a cause for concern. The total number of motorcyclist fatalities in 2023 was 6,335, according to one insurance carrier. ⁽²⁰⁾ And the number of military fatalities is rising, for both active-duty and off duty service personnel. There have been at least 84 active-duty service members killed through the end of September in 2025, reports “Stars and Stripes.” ⁽²¹⁾

Estimates of the economic costs of motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. reached $417 billion annually, updated for inflation only, according to the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. It’s Roadmap to Safety 2025 report’s estimate of total costs included productivity ($130 billion), property damage ($141 billion), other ($108 billion), and medical costs ($38 billion). ⁽²²⁾

Alcohol contributes to the cost of crashes and was estimated at $123.3 billion annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (23) It was followed by speeding at $46 billion. ⁽²⁴⁾

There were 1,846 deaths on rural interstate and 7,507 on rural arterials. In urban areas, there were 3,122 deaths on interstates and 15, 244 on urban arterials. ⁽²⁵⁾

Updated January 2026