An individual may have an increased chance of death if they are involved in a car accident in certain parts of Colorado. If a victim is in a car accident on a rural highway, the chances of dying steadily increase due to the fact that there is no dedicated ambulance service. Residents have called these areas, the dead zones.
When someone gets slammed into by another vehicle, the first thing that comes to mind is medical attention. Depending on the location in Colorado, determines how long it takes for medical help to arrive. It also determines how much experience the medical staff has and who is responsible for offering assistance. Most of the emergency personnel is concentrated on the more highly populated areas.
Many residents are battling to obtain local emergency services. Theses areas are referred to as the dead zones, where there are no dedicated emergency services in existence. The highest amount of traffic deaths mostly occurred in more rural counties. The more highly populated areas have fewer traffic deaths.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it was discovered that 55 percent of car accident deaths occurred in rural areas. In a report from 2011, fifty-one percent of accident victims died in Colorado rural areas. Unfortunately, where a crash takes place can determine if a person lives or dies. Regardless of the area that a car accident occurs, the victims may be entitled to file personal injury lawsuits against the parties deemed responsible for the crash. The court system may award monetary damages to victims if the other driver’s negligent actions caused the injuries.
Source: NBC 9 Colorado, Rural EMS ‘dead zones’ put lives in danger, Kevin Vaughan, Sept. 9, 2013