Four children between the ages of 11 and 13 were involved in an ATV accident late last month near Norris Lake, Tennessee, and all four accident victims were hospitalized with serious injuries. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), approximately 700 children and adults are killed in ATV accidents every year in the United States, and another 100,000 are injured. If you have suffered injuries in a serious ATV accident in Nashville, or elsewhere in Tennessee, contact our reputable attorneys at Michael D. Ponce & Associates to discuss your legal options. You may have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit against the person found at-fault in the accident, in order to pursue financial compensation for your injuries and medical expenses.
On March 30, the children’s fathers were inside watching a basketball tournament when the ATV carrying the four children crashed into a car parked near a vacation home where they were staying. “They were all in the front seat,” said one of the fathers, Craig Michaud. “The aftermath of the accident was just horrific.” All four children suffered serious injuries in the Tennessee ATV accident, and for three days following the crash, Reardon was on a ventilator, unable to breathe on her own. According to hospital officials, Sammie Reardon and Anna Bellotti, both 13 years old, and Sebastian Michaud and Heidi Johannes, both 11 years old, were listed in stable condition on April 2, at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.
In 1985, there were 400,000 ATVs in operation in the United States. Today, 9.2 million ATVs are used nationwide, and as the popularity of ATVs increases, so does the risk of devastating accidents, injuries and fatalities. Unfortunately, children under the age of 16 account for 27% of all ATV accident fatalities, and over the last decade, the number of children killed in off-road vehicle accidents has skyrocketed 88%. If you have been injured in an ATV accident in Tennessee, or if you lost a loved one in a fatal ATV crash, consult our knowledgeable lawyers at Michael D. Ponce & Associates for legal help. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries, medical bills, and pain and suffering if the Tennessee ATV accident was caused by the negligence of another person, and you can pursue this compensation by filing a personal injury or wrongful death suit against the allegedly negligent person involved in the accident.