Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. is happy to announce Tyler Nance on being selected as the 2017 Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. National Scholarship award-recipient. Tyler is currently a student at the University of Alabama and is pursuing a degree in Aerospace Engineering with minors in mechanical engineering, physics and mathematics. One day, Tyler hopes to make space travel safer and more efficient by researching solutions for mankind to travel to Mars and return safely. In his essay below, Tyler not only demonstrates how personal injury lawyers play a role in leading safety initiatives, but also how he promotes personal and community safety in his everyday life. Congratulations, Tyler, on your accomplishments in safety. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.
Personal Injury Lawyers and Their Role in Leading Safety Initiatives
Imagine you’re drinking a coffee from your favorite establishment when, suddenly, the lid pops off and the scalding hot coffee spills, severely burning you. Well, thankfully this is now a rare occurrence due to a case that forced establishments to keep their coffee beneath a standard temperature. This famous case from 1994 was Liebeck v. McDonald’s, where the plaintiff, Stella Liebeck, was horrendously scarred from a McDonald’s coffee that was scalding hot. This may seem trivial but establishments were serving customers coffee between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit, causing severe burns from hundreds of people per year with each complaint ignored. When this case reached its peak of attention, everyone thought Liebeck was greedy, but most did not suffer the same pain. There was a dangerous business practice at work here and some companies refused to change their ways and to help those they hurt.
This case got its start behind personal injury lawyers who were compelled to help this poor old woman and ensure that this did not happen again. The standard serving temperature for establishments selling coffee is now about 160 degrees Fahrenheit, reducing the number of severe burn significantly since the decision. This is just one example of how personal injury lawyers lead safety initiatives. When a personal injury lawyers takes a case like Liebeck v. McDonald’s they open the door to stop business practices harmful to people everywhere. Bringing these types of practices to public attention force those businesses to conform to new safety initiatives. This is how personal injury lawyers lead safety initiatives, they shine a light on harmful laws or standards, such as the laws of the road or workplace laws, and push new, safer standards forward to help millions of people worldwide.
I can promote personal safety in my everyday life by following the law and being watchful of any potential dangerous events or places throughout the day. I could look for dangerous business practices at various business I may be at each day, to prevent harm to myself. In my community, I can promote safety by advocating for people that have been wronged and have not seen justice yet. I can preach awareness to those around me to be wary and stay out of harm’s way. At the college that I attend, The University of Alabama, there is an organization that discusses and creates laws for the safety of the people attending and working at the university. If I see any aspect of the school that could be a danger for myself or others, then I could explain the problem to that group, promoting safety throughout the university.
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