To be in a crowd is, in many cases, to be at risk. At musical festivals, sporting events, political rallies thousands suffer injuries, and several dozen people die, each year. The dangers are often unavoidable. Individuals are, quite literally, swept up in a crowd; it is difficult to keep control of one’s movements, or to prevent unwanted outcomes.

In some cases, site owners or property managers may be held legally responsible for the injuries one incurs. After all, owners are bound by law to maintain reasonably safe premises. If they fail to take the required precautions, or fail to inform attendees of certain dangers, they may be found at-fault in court.

Such scenarios are somewhat rare, however. Concert halls, sports stadiums, and similar venues are usually careful about legal liability. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean they don’t have lapses. Still, the best means of preventing injury or death is to know for oneself how to stay safe.

Asphyxiation is the most common cause of death

According to recent research, the majority of crowd deaths are due to “compressive asphyxia” – that is, people get packed in so tightly, and so much pressure is put on their lungs, that they are unable to breathe. This is surprising, as the fatalities most associated with crowds tend to arise from trampling; yet evidence overwhelmingly indicates that suffocation is the leading cause. In some situations, individuals endure forces of more than 1,000 pounds of pressure – enough to bend steel railings, and to render respiration impossible.

Hazardous environments also play a role. Venues often use ‘maximum pedestrian capacity’ to guide their designs. That is, they allocate a certain amount of square footage for each expected visitor. But this leads to problems. In real life, people don’t stick to their allotted square footage – they crowd each other. At concerts, people tend to crowd the stage, leaving a vast amount of empty space at the rear. Such an arrangement causes dangers pressure to be put on concertgoers in the middle of the crowd, while making it nearly impossible to escape.

Is it possible to stay safe?

An article in Popular Science notes that “researchers are reluctant to give explicit advice about how to behave in emergency [crowding] situations.” Still, many experts note the importance of remaining calm. One researcher, a professor of crowd science at Manchester Metropolitan University, has said that “if a person can calm down even for a few moments to assess the situation, they have a better chance of survival…People running without thinking, that has been the cause of many different serious injuries lately. Assess, don’t react. It might only take a few seconds to change your outcome.”

Statistics suggest that this is easier said than done. To keep one’s cool in a moment of panic takes an extreme amount of restraint. It’s important to keep in mind, but it may be more important still to understand the risks inherent in entering a crowd in the first place.

The statistics by now are well known: accidents that involve falling down are the leading cause of emergency room visits each year in the United States. (Specifically, they lead to more than 8 million ER visits, representing 20% of all such visits.)

For individuals over the age of 65, these incidents are especially dangerous. According to the National Floor Safety Institute, more than 15,000 senior citizens perish as a result of falls in some years. For individuals between the ages of 65 and 84, falls are the second-leading cause of injury-related death; they are the leading cause of injury-related death for individuals over 85. This is significant, as one in three seniors experience a fall each year.

How to stay safe

A recent article in the New York Times details some means by which individuals can practice walking more safely. The article is intuitive, just as walking itself is an intuitive activity, but nevertheless serves as a potent reminder of how easy it is to avoid harm.

The article emphasizes the importance of slip-resistant shoes. Rubber and neoprene soles are optimal, whereas shoes with plastic or leather soles tend to be highly linked with fall accidents. This is just as important indoors as it is outdoors. (“Always wear shoes or slippers with nonskid soles,” the article says, “never just socks unless they have nonslip grips.”)

It’s also suggested to take smaller steps, bent forward slightly so as to enhance your center of balance. Moving by leaps and bounds is the perambulatory equivalent of biting off more than you can chew. When it comes to staying safe while walking, incrementalism is key.

Falls occur most frequently in the home, and it’s important to remove as many trip hazards as possible from the floors of one’s domicile. Likewise, all spills should be cleaned immediately, so that surfaces don’t become permanently slippery or sticky. Equally crucial for the senior set is to use handrails whenever going up or down stairs, as well as in the shower. (And if no such handrails are in place, it may be time for some minor renovations.)

The article also details some rather complicated techniques for how to fall “the right way.” It’s suggested that, when falling forward, “you twist as you go down to land on a side and then roll over to your back.” Similarly, when falling backward, “tuck your chin to your chest to avoid hitting your head…and keep your arms in front of you.” This is nice advice for those who can keep it in mind, but many fail to remember such tips in the moments of one’s plummet.

Falling: More dangerous than guns

More than 30,000 people die each year as a result of falls. That’s more than three times as many as are killed by guns. Bone fractures are even more common. Given the prevalence of such accidents, it seems wise to have a refresher on safety from time to time before one walks one’s walk.

According to the National Safety Council, roughly one out of every five auto accidents occurs in a parking lot or parking garage. Such collisions result in an average of 60,000 injuries each year, as well as 500 deaths and millions of dollars in property damage.

The underlying cause of this scenario seems to be inattention. Simply put, as drivers focus on finding a space, they pay less attention to the cars and pedestrians around them. Moreover, many drivers feel safer in parking lots – traffic moves more slowly, and often in a uniform direction – leading them to become more lax about multitasking.

“People have their heads down,” said the president of the National Safety Council. “They’re on their phones whether they’re behind the wheel or whether they are pedestrians. There’s just a lot of inattention out there.”

The greatest danger is a false sense of security

Indeed, the statistics are staggering. A recently conducted survey revealed that two-thirds of drivers were comfortable talking on their phones while in a parking lot, and about half of all drivers would text, email, scan social media, or watch online videos. Grooming-while-parking also figured as a common (and commonly hazardous) behavior.

Given such activity, it is no surprise that 50,000 parking lot accidents take place in the average year. The best cases lead to minor headaches. A fender bender or a side-swipe might require little more than an insurance claim and the hassle of dealing with repairs. But it’s clear that thousands of Americans face more substantive problems, and must turn to qualified attorneys who can help them obtain compensation for medical bills and related expenses.

Staying safe may require technological intervention…or just attention

As people become more distracted, cars themselves are getting safer and smarter. With this in mind, the National Safety Council advises drivers to make use of technological innovations that can alert drivers to when they are about to collide with another object.

But it’s apparent that the greatest means of reducing risk in parking lots is to pay attention to one’s surroundings, rather than to one’s phone.

A pending lawsuit that New Mexico brought against Takata, a manufacturer of defective airbags that led to several deaths, is soon to be pending no longer. Late last month, a bankruptcy court lifted the stay it had placed on the lawsuit, enabling New Mexico’s legal action to proceed.

The office of the attorney general originally filed suit a year ago. According to the complaint, Takata and its affiliated automakers – including Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Ferrari – equipped vehicles with airbags they knew to be deficient and dangerous. Specifically, the airbags “have been found to explode with such force that pieces of metal fly at occupants.”

Deaths resulting from auto defects are common

At the time the lawsuit was filed, Takata’s airbags had been linked to 11 deaths. As of December 20^th, that number has risen to 20. Perhaps what’s most important is not the case itself but what it underscores: The staggering number of crashes, injuries, and fatalities that arise from faulty auto parts.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that there are around 30,000 lives lost each year to auto accidents. And while many of these deaths result from human error – drunk driving, distracted driving, speeding, road rage, and so on – a substantial number of them are caused by mechanical failures. The statistics are shocking. Since 1966 (when such data started being tracked), the number of defective parts removed from vehicles includes:

• 46 million tires
• 42 million child safety seats
• 66 million pieces of motor vehicle equipment (including airbags and seatbelts)

Unfortunately, many individuals lose their lives to faulty equipment before the dangers are detected or exposed.

For victims and their family members, it’s crucial to work with an attorney

It is unclear whether New Mexico’s lawsuit against Takata will be successful, or whether it will yield noteworthy results. The manufacturer has already replaced more than 12 million airbag inflators, is expected to recall more than 60 million vehicles in the United States alone, and has filed for bankruptcy.

Nevertheless, the surviving family members of victims deserve compensation, and one would hope that the legal process will afford them some measure of justice.

Vicarious liability and negligent entrustment relate to the liability of one party for an accident that another party causes. These legal theories may come into play if someone loans a vehicle to a friend who is known to be a bad driver. They could also come into play if the employee of a company causes a car accident while on duty.

Let’s take a look some examples of negligent entrustment and vicarious liability in the context of motor vehicle accidents.

When someone loans a vehicle to a poor driver

When someone loans a car to a bad driver, the person who loans the car assumes a certain amount of responsibility for what happens. Let’s say a vehicle owner give his car to a friend who has a record of drunk driving violations. If the driver causes a crash while intoxicated, he or she will likely be liable for what happens, but the person who loaned the car may also be liable.

Parents may also be liable for damages that their children cause when they borrow a vehicle. In this respect, parents have a duty to make sure their children have matured enough, and have the necessary driving skills, to drive responsibly.

When a company hires a driver

Companies that employ drivers for any number of reasons will probably be liable if their employee causes a crash. This relates to the legal theory of vicarious liability. If an employer asks a worker to perform a task as the employer’s agent, then the employer will assume responsibility if the worker causes damages in course and scope of performing that task.

Vicarious liability would come into play in the simplest of car accidents. Imagine an employee driving to the post office causes a collision, and the accident was the employee’s fault. Only in rare cases will the employer not be liable — for example, if the employee was drunk or acting in a manner that was unlawful or grossly negligent.

Does vicarious liability or negligent entrustment play a role in your case?

Personal injury plaintiffs can use vicarious liability and negligent entrustment to identify all potentially negligent parties after a car or semitruck accident. When a plaintiff can identify more defendants, he or she will have a better chance of obtaining a successful financial recovery.