Even though campuses are supposed to be safe for students at all times, accidents can still happen. More and more children get hurt at school. Most of the time, the accidents are normal ones that couldn’t be avoided. However, there are also situations where the school staff failed to reduce the risk of injury and therefore acted negligently.
While college can be one of the best parts of a student’s life, things can change for the worse if accidents happen. It’s important to understand the different types of risks students might face while in school, so they could do their best to avoid them and have a happy time in college.
Here are all the different types of accidents that students go through.
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Sports Injuries
Many students love doing sports in college. It’s a way for them to use their energy, boost their minds, and take a break from studying. However, playing sports often also leads to many risks.
Usually, accidents happen due to several students being present at once, bad or unsafe equipment, or the limited supervision provided. The good news is that these accidents can be prevented if schools take more measures to protect their students, like investing in quality equipment, providing more supervision, and training staff accordingly.
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Slips, Trips, and Falls
One of the most common things that could happen to students is slipping/tripping and falling on the school premises. It could happen due to a wet floor or a hole in the fields or a paving issue. Now, defects can appear at any time, but it’s the school’s responsibility to make sure that they are fixed as soon as possible or that they are marked properly until they can get repaired.
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Alcohol-Related Accidents
When people go to college, they expect a crazy life full of partying and alcohol. Now, there’s nothing wrong with having some fun at the end of the week, especially if you don’t have to study for upcoming exams, but things can get ugly very quickly when there’s alcohol involved.
Because students are usually exposed to alcohol for the first time while in college, it may be hard for them to control themselves. They may end up drinking more than they thought they could handle, or they may be convinced by other people to drink more. This can result in alcohol poisoning or involvement in dangerous or criminal activity.
Sometimes, it also leads to drunk-driving accidents.
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Pedestrian Accidents
Although students generally walk to classes and have no contact with traffic, there are cases where colleges are located in urban areas while others have roads running through the campus partially. There is usually a risk of pedestrian accidents as many pedestrians are distracted by the music they listen to on headphones or on their phones. They may also walk thinking that a driver getting closer has noticed them, when in reality they may have not.
Pedestrian accidents on college campuses can cause severe injuries and in some cases, they may even be fatal.
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Vehicle Accidents
By the time they are in college, many students already know how to drive and probably even own a car or a motorcycle. A vehicle can be very useful for students who need to get to classes or even make their way from the campus to a different place in the city, such as a shop, restaurant, library, park, and so on.
However, vehicle accidents are quite frequent. For example, in 2021, Indiana had a total of 863 fatal car crashes. Hundreds of motorcyclists also die in accidents in Indiana every year, so people have to seek Indianapolis motorcycle accident lawyers to get compensation.
Unfortunately, these accidents can be fatal, as students can be easily distracted by their phones, they may be inexperienced drivers, or they may drink and drive.
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Classroom Accidents
It is possible for accidents to take place in the classroom as well. This could be the result of broken equipment, chairs, desks, carpets, or floors. It’s the college’s responsibility to make sure that everything is safe and in good condition for the students to use – otherwise, things can get dangerous. The college staff may act negligent if they do not fix the issues in order to prevent classroom accidents.
Final Thoughts
College students can deal with all sorts of accidents on campus. It’s essential to know how to avoid them and what to do in case the school staff was negligent. Make sure to hire experienced lawyers to help you get justice against negligent parties.