Georgia parents may be interested in the results of a study regarding crash-related fatality rates among U.S. children. From 2010 to 2014, 2,885 children below the age of 15 died in car accidents, and the study broke these numbers down by state and region. The researchers found that in many Southern states, the rates and total numbers were highest, and the region with the fewest crash-related child deaths was the Northeast.
Researchers said many of the fatalities took place on rural roads and were due to a lack of or an improper use of child safety restraints. Other factors include state regulations and laws. The states with the highest number of child fatalities include Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Mississippi, Wyoming, Alabama, Montana, West Virginia and Oklahoma are some of the states that had the highest child mortality rates per 100,000 children annually. Rhode Island, Alaska, Vermont, Maine and Hawaii were some of the states with the least amount of deaths, and New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio were some of the states that had the lowest percentages of child fatalities.
The research revealed that 1,550 children were victims of fatal crashes in the South, while 189 died in the Northeast. In the West, there were 561 crash-related child fatalities, and in the Midwest, 585 children died in car accidents.
The surviving family members of a person of any age who is killed in a car crash must often deal with financial issues in addition to their grief. If it can be determined that the accident was due to the negligence of another driver, a wrongful death lawsuit filed with the assistance of an attorney could seek compensation for funeral and burial expenses, loss of financial contributions, and other applicable damages.