The New York Times once said that the cellphone has become the “remote control of our lives.”
These days, most people can’t live without this device. Far too often, these phones are taking over our lives – too often in a dangerous way.
A new study indicates that over a 20-year period, more than 2,500 cellphone users visited the emergency room with head or neck injuries in falls. People distracted by their cellphones are tripping, falling, and hurting their heads and necks more often.
Those aged 13 to 29 make up almost 40 percent of such patients. Distraction was a major culprit.
Most cases were mild, but some involved facial lacerations and traumatic brain injuries that could lead to long-term consequences.
The study, published recently, is believed to be the first to investigate the role smartphones play in injuries to these parts of the body. Previous studies have found that all types of “distracted walking” injuries have been on the rise.
Dr. Boris Paskhover, an assistant professor in the department of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told NBC News: “You walk in the city and you see everyone just looking at their phones,” he said. “Be aware that you can hurt yourself.”
Couple that with the sharp increase in texting and driving deaths across the United States and we have a very serious problem. The facts don’t lie.
14% of fatal crashes involved cell phones.
- 14% of distracted driving deaths were attributed specifically to cell phone use, as opposed to other forms of distracted driving.
- 4,637 people died in car crashes in 2018 due to cell phone use.
- Including the cost to people’s lives, these crashes were responsible for $129 billion — or 15 percent — of the overall societal damage caused by motor vehicle crashes. This number only goes up after your primary offense.
The attorneys at Theodoros & Rooth have handled many cases of people getting hurt or even killed due to distracted driving. If you or a loved one has been a victim of any type of accident caused by negligence on the part of a driver, we want to hear from you. There is never a charge for the initial consultation and there are no attorney fees until we win.
Sources include NBC News