Be Careful Out There!

We don't know how many of our readers are old enough, or obsessive fans of classic television enough, to remember the police drama "Hill Street Blues." The show was one of the first night-time shows to have the kind of continuing story arcs which are pretty much standard now and it was also pretty gritty and realistic back in an era when TV censorship was a little bit tighter than today.

Anyhow, the only reaon we're really mentioning the show is that, as personal injury lawyers in Los Angeles we're only too aware of all the unpleasant and much worse than unpleasant things that can happen on a holiday weekend like this. So we'd like to borrow Police Captain Phil Esterhaus' famous warning: "Be careful out there." To be specific, long holidays like this Memorial Day means that a lot of us are going to breaking out of our regular routine in various ways, and while that's generally a good thing, it can lead to disaster if you're not careful.

Of course, since the Law Offices of Burg and Brock are the place to go for an outstanding vehicle accident lawyer, traffic injuries and deaths are obviously the biggest and most serious concern. While certain advice might seem beyond obvious -- drinking and driving is obviously something we've all been told repeatedly is inappropriate, dangerous, and actually criminal if we're driving drunk. Still, it's all too easy to think those warnings don't really apply to you when you've had maybe just one large mug of lite beer on an empty stomach, but just that can impair you enough that should consider waiting a bit and maybe eating something before driving. As a separate maser, if you're taking a long trip this weekend, remember that driving while sleepy is, legal matters aside, not much better than driving while impaired by alcohol. And watch out for those semis and big-rigs with their big power and big blindspots. And for goodness sake, keep your seatbelts on at all times. It's crazy how many people still don't take this seriously lifesaving precaution.

Still, an attorney in Los Angeles sees all kinds of accidents and, even if you're a teetotaler who's not driving this weekend, accidents can still happen. Fires from barbecues, dog bites from improperly supervised canines, and slip and falls from poorly thought out weekend repairs can all lead to the kind of cases we see here on a daily basis. We're seriously not trying to scare anyone -- in fact, we actively encourage you to take weekend trips, visit with family and friends, do repairs if they're needed, and we're certainly not opposed to the existence of the bar or the beverage alcohol industry. Just be a little bit careful out there.