MO Doesn't Have to Be Last in Safety Rankings, Said Columbia Injury Attorney

    COLUMBIA, MO, January 24, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On the heels of last year's National Safety Council report grading states on safety, Missouri safety advocates reeled from an abysmal score. Even among the 11 states that received an "F" grade, Missouri was dead last on the NSC's list.

An attorney from the Columbia, MO, personal injury law firm Bley & Evans said that his experiences handling injury-related lawsuits have reinforced the assertion made by the NSC - most accidents and deaths are preventable.

"The most important thing we must understand is that accidents and injury-related deaths are almost always preventable," said Mark Evans. "The council's study should be a reality check for our lawmakers and our citizens. We can do better, and we will."

The NSC ranked states by three general categories: road safety, home and community safety, and workplace safety. Missouri ranked in the bottom five for all three categories.

Evans said that there are definitive actions Missouri can take to improve its grade. Bley & Evans handles vehicle crash cases, and it frequently represent clients who have been injured by a distracted or intoxicated driver.

"Distracted and drunk driving crashes are tragedies that never should have happened" Evans said. "Encouraging drivers to make the right decisions is key, but we can also greatly reduce the number of these crashes by enacting stricter laws."

Evans said that statewide laws banning texting while driving and having open containers in vehicles could make a big difference in road safety. He also encouraged harsher penalties for drunk drivers.

Eliminating vehicle-related deaths in Missouri would spare an average of 932 losses every year, according to the NSC report. Evans said that there are few, if any, downsides in improving safety on our roads through legislation.

"All of these areas - home safety, workplace safety and road safety - can benefit greatly by improving laws to protect Missourians," Evans said. "It's especially true of road safety, which could be dramatically improved by enacting these common-sense laws."

"There's no reason why we shouldn't be moving forward on this issue," Evans said. "We owe it to our citizens to do the right thing."

About Bley & Evans:
Wally Bley is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been a trial lawyer in Missouri for more than 35 years. Mark Evans has a career that spans over 25 years, including working at one of the nation's largest defense firms. Find out more about Bley & Evans by visiting their website - http://www.bleyevanslaw.com/.

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