Injury Prevention Is Everyone’s Business: How to Stay Safe and Know Your Legal Rights?

May is National Trauma Awareness Month, and 2025’s theme is “Model Safety Every Day: For a Stronger Tomorrow.” Accidents happen often, and when they do, they can create risks not just to physical and mental health, but also financial losses. Knowing your rights after an injury is a critical step in protecting your future.

At Flores Mendez Law, our personal injury lawyers in El Paso and Las Cruces can help you navigate your rights when someone injures you. Consider some injury prevention tips and know how to reach out to us when you need legal help.

What Is National Trauma Awareness Month?

National Trauma Awareness Month focuses on both awareness and preventative measures for trauma. The American Trauma Association’s theme for 2025 is that injury prevention starts with each person by making safe choices every day. Small actions can make a big difference. The program, established in 1988, aims to educate people on the risks of trauma and how to prevent it.

Why Injury Prevention Matters?

Trauma is not a bad experience but an event that has a lasting impact on a person’s life, often with financial implications. Many times, traumatic events lead to injuries that would have been preventable otherwise. Consider how trauma affects people:

• Trauma leads to physical injuries that create financial loss through medical bills and lost time at work.
• A person with trauma needs mental health support, but may not get it because of the lack of care available to them.
• That can lead to the onset of mental health disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
• Communities suffer when a person cannot contribute the way they would otherwise due to traumatic experiences. It also increases the cost of safety and support services.
• In the workplace, trauma can reduce productivity and may increase distraction, which leads to a higher risk of injury.

From at-home to workplace injury prevention, taking the time to reduce traumatic risk is critical to everyone.

Top Preventable Injuries We See at Flores Mendez Law

As trauma injury attorneys, we frequently see instances in which trauma impacts the quality of life of another person, families, and the community as a whole. Consider some of the most common preventable injury-related accidents we see in our personal injury firm.

• Car accidents: Those due to distracted driving, reckless actions, aggressive driving, or impairment create traumatic outcomes.
• Slip and fall accidents: These accidents are preventable because property owners simply need to maintain their spaces or warn of the risk.
• Workplace injuries: These are often due to a lack of safety protocols and proper training.
• Dog bites: These injuries occur when a person fails to take preventive measures to protect others.
• Product-related injuries: A manufacturer fails to educate about a product or produces something without considering safety.

Real-Life Cases Where Prevention Could Have Made a Difference

Consider an example of where prevention could have made a significant difference.

A trucking company needed to move product to its destination but did not have a driver available. They turned to a driver coming off a long shift to encourage them to take the job even though it was beyond the hours of service laws. The truck driver dozed off long enough at the wheel to strike a car carrying high school kids on their way home after a game. The kids did not survive.

In this situation, had the driver taken precautions not to be on the road, they could have saved the victims, their family, and the community from incredible loss.

Practical Tips for Preventing Common Injuries

What can you do to prevent injuries? No matter where you are or what you are engaging in, take a minute to consider simple ways you can do so more safely.

• Buckle up and slow down. Driving within the speed limit without distractions could help many people get where they need to go safely.
• Wear proper footwear. Protect yourself from slipping and falling or stepping on something.
• Keep your property less cluttered and safe for those who stop by, whether it is at your home or a business.
• Report unsafe conditions at work. See something, say something.
• Secure pets and be sure that you are doing your part to keep your neighbors safe.
• Follow the directions on products and make sure that you check for recalls if you are using a high-risk product.

When Prevention Fails – Know Your Legal Options

It is not uncommon for mistakes to happen and injuries to occur. When something does happen, know how to protect yourself and get help when there is a need to do so. If you are the victim of a preventable injury, and someone else caused it, there are several steps you can take:

• Document what happened and get medical care. Do not put off getting care or taking care of yourself in these situations.
• Know your rights. If you need legal help for a preventable injury, seek out an attorney. Most of the time, you can obtain a free consultation to find out if you have legal recourse after an accident.
• Document the care you receive and the impact the incident has on your day-to-day life. Note missing work hours and other losses you have suffered.

The El Paso Personal Injury Lawyers at Flores Mendez Law Are Here to Help

Whether you fell on someone else’s property and need a slip and fall attorney or you have injuries from a failed workplace injury prevention, we can help you. At Flores Mendez Law, our El Paso personal injury lawyers work closely with victims to help them recover fair damages even in the most challenging of situations. Call us now at 915-308-9999 or contact us online for a free consultation. We offer bilingual support and have offices in El Paso, Texas and Las Cruces, New Mexico.