Barbara Sadler: ATV Accident Lawyer Heber City Utah

Heber City Utah, is located in a beautiful mountain valley just a short drive from the Wasatch Front. The area offers outstanding year-round outdoor recreation including golf, fly fishing, boating, and water sports, plus skiing and other winter sports. In summer, temperatures are usually cool and pleasant. In winter, abundant snowfall makes this a paradise for winter recreation. Heber City is a city in northwestern Wasatch County, Utah, United States. Heber City was founded by English immigrants who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the late 1850s, and is named after the Mormon apostle Heber C. Kimball. It is the county seat of Wasatch County. The original Heber City town square is located on the west side of Main Street between Center Street and 100 North and currently houses city offices as well as the historic Wasatch Stake Tabernacle and Heber Amusement Hall. The city was largely pastoral, focusing largely on dairy farms and cattle ranching, and has since become a bedroom community for Orem, Provo, Park City and Salt Lake City. Heber City is currently governed by Mayor Kelleen Potter along with City Council Members. Within the city limits are Heber Valley, Old Mill, Daniels Canyon and J.R. Smith Elementary Schools, Timpanogos Middle School, Rocky Mountain Middle School, Wasatch High School, and Wasatch Alternative High School. An additional school in the Heber Valley is Midway Elementary School. All of these schools are part of the Wasatch County School District. Utah Valley University maintains a satellite campus just north of Heber City along the US-40 corridor.

Heber City was first settled in 1859 by Robert Broadhead, James Davis and James Gurr. John W. Witt built the first house in the area. The area was under the direction of Bishop Silas Smith who was in Provo. In 1860 Joseph S. Murdock became the bishop over the Latter-day Saints in Heber City and vicinity. Heber City is located at 40°30′24″N 111°24′44″W (40.506793, -111.412292), at an elevation of 5595 feet. The region in which Heber City is located is known as the Wasatch Back. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (8.9 km2), all of it land. Heber City is in the neighborhood of three large reservoirs, Jordanelle, Deer Creek, and Strawberry.

Heber City has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Utah. Local developers and business leaders cite that there are not enough jobs in the city itself (as 27% of residents commute to Park City or Salt Lake City for work) and wish to improve the city’s self-reliance. Average home prices in the valley doubled from 2002–2008 and the population has grown by 25% in that same time period. Tourism is a year-round industry in the Heber Valley. The winter season features cross-country and downhill skiing, as well as snowboarding and snowmobiling on several trails and the nearby ski resorts of Park City. In the summer and fall, golfing, off roading, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreational activities are abundant. Heber is also home to the Heber Valley Historic Railroad (HVRR) which was known as the Heber Creeper before 1989. Heber City’s youth are employed largely in the surrounding golf courses, restaurants, and specialty shops in Heber City and the surrounding area. Local contractors and farmers are also a major source of employment for the youth. The adult population work mostly in Park City, Salt Lake City, Provo and Orem.

Skiing and Snowboarding is very popular among Heber City’s youth, and many people go to Park City mountain resort, Canyons, or Deer Valley, all of which are in Park City. Farming and ranching is a large force in the economy, but this has diminished slightly. The largest local employer is the Wasatch County School District. As of the census of 2010, there were 11,362 people and 3,637 households residing in the city. The population density was 2,113.5 people per square mile (816/km2). There were 3,637 housing units at an average density of 710.5 per square mile (274.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 87.7% White, 0.4% African American, 0.8% Native American, 1.1% Asian, and 0.1% Pacific Islander. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.4% of the population. There were 3,362 households out of which 50.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.6% were non-families. Of all households 15.9% were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.35 and the average family size was 3.78. The median age was 28.5 years.

ATV Accident Lawyer

ATV riding is a popular activity that many consider a relaxing yet exciting sport. At the same time, it’s a high-risk hobby, and when ATV accidents occur, just who is responsible for the risk can become a major concern. If you have been involved in an accident, there will be multiple questions that require the experience of a personal injury lawyer. Heber has no shortage of areas that look and feel as if they were created specifically for exploration with an ATV, but accidents do happen. When they do, your life can be completely changed forever, and by no fault of your own. Although riding ATVs is among the most popular hobbies in Utah, Heber leads the county in ATV accidents. While this shouldn’t affect your decision to continue to enjoy your hobby, you should keep in mind that there could be more ATVs operating in a smaller area than in other areas of the state. Because of this, accidents involving multiple ATVs and motorists can occur more frequently. Whether your accident takes place in Utah or anywhere else, however, you’re likely to suffer severe physical and mental injuries.

ATV Requirements

Heber has restrictions on where you can operate an ATV. For example, one of the ATV laws is that you aren’t supposed to ride them on the highway or on private property unless you have permission from the owner of the property. On the other hand, property owners are obligated to maintain their property in such a way that it is safe for travel. It isn’t always easy to determine where one property ends and another begins, so how do you know who is responsible when an ATV accident occurs as a result of neglected property?

ATV Accident Scenarios

One of the most likely scenarios is for a rider to unknowingly cross a property line, and then perhaps hit a stump from a freshly cut tree. For the average citizen, it’s difficult to assess just who is responsible for that accident. Although you may not have permission to be on the land, there may not be clear markers to let you know. The existence of the stump may have left the area unsafe as far as the court is concerned. This is just one example of a time when you need a qualified ATV accident.

Long-Term Injuries

Because there is no external protection on some ATVs and only limited external protection on others, there is every potential to develop long-term issues as a result of an accident on an ATV. This is especially true if you weren’t wearing safety gear or your safety gear wasn’t able to cover some vulnerable areas, like your vertebrae. Again, it’s difficult for the average citizen to assess who is responsible for such injuries, much less enforce that responsibility

Short-Term Injuries

Short-term injuries don’t sound threatening because they may not last as long as other injuries. At the same time, they may cause you to miss work, and can limit your day-to-day responsibilities. It’s important that you don’t have to risk losing anything if you aren’t the one ultimately responsible for the injury in the first place. For some people, losing a day’s pay doesn’t mean a lot, but for the majority of the country, it could mean the loss of services or even healthcare. This is not even including medical bills and the cost of other expenses necessary in getting you back on your feet.

Contact An Experienced ATV Accident Attorney

If you are unfortunate enough to have been involved in an ATV accident, don’t assume you have to deal with it by yourself. Contact an experienced ATV accident lawyer.

ATV Accidents in Heber

Four-wheelers, motocross bikes, and other all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are by design unstable and sensitive. Yet these recreational vehicles, along with speedboats and Jet Skis, are heavily marketed to the adventurous. The Heber personal injury lawyers have seen the tragic results of ATV and boating accidents. All-terrain vehicle accidents often result in serious or fatal head and neck injuries, or permanently disabling knee or foot injuries.

Accident Statistics for ATVs

• 300 people die in ATV accidents every year in the United States. The majority of these deaths are caused by head and spinal cord injuries.
• Approximately 80% of all boat accident fatalities occurred on vessels where the operator had not received boating safety instruction, and alcohol was involved in 39% of all fatal boating accidents.
If you were injured or a member of your family was killed in a recreational accident as a passenger, driver, or water skier, it is important to hire a lawyer with the right experience. You need someone who will stand up for you as you seek justice and fair compensation for your injuries and loss.

Who Can Ride ATVs (and Who Shouldn’t)

There are no federal regulations or age limits when it comes to riding ATVs. Instead, each state has its own guidelines and laws. Some states require ATV riders to be 16 years old and have a safety certificate. Other states allow kids as young as 10 to ride ATVs as long as they’re supervised by an adult with a valid driver’s license. The AAP does not recommend ATV use for children and teens 16 or younger. ATVs can be too large for smaller kids to handle safely, even if it’s legal for them to be riding them. Safely operating an ATV requires the driver to make quick decisions, such as speeding up, slowing down, or shifting his or her weight in response to changes in the environment. Kids under 16 are unlikely to be able to make these choices or have the skills to carry them out. If your child does ride an ATV, make sure you understand and follow the rules of your state. Visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) online for this information. This applies even if your child won’t be steering the ATV. Many states don’t allow passengers to ride unless the ATV is specifically designed to carry two people. ATV riding will always be risky and because they’re fun, many kids and teens will want to try them. There are no guarantees that kids won’t get hurt, even with precautions and protective laws in place. But by making sure that riders follow safety rules and know how to use ATVs safely, parents can do their best to help protect them from being injured.

Why is an ATV so dangerous?

There isn’t a week which goes by without a child being seriously injured after riding one at a friend’s house, or a farmer leaving the homestead on one, never to return. In fact, so dangerous are ATV’s here in Heber that they now hold the crown as the biggest killer on our farms, with 1 farmer dying each week on average. In 2015, a total of 24 farmers died in ATV accidents between January and the end of June, while another 50 suffered non-fatal injuries which were serious enough to be reported. As human beings none of us will ever be perfect and rider error will always be a factor. Perhaps it is the machine which needs to be made less deadly. One would imagine that a 4-wheeled ATV would be safer than a similarly sized 2-wheeled dirt bike. I mean why wouldn’t it be? The added stability of having four wheels on the ground means the rider doesn’t need to balance anywhere near as much. In theory, this is true, but in reality it couldn’t be further from the truth. A big part of what makes an ATV so dangerous is their inherent flaw in their design, resulting in a lack of lateral stability and crush protection for the rider. Put simply, ATV’s roll over all too easily, and often the consequences of that roll can be fatal. Another issue with an ATV is the weight up to twice the weight of a dirt bike. If you drop a dirt bike, the worst thing that might happen is you’ll break a leg. But if you roll an ATV you run the risk of breaking your neck, breaking your back or at least being on the receiving end of crush injuries to potentially any part of your body. By design, ATV’s are also great at tumbling down hills out of control, potentially hurting or injuring other bystanders.

So the next time you’re given the chance to ride an ATV in a seemingly harmless environment, make sure you treat it with the caution and respect it deserves.

• Always wear safety gear. Helmets, goggles, boots, gloves – they works.
• Do a pre-ride inspection every time. Also check the tires for wear and rims for damage.
• Never ride alone. Running out of fuel or crashing can be life threatening if you’re alone.
• Don’t ride drunk. ATV’s are dangerous enough as they are.
• If you’re tired, stop riding.
• One rider at a time. No piggy-backing or side riding.
• Ride on Designated Trails. Going off the beaten track increases your chances of rolling.
• Ride an ATV which suits your size. As a general rule, 90cc engines or larger for those 16 years and older.
• Know your surroundings. Look ahead just like driving a car so you can see what’s coming.
• Don’t mess around. Probably one of the top reason riders get hurt. Whether it’s showing off, trying to see what their quad can do or just plain stupidity, don’t ride beyond your ability.

Heber City Utah ATV Accident Lawyer Free Consultation

When you need legal help with an ATV Accident in Heber City Utah, please call Ascent Law LLC for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.