Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
Camping around the South Florida area near Hollywood, Homestead, and other communities is a beautiful way to enjoy all the green spaces and nature of our state’s national parks. Camping can create a lifetime of memories, allow you to spend time in fresh air, and can help you stay fit by giving you lots of opportunities for biking and hiking.
While our camping grounds are generally safe, not all campgrounds are careful in providing adequate lighting, trail maintenance, and other services to help keep reduce your risks of injury.
Each year, people are injured while hiking and camping. Animal attacks, fall injuries, fractures, back injuries, and other serious injuries can happen on campgrounds. Even abductions and disappearances can happen in nature. In order to make your camping trip both fun and safe, make sure that you:
- Pack right: Pack light but include everything you will need. Be sure to pack quality hiking shoes you will need to protect your feet on hikes. If you are going to be biking, bring your helmet. Bring a sturdy tent, food you can safely cook, and sunscreen as well as hats to protect yourself from heat related illnesses.
- Consider personal safety: Being in a camping ground means you are around lots of people with nothing but a tent between yourself and other campers. Be conscious of personal safety. You may prefer going with family or friends so you are in a group. You may wish to choose your spot so it is not too remote and so that you are within reach of help if you need it. Be aware of your surroundings and bring a cell phone if the camping ground has cell Phone service.
- Leave cars behind: Driving through campgrounds is dangerous because there are lots of pedestrians around as well as wildlife. Consider hiking or biking through trails and through campgrounds rather than driving.
- Don’t let minors drive ATVs and golf carts alone: Children may not know basic traffic rules and can be a danger to pedestrians and others as well as themselves. ATVs and other off-road vehicles can also flip, causing serious injuries, such as head injuries, amputations, crushing injuries, and others.
- Watch out for wildlife: Always store your food in a high spot or in a secure container away from your main camp. You don’t want wildlife to try to enter your tent and confront you in order to get food. Never approach or feed wildlife, either. It is dangerous for yourself and for the animals. If you are staying in a campground near water, consider a spot well away from water to reduce the risk of encountering crocodiles or alligators.
- Follow campground rules: Get familiar with campground rules and follow them. They are there for your protection.
- Be fire-aware: Make sure you fully extinguish any fires you are allowed to set. Never walk away until all glowing embers have been completely extinguished. Use more water and sand than you think you need to fully extinguish the flames. Never set up camp fires in areas where they are prohibited.
If you have been injured on a campground and believe that someone’s negligence or wrongful act may have caused your injuries, you may have a claim. To find out whether you can seek compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and more, contact Flaxman Law Group at 1-866-352-9626 (1-866-FLAXMAN) for a free accident consultation withour legal team.