Your Life Matters … Understand the Risks Before You Riot and Demonstrate

Here we go again…okay I’m going to take a deep breath and just let it all out. It just boggles my mind that this needs to be repeated, but unfortunately it seems history is repeating itself and so I need to express my thoughts once again. You see, four years ago, I shared a blog article on my website about how Politics and Traffic Don’t Mix and how it’s not worth getting injured.

And although some commented and praised my article and thanked me for writing it all those years ago…it appears it’s been forgotten by others who are now demonstrating their lack of common sense and respect for others.

In that aforementioned article, I referenced groups of people who are protesting against a certain candidate by banding together to stop traffic. These groups proceed to walk onto major highways which have vehicles traveling at speeds exceedingly 60 miles per hour for the purpose of creating human roadblocks.

Those leading these traffic stops using you or your friends as human shields don’t usually care if you get hurt, in fact they want you to get hurt just for the added press that will follow. And sadly, some insurance companies may refuse to cover an incident if deemed preventable or part of a force majeure, which in legal terms is an out of control event such as a protest that devolves into what might be called an out of control riot. Many insurance policies exclude force majeure events. And, worse, health insurance companies often exclude coverage for injuries suffered during the commission of what might be characterized as a criminal act (think disturbing the peace, reckless endangerment, etc.).

Sound familiar?

A similar situation is happening again, right now, in cities everywhere.

Mass rioting, looting, organized demonstrations that lead to destruction of property and yes, even more human roadblocks.

Sadly, some nefarious organizations are recruiting people to participate in these riots, demonstrations and acts of vandalism.

And people are getting hurt, or worse, killed!

When you volunteer (or even when you get paid) to participate in such reckless behavior if you get injured your claims to sue for injuries would most likely be tossed. However, that doesn’t preclude the person who was injured due to your negligence in suing you. Let me say that again, if you get injured because you participated in a riot your right to sue may be dismissed, however the person you injured by your actions could sue you.

Getting injured, killed or sued is typically not something they mention when you line up to participate in these activities, is it?

Look, I’m all for standing up against what is wrong in the world, but understand your battles. Standing in the middle of the road playing chicken with oncoming cars or being paid to toss bricks at people or buildings may sound good on paper, but in reality people can get hurt or killed. Is your political belief worth risking injury to yourself or another person?

Here at the Law Offices of David W. Holub our mission is to provide top quality legal representation, which includes an uncompromising pursuit of our client’s legal interests, while being accessible and attentive to our clients during times of personal challenge. That means that those clients we accept to represent receive our fullest attention.

If your injuries were caused by the negligence of another and you would like to know if your case has merit give us a call at (219)736-9700 and one of our legal professionals will listen and let you know if we can help. Our team considers it a high honor to be called upon to serve our clients whom we often come to regard as our friends.

*If you would like to learn more about personal injury law, we encourage you to listen to our Personal Injury Primer Podcast where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss topics related to personal injury law. And read “Fighting For Truth: A Trial Lawyer’s Insight Into What It Takes To Win” an entertaining and enlightening book pulling readers into the courtroom giving them a glimpse of the legal process and what it takes to win at trial.