Kelly Moore: ATV Accident Lawyer West Jordan Utah

West Jordan is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is a rapidly growing suburb of Salt Lake City and has a mixed economy. According to the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 103,712, placing it as the fourth most populous in the state. The city occupies the southwest end of the Salt Lake Valley at an elevation of 4,330 feet (1,320 m). Named after the nearby Jordan River, the limits of the city begin on the river’s western bank and end in the eastern foothills of the Oquirrh Mountains, where Kennecott Copper Mine, the world’s largest man-made excavation is located. Settled in the mid-19th century, the city has developed into its own regional center. As of 2012, the city has four major retail centers; with Jordan Landing being one of the largest mixed-use planned developments in the Intermountain West. Companies headquartered in West Jordan include Mountain America Credit Union, Lynco Sales & Service, SME Steel, and Cyprus Credit Union. The city has one major hospital, Jordan Valley Medical Center, and a campus of Salt Lake Community College, which is designed to become the main campus by 2020. West Jordan received its name from Mormon settlers who entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 under the leadership of their prophet, Brigham Young. These first European-Americans named the river flowing west of their first settlement, Salt Lake City, the Western Jordan, a reference to the River Jordan in Israel. The name was later simplified to “Jordan River”.

Like its Middle Eastern namesake, the Jordan River flows from a fresh water lake (Utah Lake) to an inland salt sea (Great Salt Lake). West Jordan was founded around 1849 on the western banks of the Jordan River. One of the first sawmills in the area was built in 1850 in the city by Archibald Gardner. Gardner was a devout Mormon whose legacy can still be seen in modern West Jordan. His collection of mills and houses, now historic, has been renovated into a specialty shopping district known as Gardner Village. Early West Jordan relied primarily on agriculture, mills, and mining activity to form the base of its economy. The first leather tannery west of the Mississippi River was constructed in the city in 1851. Today, West Jordan is one of the fastest growing cities in Utah. Growth has been phenomenal, beginning in the 1970s and continuing unabated since. The population grew from 4,221 in 1970 to 27,327 in 1980, 42,892 in 1990, and 68,336 in 2000, reaching 103,712 according to the 2010 Census. Sears chose the city as its first Sears Grand location, a new store concept, which opened its doors in 2003 at the Jordan Landing shopping center. Transportation issues along with school overcrowding are the city’s top concerns as it attempts to deal with rapid population growth. Current major construction projects include the completion of Jordan Landing, a new main campus for the Salt Lake Community College, the expansion of Jordan Valley Hospital, and Midvale’s current transit-oriented development on the east border in the Jordan River bed. Future plans for the city include the Mountain View Corridor highway and the “Mid-Jordan” TRAX light rail line. Old downtown West Jordan is in the process of being reconstructed as a transit-oriented development called “Briarwood.” The plans called for an expanded Main Park, a history museum, an indoor recreation center, a senior center, and a large courthouse to serve the Utah State Third District, most of which are now complete. The second phase calls for the demolition of a dilapidated commercial area, to be replaced by six-story buildings housing a performing arts center, a large library, a hotel, an education center, a conference center, retail and office space, a trail linking to Gardner Village and the Jordan River trail, and a cultural pavilion to house the planned light rail station. As of 2014, the library and TRAX light-rail have been completed and opened. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.9 square miles (80.0 km2), all of it land. West Jordan is bordered on the west by the Oquirrh Mountains and on the east by the Jordan River.

The western neighborhoods of Webby, Copper Hills, and Jordan Hills are rapidly growing regions located along the lower slopes of the eastern Oquirrh Mountains. The fastest development is currently taking place between 4800 west and State Route 111, a highway that traverses the slopes of the Oquirrh Mountains. The city lies approximately 18 miles (29 km) southwest of downtown Salt Lake City. The city is bordered on the north by Taylorsville and Kearns, on the south by South Jordan, on the east by Sandy, Murray and Midvale, on the west by Coppertone, and on the extreme northwestern corner by West Valley City. West Jordan was incorporated on January 10, 1941. Today, West Jordan has a council-manager form of government. The city council is composed of seven individuals: the mayor and six council members. The mayor presides at city council meetings. The city council appoints a city manager to act as the chief executive or administrative officer. The city council provides policy and direction for the city. The city council meets the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 6:00 PM. The mayor and city council members are elected to four-year terms. Four city council members are elected from four districts within the city, while the other two are elected at-large or citywide. The mayor and the two at-large council members are elected during the same election cycle, while the four city council members representing their districts are elected offset by two years, last one held in 2015. All terms begin on January 1 following their respective election. Interstate 15, a twelve-lane freeway, is located east of the city limits, providing access from the north and south, while Interstate 215, an eight-lane beltway, is located northeast of the city. Banterer Highway (State Route 154), a six-lane expressway, traverses the center of the city, just east of South Valley Regional Airport and the Jordan Landing shopping center. Due to severe traffic congestion plaguing the rapidly growing city, a ten-lane freeway in the Mountain View Corridor (SR-85) is planned to have three exits in the city (7800 S, 9000 S, and Old Bingham Hwy.) and run north-south at about 5800 West in the south and bend west to 6400 West in the north.

The first phase of the project was completed December 15, 2012. New Bingham Highway, mostly a four-lane road, begins as 7720 South at State Street (U.S. Route 89) in Midvale, curves into 7800 South as it enters the city, and finally heads southwest to end at Coppertone. Redwood Road (State Route 68), a six-lane road, runs through the eastern portion of the city. In the far western extremes of the city, State Route 111, a two-lane road, runs through the developing rural area along the foothills. Development has recently begun to expand beyond SR-111. West Jordan is served by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) bus system, which runs every half-hour during peak hours. All of the routes running into the city connect to nearby TRAX stations in Midvale and Sandy or to downtown Salt Lake City. Service in the city was increased during the August 2007 redesign of the bus system. A TRAX light rail line also serves the area. This line begins at the Fashion Place West station in Murray and run southwest through West Jordan, with 6 stops in the city, before turning south and terminating at the Daybreak Community in South Jordan. The route was opened on August 7, 2011. Transportation has been a major issue in city politics. The city’s population has expanded rapidly from about 4,000 in 1970 to over 100,000 in 2010, outstripping the capacity of roadways and infrastructure. At city council meetings it has been common for residents, particularly those on the western edge of the city, to complain about having one-hour commutes to downtown Salt Lake City, a distance of 26 miles (42 km). The mayor has blamed this situation on the fact that the city is the most populous in the state that is not directly served by a freeway. In addition to significant road widening projects throughout the city, the Mountain View Corridor freeway is currently under construction to service the western portion of the city.

ATV Accident Liability

All-terrain vehicles, also known as ATVs, are kinds of vehicles that be driven through all kinds of terrains and surfaces. ATVs, although fun, have a higher center of gravity and a narrow wheel base that creates a high risk of rolling over, even on flat surfaces. This makes the chances of personal injury very high and approximately 75 percent of ATV accidents cause serious long-term damage to the head or spinal cord. Other injuries could include broken bones, crushed limbs and lacerations. In many states, not only is there no minimum age law to ride ATVs, there are no safety helmet laws either. Safety is really important when it comes to having fun on ATVs, but accidents do happen. An ATV accident is one that results in property damage, injury or death. These accidents can occur for many reasons, but with the risk of driving an ATV, most cases are due to the improper handling of the vehicle from the driver.

Victims of ATV accidents cannot collect compensation unless they prove the accident occurred through negligence. To show an accident was due to someone else’s negligence, the incident must fall under at least one of the following criteria:
• Caused harm to the victim
• Caused by another’s carelessness
• Was the fault of another
Comparative negligence could be a factor if there is more than one person that could be at fault for the accident. In other words, the liability is placed on the person who more than likely caused the incident. If the accident occurred due to a faulty part in the ATV, this could be a case for product liability. Manufacturers and sellers are responsible if they sell a defective product. On the other hand, if one utilizes an ATV for recreational use at an outfitter, the land owners must take precautions to carefully mark land boundaries. These markers should be clearly visible. Unmarked wire and rope boundaries could be fatal to people riding ATVs. If an accident has occurred and there are damages to the ATV, the driver may be responsible for reimbursing the ATV outfitter for the cost of the ATV at its current market value.

West Jordan ATV Accident Attorneys

One of the most commons types of cases our legal staff handles involve ATV accidents. For over a decade the lawyers have been aggressively representing people that have been involved in a ATV accident. They know how to analyze the details of an accident to help determine who was at fault and what situations may have led to the accident. They work hard to achieve financial compensation for their clients. This includes monetary settlements for pain and suffering, damage to the vehicle, medical bills and time away from work. Legal claims can be an extremely negative circumstance to go through. As a misleading name, an all-terrain vehicle is not truly made for every type of terrain out there. These recreational machines are usually characterized by fun, vacationing, and off-road adventures. Unfortunately, many individuals climb on to an ATV without properly understanding how the machine operates and what to do in the case of an emergency.

The following are several facts about the hidden dangers of ATV accidents, provided by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. While there is no direct cause of all ATV accidents, many of these incidents involve the negligence or recklessness of the driver or another person nearby. Causes of ATV accidents range from drunk driving, to speeding recklessly, to hill-climbing, to vehicle rollover; the list virtually goes on and on. These accidents are also caused due to some unsuspecting reasons, such as exceeding capacity on the ATV. Many of these vehicles are designed to hold one passenger and one passenger only. When a second or even third passenger is put into the picture, a recipe for disaster ensues. In some cases, the accident involves the second passenger falling off the ATV. In other cases a passenger will not be able to shift their weight as intuitively as the driver, therefore throwing the entire vehicle off-balance. One last hidden danger, among many others, is the chance that the ATV has a defective auto part installed in its system. Defective parts can range from virtually any part of the vehicle the tires, throttle, clutch, shifter, gas tank, fender it can be anything. If you suspect that the dangerous part caused the incident, you may be able to file a product liability claim. ATV accidents are extremely dangerous in nature, but many individuals still believe that the fun in riding this vehicle outweighs the possible disadvantages. If you are one of the many that enjoys riding an ATV on the weekends, be sure to always follow the rules of the law, these are all set in place for the safety of you and those around you. Never drink and drive, and make sure that you always have your helmet and protective gear on when riding. If you should be involved in an ATV accident and you believe it is the fault of another person or manufacturing company, do not hesitate to involve a personal injury attorney.

West Jordan Utah ATV Injury Attorney Free Consultation

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