A car slamming into an unprotected pedestrian almost always causes severe injury or death. Learn about the most common causes of pedestrian accidents below to avoid these hazardous situations.

However, if you were already hit by a car and the driver is to blame, you can be entitled to compensation in a pedestrian accident lawsuit. A pedestrian accident lawyer can review your case for free and tell you if you have a viable claim. This means another party likely violated their duty of care, injured you, and left you with financial damages.

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Pedestrian Accident Statistics

There are far too many pedestrian injuries and deaths in America. With the rise of cell phones and other distractions, more pedestrians are killed and injured in car accidents every year.

For example, the National Center for Health Statistics states that 9,188 pedestrians died in accidents in a recent year, including non-traffic ways such as parking lots and driveways. The NHTSA also reports that 7,522 pedestrians died in traffic accidents in the same year.

The NHTSA also states that most pedestrian fatalities occurred in urban areas—84 percent, on the open road—76 percent, and in dark conditions—74 percent. The most pedestrian accidents involving cars happen on Fridays and Saturdays. The NHTSA also states that 23 percent of pedestrian deaths in motor vehicle accidents were hit-and-runs.

You can receive compensation in a pedestrian accident lawsuit if a driver is at fault and injures you. You can receive money for medical bills, future medical needs, lost earnings and lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering.

Main Causes Of Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrians often travel near and across roads to get where they need to go. Walking is a convenient and affordable way to travel short distances, and the exercise is good for us. However, pedestrians must share our roads with drivers; accidents are common. Common causes of pedestrian accidents are:

Distracted Driving

Most drivers carry cell phones, and many text and drive, watch videos, and even surf the Internet while the car is in motion. These activities are illegal and hazardous. Diverting one’s attention from the road for even one or two seconds can cause one to miss a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

Did a distracted driver hit and injure you or a loved one? A pedestrian accident attorney can review the driver’s cell phone records. They’ll determine if the driver was on their phone during the accident.

Drunk Or Drugged Driving

Drivers who are behind the wheel when they are drunk or high are a menace to everyone on or near the roads. Impaired drivers often run red lights and stop signs, sometimes when a pedestrian is in a crosswalk. Sometimes, a drunk driver will make a left turn into a group of pedestrians in a crosswalk with the right of way. Stay aware of impaired drivers as pedestrians, but you can receive compensation for injuries if you have the right of way.

Failure To Yield

Drivers must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and generally when crossing the road. If a driver doesn’t stop at a crosswalk for a pedestrian and hits them, they can be sued and potentially criminally charged.

Sometimes, a pedestrian will cross the road without crossing the crosswalk. Even in this situation, a driver can be found negligent for hitting the pedestrian. Did you cross the road while not in a crosswalk and were hit by a car? You should talk to a pedestrian accident attorney because you can still receive compensation in a lawsuit.

Reckless Driving

Drivers must drive safely around pedestrians and cyclists, in particular, because motor vehicles pose a danger to them. Unfortunately, many drivers are in a hurry and may speed, change lanes without looking, tailgate, and engage in other aggressive driving that may injure pedestrians.

Poor Visibility

Many things can reduce visibility on the road, causing drivers to get into accidents with pedestrians. Common factors that reduce visibility are rain and snow, darkness, poor headlights, pedestrians wearing dark clothes, and vehicles or objects on the side of the road.

Drivers may still be liable for hitting a pedestrian in the dark, even if the pedestrian wore dark clothes. Drivers have a duty of care to drive safely and not endanger others.

Where Do Most Pedestrian Accidents Happen?

Pedestrian accidents happen the most in urban areas with more traffic. Urban intersections at high-traffic times tend to see more vehicles and pedestrian traffic, so there are more accidents. Pedestrians are required to use crosswalks when they are available.

Residential areas around schools and parks also have a higher risk of pedestrian accidents in the mornings and afternoons. This is why school zones have lower speed limits and crossing guards to minimize pedestrian accident risks.

Also, areas of town with more entertainment areas and tourists have a greater risk of pedestrian crashes. This is especially prevalent during the weekends and evenings when there are more pedestrians.

Drivers Have A Duty Of Care To Pedestrians

Drivers have a duty of care to other drivers and pedestrians. This means that they should drive carefully, obey the law, and not cause danger to others by driving recklessly. Drivers also must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

If a car accident occurs, your pedestrian accident lawyer must prove that the driver was negligent and violated their duty of care. Then, they must show that your injuries are from the accident and you have damages, such as medical bills and lost income.

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Pedestrian Crash Injuries That Need An Attorney’s Help

Many pedestrian accidents lead to devastating injuries. The human body is no match for a 4,000 or 5,000 machine slamming into it. Pedestrians with severe injuries caused by another person should always have a car accident attorney working with them.

Many crashes involving pedestrians cause catastrophic injuries that leave the person permanently disabled. For example, you can have a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury that prevents you from living a normal life again. You may be unable to work or take care of yourself without assistance.

Other severe pedestrian injuries include crush and amputation injuries that can leave the pedestrian missing an arm or leg. This is a severe injury that reduces their quality of life and is something that should be compensated for in a personal injury lawsuit.

How Much Can You Get In A Pedestrian Accident Claim?

A pedestrian accident can leave you with terrible injuries, and it’s natural to wonder how much you can get in a settlement. There is no easy answer to that question without a pedestrian accident lawyer performing a detailed case analysis and investigation of the accident and your damages. Important factors that will influence the size of your pedestrian accident settlement are:

Severity Of Injuries

As you would expect, severe injuries lead to higher settlements. The injured person needs more money to pay for current and future medical expenses, current and future lost earnings lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering today and in the future. Courts also recognize that an injury that leads to long-term disability and disfigurement has a higher value than an injury that eventually heals.

Pedestrian accidents often lead to catastrophic injuries, such as brain injuries, spinal cord damage, multiple broken bones, severe road rash, and internal injuries. All of these extreme injuries require expensive medical care that will involve more pain and suffering. A car accident attorney will review your injuries and prognosis with your doctors to understand how your severe injuries will affect your medical bills, income, and life in general.

Liability

Was it obvious that the driver was at fault in the pedestrian accident? For example, did the driver fail to stop at the crosswalk and hit you? This is a clear fault and reckless driving case that will increase the settlement value. However, if you were partially to blame, it’s possible that the settlement value could be less.

The vast majority of pedestrian accidents are caused by driver error, though. If your attorney can prove with the evidence that the driver violated their duty of care, you can receive more money in your settlement.

Insurance Limits

Many injury victims don’t realize that the amount of insurance coverage can greatly impact their settlement. Unfortunately, you cannot choose which driver hits you. Many drivers may only have minimal coverage, such as $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per incident. This is a small amount of coverage that wouldn’t nearly pay all your damages for a severe injury.

Also, it is well known that approximately 20 percent of American drivers don’t have insurance. If an uninsured driver hits you, you may have to file a claim on your uninsured driver coverage if you have it. Some states require drivers to have this coverage, but not all states do.

It’s possible that your medical bills and other damages can exceed the amount of insurance coverage. This is common when the at-fault driver has minimum coverage and the accident has severe injuries. In this situation, you may consider filing a personal injury lawsuit against the driver if they have substantial assets. Your attorney can determine if it is worth the time and expense to file a personal injury lawsuit against an uninsured driver.

Your Risk Tolerance

Your pedestrian accident settlement may also be affected by your risk tolerance. Say that you have $50,000 in medical bills and lost earnings from a broken leg in a pedestrian accident. Your pedestrian accident attorney demands $50,000 for economic losses, plus $25,000 for pain and suffering, for $75,000. The at-fault driver’s insurance company offers only $55,000, only $5,000 for your pain and suffering. That is their final offer.

Are you willing to risk going to trial and having your attorney present the case to a jury? You were only offered $5,000 for a severe leg injury that caused you a lot of pain and inconvenience. That isn’t much. However, the insurance company did offer to pay all of your medical bills and lost earnings in the settlement offer.

You can go to trial, the jury can find that the insurance company’s offer was low, and they can award you $75,000 or more. Or, the jury can find that the driver wasn’t at fault and you don’t deserve anything.

Many injured pedestrians would instead take the settlement and get something guaranteed sooner than take the risk of going to court. However, you can be different. You may want your day in court and have the opportunity to receive a more just amount for your pain and suffering.

How Long Does It Take To Settle A Pedestrian Accident Claim?

Every injured pedestrian wants to have their case over as soon as possible. It’s possible that a minor injury claim can be settled in a few weeks, but many serious injury claims take much longer. Some factors that can extend the time to resolve the case are:

  • Serious injuries and damages: Cases with a lot of money on the line will take longer to settle. If possible, the insurance company will want to reduce the payout in a six—or seven-figure case.
  • Questions about liability: The insurance company will contest paying a large settlement if it thinks its client wasn’t at fault for the accident. Or, the adjuster thinks their client was only partially at fault.
  • Multiple injury victims: A case where several drivers injure many pedestrians can take months or years to settle. It takes time for the insurance companies to agree on who is responsible for what.
  • The commercial entity involved: A commercial truck driver hitting a pedestrian can take longer to resolve because multiple people and companies can be liable.

Talk To A Pedestrian Accident Attorney Now

A pedestrian accident injury is one of the worst things that can happen to people. Another driver seriously injuring you can cause a pedestrian accident lawsuit. You can receive compensation for your medical bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering. Speak to a personal injury attorney in a free consultation today.

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