Pedestrian accidents with cars can be devastating and result in serious and costly injuries for victims and their families. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 75,000 pedestrians are injured each year in auto-pedestrian accidents, and 5,000 victims die each year in pedestrian accidents. This means that, on average, a pedestrian is injured every 7 minutes in an auto-pedestrian accident.
Because of the size disparity between pedestrians and the cars and trucks that may strike them in a pedestrian accident, victims can suffer catastrophic injuries. Pedestrian victims may suffer traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, nerve damage, crush injuries, internal injuries, complex bone fractures and paralysis. As a result, medical expenses, future medical care, lost wages, lost-earning capacity and disability expenses may all be huge expenses.
The legal process provides protections that may allow injured victims to recover compensation for the damages they have suffered from a negligent driver responsible for causing the accident that created the injuries they have suffered. Drivers can be negligent, or careless, in a number of different ways, such as by engaging in distracted driving behaviors; failing to obey speed limits; failing to obey traffic signs or signals; failing to properly use turn signals; failing to yield the right of way to pedestrians when necessary and failing to adjust for weather and roadway conditions when necessary.
When a driver has been negligent and has failed to utilize care to ensure the safety of everyone sharing the roadway, they may be responsible to compensate victims for their injuries, including pain and suffering damages victims may suffer. Victims of pedestrian accidents, and their families, should be familiar with the legal resources and remedies available to protect them following an auto-pedestrian accident.
