Pedestrian Accidents
Pedestrian Accident Lawyer in West Plains
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When a person is involved in a pedestrian accident, the results are almost always catastrophic. The injuries sustained in this type of accident usually range from broken bones to life-threatening injuries and wrongful death. If you have been involved in this type of accident, you need to immediately speak with a personal injury attorney from our law firm. We know how difficult it may be to work through your case, especially if you are bedridden or forced to spend long days in physical therapy. This is where one of our West Plains personal injury attorneys will step in and work on your behalf.
Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
There are various causes that can lead to an accident involving pedestrians. The most common causes for pedestrian injuries include:
- a driver's failure to stop at a cross walk or yield to the pedestrian's right of way
- drivers driving too fast
- trying to pass up a slower vehicle
- driving in an aggressive and/or careless manner
By far, the most dangerous pedestrian accidents involve a driver who was operating their vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Common Injuries of Pedestrians Hit by Cars
Regardless of what causes the accident, pedestrian accidents are severely one-sided when it comes to who suffers the more serious injuries. Pedestrians who are hit by cars, even at a low speed, can sustain severe injuries including head and brain injuries, broken bones and many more.
There are many different types of injuries that a pedestrian may suffer after being injured by a car, motorcycle, or truck. Some of the more common injuries seen in pedestrian accident cases include:
- traumatic brain injury and other head injuries
- neck injury
- spinal injury
- broken bones
- paralysis
- amputation
- burns, cuts, and more
Due to the lack of protection that a pedestrian naturally has, a person walking in the street or on a sidewalk is more susceptible to serious injury.
Pedestrian vs. Car Accident Statistics
According to the records of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 4,280 pedestrians killed by motor vehicles in 2010. The average number of pedestrians who died as a result of a motor vehicle going back to 2000 was 4,637 people per year.
What Is a Driver’s Duty of Care?
Pedestrian accidents very commonly occur between a single pedestrian and another motorist / motorcyclist / trucker on the road. Drivers and pedestrians alike are expected to follow the rules of the road that have been implemented to keep everyone safe; it is when these laws are not properly abided that pedestrians (and drivers) can run into problems. The general assumption of the law is that individuals who are operating motor vehicles will do so using reasonable care given the circumstances in which they are driving.
A driver's failure to exercise the appropriate level of care can manifest itself in many different ways, some of which include:
- disregarding risky weather conditions
- failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian
- driving while preoccupied
- driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- failing to follow the speed limit
- failing to signal before turning or changing lanes
- disobeying traffic signs and signals
Child Pedestrian Accidents
Drivers are expected to exercise a special duty of care to children, especially child pedestrians. It is believed that children between the ages of five and nine are those who are most at risk of being hit by a motor vehicle. Child pedestrians should automatically signify to a driver on the road that a higher duty of care should be applied to the situation at hand. When a greater degree of care is not properly applied to a situation in which children pedestrians are involved, the motor vehicle operator could experience a higher degree of penalties. Special duty of care to children applies to situations in which children are:
- playing outdoors in their neighborhoods (residential districts)
- school zones where children are likely to be out and about
- any other public areas where children are known to frequent, i.e. parks, game store parking lots, etc.
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The most common way to address pedestrian accidents is through claiming negligence. With more than 78,000 pedestrians suffering injuries that were caused from being hit by an automobile or truck driver, the problem is one that clearly deserves both medical and legal attention. As such, an attorney should be contacted as soon as possible in order to assess the situation and help you determine if a negligence claim can be made on your behalf. Property defects and road / sidewalk design flaws can also contribute to a pedestrian's accident and injury, and these types of accidents just as equally deserve legal attention as any pedestrian accident involving another motor vehicle.
How a Pedestrian Accident Claim Works
In order to successfully make a claim of negligence in a pedestrian accident, you and your attorney will need to be able to show that a legal duty to the victim / plaintiff (you) was owed given the circumstances involved in the situation. From there, it will need to be proven that this duty failed to be fulfilled, either through deliberate or unintentional breach, and consequently created an accident that ended in injury or worse for the victim involved. A well-researched analysis will be made of the situation before the case is concluded, at which time negligence will be confirmed or denied and the case will be settled by compensation and application of criminal consequences, if needed. With the help of an established attorney, you stand the best chances of making these claims in a way that will result in a favorable outcome for you.
Learn more about what we can do for your claim by contacting a West Plains pedestrian accident attorney! No fees unless we recover.
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