A pedestrian accident lawyer can help, and compensation can come

Walking is a healthy exercise, yet being a pedestrian also makes you more vulnerable to vehicles. An estimated 6,000 people are killed and 90,000 are injured each year in American pedestrian accidents or knock downs, reports the Federal Highway Administration. This represents about one-seventh of all traffic fatalities.

Children, who are less careful, are most at risk. The elderly are less likely to be struck, but are more likely to be seriously injured or die if they are hit. If a loved one has died in a pedestrian knock down, contact a pedestrian accident attorney for help.

Drivers have no excuse

No driver has an adequate excuse for striking and killing a pedestrian. Drivers always must yield to pedestrians, yet many don’t, hitting those who walk in crosswalks, intersections or parking lots. Many drivers also speed in residential areas where children are playing. They tend to turn right on red lights without looking to see if a pedestrian is attempting to cross there, and to back up out of a driveway or a parking space without first checking behind them.

Drivers also may be negligent due to using alcohol or other drugs; dialing, texting or talking on cell phones; and otherwise driving without due care and attention. In other words, too many drivers are too distracted and in too big of a hurry to ensure pedestrians’ safety.

Speed kills pedestrians especially

Speeding is a major factor in all traffic accidents, but it is more likely to lead to fatalities when a pedestrian is struck. Studies have found that a slight increase in speed limits can lead to a disproportionately larger increase in pedestrian knock down fatalities.

Drivers who strike pedestrians can be driving cars, trucks, taxies, buses or motorcycles, and many are guilty of hit-and-run. Such accidents are more likely to occur in urban areas where more people are walking in or near streets. The National Safety Council reports almost three-fourths of pedestrian/vehicle fatalities occur in urban areas.

Rural pedestrians also are vulnerable

However, rural areas also are vulnerable, since rural roads are less likely to have sidewalks or other means for pedestrians to walk while near, but not on, roadways. Also, vehicles tend to be going faster on rural roads than in congested urban areas.

Poor visibility can be a contributing factor, with some pedestrians knocked down by vehicles in large part due to changes in Daylight Savings Time. This occurs particularly in the fall, when clocks are set back and skies get dark earlier. In the first few weeks after the “fall back” time change in November, an extra 37 people die because drivers fail to adjust to earlier darkness in the day.

Many children also are struck in mid-afternoon, or around the time they start walking home from school.

A pedestrian accident lawyer can help

If a loved one was suffered wrongful death in a pedestrian knock down through another person’s negligence or misconduct, you should contact an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer with Jim S. Adler & Associates and seek compensation. This can be calculated based on loss of past and future income, damages for past and future medical assistance, and pain and suffering. Punitive damages also may be awarded as a means of punishing the driver for his or her negligence.

A skilled pedestrian accident attorney must prove that a driver’s negligence or wrongdoing caused the  fatal knock down accident. This may mean driving while impaired, failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, and failing to heed the speed limit.

Jim S. Adler & Associates can help you when a loved one has suffered wrongful death in a pedestrian knock down. The law firm offers a free case review. Check out the law firm's News and Views blog for more about pedestrian accidents, and fill out our website's free case review form to begin your recovery today.

Jim S. Adler & Associates also has offices at City Place Building, 2711 North Haskell Ave., Suite 2100 LB40, Dallas, Texas 75204-2887; Bank of America, 12605 East Freeway, Suite 400, Houston, Texas 77015-5619 (serving Channelview, Texas); and San Pedro Plaza, 7330 San Pedro Ave., Suite 700, San Antonio, Texas 78216-6237.

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