As a pedestrian, you have no physical protection from injury in a car or other vehicle collision. Even bicyclists, who are also largely unprotected, wear helmets that can protect their skulls from impact and reduce their chance of suffering from traumatic brain injuries. When you are walking down the sidewalk, on the shoulder of the roadway, or through a crosswalk, the only protection you have from an accident involving a motorist are the rules that govern the road and your trust that the motorists will follow these rules.

If you are involved in a pedestrian accident, you can suffer severe, even life-threatening, injuries. These injuries can significantly impact your financial life, requiring you to miss weeks of work or even stop working altogether, receive expensive medical treatment, and potentially need disability aids or hired in-home help. If your accident was caused by another party’s negligence, you should not have to shoulder these financial burdens alone. Consider filing and pursuing a personal injury claim to recover monetary compensation for these damages. As a personal injury attorney, I can discuss the elements of a personal injury claim with you, how each of these elements relates to your specific case, and how applicable California laws can play into your claim as well to give you a better understanding of what you can expect from the personal injury claim process.

There are many ways you can be hurt in a pedestrian accident. As discussed above, you do not have the protection of a metal chassis, a seat belt, or even a helmet when you are a pedestrian involved in an accident with a motorist. In 2013 and 2014, California led the nation in accidental pedestrian deaths.

Examples of injuries you can suffer as a result of a pedestrian accident include:

• Head and brain injuries
• Broken bones
• Sprains
• Spinal cord injuries
• Amputation Injuries
• Burns
• Nerve damage
• Organ and tissue damage
• Death

These injuries can have complications that can cause severe pain or disability. A few examples of these complications include paralysis, paresis, scarring, and brain damage. Mental health complications can also arise following a pedestrian accident, such as depression and anxiety.

After you are involved in a pedestrian accident, immediately seek medical attention for your injury. Not only will prompt medical care improve your chance of making a complete, timely recovery, but the record of receiving prompt medical care is essential to support your personal injury claim.

Watch the YouTube video below for pedestrian safety tips.

There are four elements to a personal injury claim:

• The duty is to protect the victim. In a pedestrian accident, this is often the duty of a motorist to obey traffic laws and be aware of his or her surroundings;
• A breach of this duty. This is the moment that the motorist’s negligence caused the accident to occur;
• The damages. These are the financial losses experienced by the victim as a direct result of the accident; and
• Proving the monetary value of the damages. As a victim, this means working with your lawyer to demonstrate your need for specific financial compensation with the evidence you provide.

In California, a victim can recover damages even if he or she is partially at fault for the accident. This is known as pure comparative negligence. There is no limit to recovering damages in a case like this – even if you are deemed 90 percent at fault for your accident, you can still recover a portion of the compensation considered appropriate for your damages.

If you or someone you love has suffered an injury due to negligence, call our experienced Vallejo pedestrian accident attorneys at (707) 564-1900 or (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly advice. See our past verdicts/settlements.

^{Editor’s Note: updated [cha 8.22.23] Photo by Pixabay [cs 871]}