Pedestrian accidents can cause debilitating and permanent injuries to a victim. If you were struck and injured by a motor vehicle as a pedestrian in or around Madera, you’re justifiably concerned about obtaining compensation for your injuries and damages. You’ll proceed against the driver of the vehicle that hit you, and if he or she didn’t have any insurance, you might be able to proceed against your own insurance company on an uninsured motorist claim. In either case, an insurance company will know that it’s facing heavy financial exposure in a pedestrian accident.
The insurance company is going to do whatever it can do to try and push off some or all of the fault for the accident over onto you. You’ll be in need of a dedicated and skilled Madera pedestrian accident lawyer from Maison Law to help you maximize the compensation that you deserve for your injuries and damages.
Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in Madera
California Vehicle Code section 21950(a) states as follows: “The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. …” Notwithstanding that duty, a driver can be careless and negligent and hit a pedestrian in a marked or unmarked crosswalk. Here are some examples of how that might happen:
- When a driver is speeding through an intersection.
- Failure to stop or slow down for a pedestrian in an intersection.
- Distracted driving when a driver’s attention is focused on another activity.
- When a driver’s attention is focused on making a left turn and enters a crosswalk.
- When a driver is intoxicated, high on drugs or both, and his or her judgment and perception are impaired.
Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries
In a pedestrian accident, you’re no match for a motor vehicle weighing at least 3,000 pounds. You have no protection around you and no air bags to protect you. Here are some common injuries that are suffered in pedestrian accidents:
- Skull fractures and traumatic brain injuries.
- Spinal injuries including displaced vertebrae, disc herniations, and displaced discs.
- Fractures of both the upper and lower extremities.
- Joint damage to the ankles, knees, and shoulders.
- Damage to nerves, muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
- Abrasions with the risk of infection.
Insurance and Pedestrian Accidents
After being hit and knocked down, it’s likely that the insurer of the driver who hit you will try to knock you down again. This time, it won’t be physically. It will be financially. Expect it to argue that you were at least partially at fault for your own injuries and damages by being comparatively negligent in at least one of the following respects:
- You stepped off a curb and into a marked or unmarked crosswalk without looking.
- You weren’t paying attention to approaching or turning traffic while you were in the crosswalk.
- You attempted to cross the street at a location other than a crosswalk.
- When crossing, you were inattentive or otherwise distracted.
Contact a Madera Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
Regardless of the fact that a pedestrian has the right-of-way in a marked or unmarked crosswalk, complicated causation and damages issues are inevitable. With our dedication, experience, and legal skills, we’re highly qualified to represent pedestrian accident victims in and around Madera. Whatever you do, don’t give a statement of any kind to the opposing insurer, no matter how it might try to intimidate you. California law is clear that you’re not required to cooperate with that insurer when it’s setting up its defense in your case against its insured person.
Contact us at Maison Law first for a free and confidential consultation and case review, even if your case involved a hit-and-run. After hearing what happened to you and how it has affected you, we’ll be pleased to advise you on all of your legal options
