Maison Law represents the victims of Visalia pedestrian accidents. Our personal injury lawyers demand compensation for our clients after a careless driver’s mistake leaves them with hospital bills and lost income.
We provide a free, no-obligation consultation for all local injury victims. Contact us to set up a confidential case review.
It’s a no-risk opportunity to find out what your injury may be worth and how to hold insurance companies fully responsible for recovery costs.
Steps in a Visalia Pedestrian Accident Claim
Should I Call a Lawyer After a Pedestrian Accident?
If you were hit by a car and somehow your injuries are very minor, you may not need the help of a lawyer. It’s when you suffer serious harm, like a broken bone, a deep cut, or a head injury, that you may need the protection of a Visalia Pedestrian Accident Lawyer.
When medical bills start to build, auto insurance adjusters will fight even harder to get out of having to provide support. They may say you were at fault or try to convince you to sign off on a “lowball” settlement offer that ignores many of your recovery costs.
Your Maison Law attorney is a safeguard against this treatment. Your lawyer will submit all evidence to force insurers to accept responsibility and pay the maximum compensation available.
Those who travel by foot in Visalia already know how careless and reckless local drivers can be.
Pedestrians can be crossing busy routes like Akers Street when drivers who are looking at their phones instead of crosswalks rush by. These and other mistakes can lead to devastating collisions for defenseless pedestrians.
California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) reports that Visalia was the scene for 44 pedestrian accidents involving injury in 2023. Those accidents led to a shocking 5 deaths in such a small city. Those heartbreaking figures were steady from 2022 when there were 42 serious pedestrian accidents and 5 fatalities.
General Rules for Pedestrian Safety in Visalia
Two general rules have been codified in California for the safety of pedestrians. First, California Vehicle Code 21960 requires drivers to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians who are in a marked crosswalk or at an intersection. Next, California Vehicle Code 21709 prohibits drivers from traveling through safety zones. These two statutes don’t mean that a driver can otherwise ignore pedestrians when they’re seen in a roadway outside of a crosswalk, intersection or safety zone. Under the law of negligence, there is still a common law duty to use due care and caution for the safety of others. That duty would also apply in a private parking lot.
What Our Clients Say
Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
There are a variety of reasons why pedestrian accidents happen. Most of them occur in a roadway. Here are some of the most common causes of such accidents:
- Unmarked Crosswalks: If a pedestrian crosswalk is clearly marked, the chances of a pedestrian accident diminish drastically.
- Left Turns: When a motorist is turning left, and a pedestrian is in a crosswalk, they’re ordinarily looking in different directions. Far more pedestrian accidents occur when drivers are turning left rather than when they’re turning right.
- Driver Distraction: Mobile phones can be used for any number of purposes. People rely on them increasingly, even when they’re behind the wheel.
- Rolling Stops: Some drivers are always in a hurry. They might not look for pedestrians when required to stop.
- Dark Clothing: There is far less visibility at night. Pedestrians wearing dark clothes after sunset place themselves at a higher risk of being hit.
- Alcohol and Drugs: Drivers who are impaired from alcohol, drugs or a combination of the two can suffer from compromised judgment and awareness. Pedestrians can too.
Pedestrian Accident Injuries
Pedestrians are vulnerable and exposed to serious injuries when they’re hit by a motor vehicle, even at low speeds. They have nothing to protect them from either the impact with the vehicle or the impact with the pavement. Serious injuries can result. Here are a few of them:
- Traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.
- Hip and leg fractures.
- Torn cartilage and ligaments in the knee and ankle.
- Arm, wrist and hand fractures.
- Internal organ damage.
- Serious cuts and abrasions that can lead to severe infection.
Support for Visalia Residents Injured in Pedestrian Accidents?
Your Pedestrian Accident Lawyer would make sure that every hardship you had endured was listed on an accident claim submitted to your insurer.
This is an important step because any damage that’s left off your claim won’t factor into the amount you’ll see on a pedestrian accident settlement check.
Your lawyer will ensure that these and other hardships are considered when negotiating the size of your settlement:
- Medical expenses now and those expected in the future.
- Costs associated with a permanent physical disability. Traumatic injuries often earn a lifetime of financial assistance when you aren’t able to return to a previous job or return to your normal lifestyle.
- Support for the physical pain you endure and bouts of chronic pain.
- Support for emotional trauma suffered. Flashbacks to the day of the crash could leave you with anxiety and PTSD symptoms about getting out and walking again. A loss of enjoyment of life the things you can no longer do may cause long-term depression and require emotional therapy.
- Travel costs for making doctor’s appointments while you are unable to drive and while you are in a wheelchair or on crutches.
- Income and benefits you’ve lost from missed time at work.
- Wrongful death benefits. When a family loses a loved one in an accident, close relatives can file a wrongful death lawsuit. This lawsuit asks for help with funeral costs and leftover medical bills. This civil claim also seeks to protect the family in the future when they are without the financial support and companionship the victim would have provided.
California Comparative Negligence
The fact that pedestrians generally have the right-of-way doesn’t mean that they can step out in front of an oncoming car, especially when they see that car ahead of time. Pedestrians also have a duty to use due care and caution for their own safety. There are times when an accident occurs, and the pedestrian is partially at fault. That’s when the percentage of fault attributable to the pedestrian must be deducted from the gross award. For example, if a pedestrian is hit by a motorist, and that pedestrian is determined to be 25 percent at fault for the accident, a $100,000 verdict would be reduced to $75,000.
A insurance company may want you to accept some of the blame in your accident, but they don’t have the final say.
A skilled lawyer would be working to reduce your level of liability to as small a percentage as possible. Through investigation, information might also emerge showing that you weren’t at fault in any way and are being falsely blamed. In this case, your attorney would fight back to make sure you weren’t stuck with any of the blame.
Victims and Families Must Act Quickly
In most pedestrian accident cases, there are differing versions of events. A thorough investigation into each pedestrian accident needs to be performed right away. Evidence can be disposed of, and vehicles can be repaired. The recollections of witnesses might get hazy over time, or a crucial witness can vanish into thin air. Victims of pedestrian accidents and their families must act quickly, especially in the event that the crash was caused by a hit-and-run or uninsured driver.
Contact a Visalia Pedestrian Injury Lawyer
If you were hit by a vehicle and injured as a pedestrian or lost a family member in such a crash, contact our offices right away and arrange for a free consultation and case review with a Visalia pedestrian accident lawyer.
Your pedestrian accident claim begins with an attorney consultation. Before you negotiate with insurance companies, get in touch with our lawyer to discuss your legal options. When you work with Maison Law, you can have confidence that our legal team is handling every aspect of your claim. If your it requires an expert opinion, we’ll hire the best in the field to provide the insight needed. This means you can spend time focusing on your recovery instead.
Additional Resources:
Support Available in a Visalia Parking Lot Pedestrian Accident
