Walking is a healthy and environmentally friendly mode of transportation. It is also generally safer than other ways to travel since pedestrians are rarely involved in accidents. However, when they are, the consequences are severe. Pedestrian-driver collisions almost always result in significant injuries to the pedestrian. Broken legs, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and spinal injuries are just some of the injuries that people might experience.
When you are injured in a pedestrian accident, you may be facing a long road to recovery. The process can be painful, expensive, and time-consuming. Your insurance may cover some of your medical bills, but most people do not have insurance to cover other expenses, such as lost wages or pain and suffering. While financial compensation cannot undo what happened, a seasoned personal injury attorney could help ease your financial burden and allow you to focus on healing. A Sacramento pedestrian accident lawyer from Erkel Law, P.C. could help you explore options and potential claims.
Pedestrians do not always have the right of way on the road. Pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks, but even that is not absolute. They cannot simply step into a crosswalk and expect traffic to halt. They must check oncoming traffic and ensure that oncoming vehicles can safely stop before entering the walkway. Once pedestrians are in the walkway, the burden shifts to drivers to avoid the pedestrians.
Pedestrians have a general right of way in crosswalks. These include marked crosswalks with white lines indicating pedestrian crossings and any crossing at an intersection. It is a general right of way because pedestrians cannot step into a crosswalk when oncoming traffic does not have time to stop safely before entering the crosswalk. Additionally, pedestrians must adhere to walk signals or traffic signals.
Pedestrians never have the right of way outside of crosswalks and are not supposed to cross the street except at crosswalks. Doing so is jaywalking. The penalty for jaywalking is a relatively small fine, but when jaywalking contributes to a pedestrian accident, it can have a massive effect on finding fault. A pedestrian accident attorney in Sacramento can help people determine whether they share responsibility for an accident.
Under the state’s comparative negligence law, an injured person can recover compensation even when they share responsibility for an accident. In a pure comparative negligence state, the injured person can recover from the other party, even when they are 99 percent responsible for their injuries.
Even though drivers have the right of way under most circumstances, they must also watch out for pedestrians. If a pedestrian steps into a roadway, the driver needs to take steps to avoid a collision when it is safely possible to do so, even though the driver has the right of way. Because of this law, drivers usually have responsibility in a pedestrian accident.
Pedestrian behavior can contribute to accidents. Walking while drunk or under the influence of drugs, paying attention to the phone, wearing headphones, and jaywalking all contribute to pedestrian accidents.
While pedestrian behavior is sometimes responsible for accidents, driver behavior is usually to blame. Speeding, running stop signs or signals, failure to yield, drunk driving, and distracted driving can all cause pedestrian accidents. When driver behavior is to blame, the pedestrian will probably have a personal injury claim. A lawyer in Sacramento can help pedestrians evaluate their potential claims after an accident.
Pedestrian accidents can be dangerous and lead to severe injuries or even death. In most cases, you will have a claim against the driver who injured you when you were walking. That may be true even when you contributed to the accident. To find out more, schedule a consultation with a Sacramento pedestrian accident lawyer at Erkel Law, P.C.