Pedestrian Accident Lawyers - Injury Compensation
Pedestrian accident lawyers in Canada deal with thousands of claim settlements annually for those injured by motor vehicles whilst walking along the highway. Fifteen thousand pedestrians are killed or injured every year on the roads in Canada. School children and the elderly are the most vulnerable with half of all pedestrian fatalities occurring in the late afternoon. Excessive speed of the vehicle involved is responsible for over a third of all motor accidents which are the biggest single cause of accidental death amongst those under 30 years old.
When a motor vehicle comes into contact with a vulnerable pedestrian there are usually serious consequences. Injuries to pedestrians involved in collisions with motor vehicles are often severe. Pedestrians are most risk of personal injury during inclement weather and at night with dawn and dusk being particularly dangerous times. The elderly and children are at particular risk. If you have been injured by a negligent driver whilst walking you should urgently contact a pedestrian accident lawyer for legal advice, to preserve your legal right to receive compensation. Our pedestrian accident lawyers offer free advice with no further obligation and they will advise on liability and the likely value of the potential claim.
A pedestrian involved in a collision with a motor vehicle can be completely without fault and a claim can be made against the driver of the vehicle, or the pedestrian can be completely to blame, making it impossible to make a claim against the driver of the vehicle. In the alternative both parties can be at fault to some degree meaning that either party can claim compensation against the other, the amount of which will be reduced by the percentage for which they were judged as being at fault. In real terms this means that a pedestrian who was partially to blame for a collision with a motor vehicle can claim compensation for personal injury and loss against the driver of that vehicle and receive a reduced damages award on the basis of the doctrine known as ‘contributory negligence’. If you have been involved in a collision with a motor vehicle as a pedestrian and have suffered personal injury, you should discuss your situation with a pedestrian accident lawyer, to establish whether or not you have a viable claim for a compensation settlement.
Pedestrian Accident Lawyer - Compensation
In pedestrian accident cases involving any degree of negligence by the driver of a motor vehicle, you may need to seek qualified legal advice from a pedestrian accident lawyer with a view to making a financial compensation claim. You should seek the advice of a qualified lawyer who specializes in personal injury cases with expertise in motor vehicle accident settlements. Our lawyers deal with injury compensation claim settlements using a contingent fee arrangement which means that if you don’t receive an award of damages you pay nothing at all. Our lawyers offer free advice with no further obligation and will tell you there and then whether or not we believe that you have a viable claim and the anticipated potential financial settlement.
An injured pedestrian has the right to bring a lawsuit against a negligent driver in order to obtain a financial settlement for pain and suffering, cost of medical care, emotional damage, future disability, future reduction of income and any other reasonable losses. The pedestrian accident lawyer’s job is to quantify the claim and come up with a monetary figure indicating how much the pedestrians claim is worth. When you bring a claim against the defendant, you do not have to pay any money to your lawyer unless your lawyer wins a claim against the defendant. The lawyer has the incentive to maximize the value of the claim because the lawyer receives a percentage of the final award. The funds you receive as compensation may come all at once as a lump sum or may be paid on a monthly basis dependent on the terms of the award made by the court. If you lose the personal injury lawsuit, you receive no money in compensation and the lawyer does not get paid.
Pedestrian Injuries
Pedestrians who are struck by a car can sustain a number of serious injuries besides the obvious bruises and scrapes :-
Head injuries are very common. Head injuries can be closed head injuries—without a skull fracture—or open head injuries, in which the skull is fractured. In both cases, unconsciousness is common and there is a risk of pressure building up within the skull from internal bleeding. If the pressure is too great, the patient can die from a condition known as “herniation”, in which part of the brain pushes through the base of the skull.
Spinal injuries are also common. The spine, especially the cervical spine, is very vulnerable to crush injuries and twisting injuries. The spinal cord can be bruised or even transected, leading to paralysis. Injury to the cervical spine often leads to quadriplegia—paralysis of the upper and lower extremities. Damage to the thoracic or lumbar spine can lead to paraplegia—inability to move the legs and problems with bowel and bladder control.
Internal injuries can be especially dangerous if not caught and treated early. Common internal injuries include bowel rupture, splenic fracture and liver fracture. These areas can bleed, causing major hemorrhage. Bowel rupture can cause peritonitis, serious infection of the abdominal cavity.
Less serious injuries include fractures of the clavicle, arms, legs and pelvis. These are often noted immediately and the time of the accident but should be given lesser attention than the other injuries noted above.
Severe Injuries
Pedestrian accidents often result in severe injury. There can be head injuries, bone fractures or spinal injuries. Some of these injuries can lead to paralysis, which might be permanent. Head trauma can result in permanent damage leading to speech impairment, cognitive damage, visual difficulties or emotional changes. An injured pedestrian may be a hospital inpatient for a long period of time, often undergoing months of physical therapy, occupational therapy or other treatment to restore that person to their normal or near normal state. Sometimes the recovery is complete but there may be residual effects that disable the person for life. If you need to speak to a pedestrian accident lawyer, just call the helpline
Fatal Accidents
Fatalities and serious injuries to pedestrians account for 20% of all motor vehicle accident settlements by value. There are far more motor vehicle accidents than there are pedestrian accidents however the risk of death or serious injury to a pedestrian involved in an accident is disproportionate to other road users due to the fact that pedestrians have no physical protection whatsoever. Pedestrians that survive the initial impact can be thrown great distances thereby resulting serious personal injury. Pedestrians can be crushed between two vehicles or can be thrown over the top of the motor vehicle. The spine and skull of a pedestrian are particularly at risk of permanent injury. Limb fractures are common but are not usually life threatening. Abdominal injuries are high risk due to potential internal bleeding of the spleen or liver.
Liability
Pedestrians who are involved in motor accidents may have a claim against the driver of the vehicle but it must be proved that the driver was negligent and his negligence caused the accident. Proving liability in these cases can be particularly difficult especially if there are no independent witnesses. Our pedestrian accident lawyers may use specialist consultant forensic accident reconstruction experts to present analytical evidence of the causes of the collision. It is now possible to recreate accidents on computers using virtual reality programs which take into account all of the physical evidence including road geometry, weather, technical data and injury characteristics. Other physical information can be mathematically modelled to estimate speeds and ascertain the possible sequence of events. The very nature of the circumstances of this type of accident generally indicates that the driver will be held responsible to pay compensation for personal injury.
Negligent Driver
In almost all cases of pedestrian injury caused by collision with a motor vehicle it is the driver that is at fault for causing the accident. Although pedestrians often cross the street in a negligent fashion, most of the time, the pedestrian effectively has the right of way and the driver of a motor vehicle is expected to be able to stop except when the pedestrian suddenly and unexpectedly dashes into traffic without warning. If the pedestrian does break the rules and an accident ensues, it is likely that the court will deem the pedestrian only partially liable, with the majority of blame falling on the driver on the basis of the doctrine of ‘contributory negligence’ which means that a judge will allocate blame on a percentage basis thereby reducing damages paid to an injured pedestrian by a negligent driver. If you need advice from a pedestrian accident lawyer just call the helpline.
If you instruct a pedestrian accident lawyer to sue for personal injury, you will most likely win the case and you will be awarded compensation even if you were partly to blame. The most common situations involved in pedestrian accidents include the driver of a motor vehicle failing to see a pedestrian crossing the road in front of them or colliding with a pedestrian in the dark or colliding with a pedestrian who was walking on the side of the road or mounting the pedestrian area. In most of these cases, the pedestrian is not usually at fault and the driver of the vehicle will be found to be negligent and liable to pay compensation for personal injury and loss. In the absence of an admission it is up to a judge to make the decision as to who is at fault in a motor vehicle accident. In the vast majority of cases it is the driver of the motor vehicle who to blame. If you are a potential claimant you should discuss your situation with a personal injury lawyer to establish whether or not you have a potential claim for a compensation settlement. There are time limits and you should take legal advice as soon as possible after the accident.
Procedure
The pedestrian or the pedestrian’s family makes a call to a lawyer who then reviews the witness statements, the accident report and the medical report. The pedestrian accident lawyer may visit the victim in hospital to see the injuries and obtain further detail of the circumstances of the accident. Photographs of the injuries are often taken as soon as possible to advance negotiations or for use as evidence in a court of law. Determination is eventually made as to the extent of the injury and the potential recovery period and whether or not the injuries are severe or permanent. It is then that a claim is made against the car driver’s insurance company which may be represented by a lawyer. The entirety of the injuries and disabilities including psychological trauma are collated so that a claim of specific value can be made. When the claim is made, the two party’s representatives decide if they can agree by negotiation on liability and the value of the claim. If they cannot agree, the case goes to a court of law. The two sides share what they know in the court which hears both sides of the story and a deliberation is made as to liability and the amount of the award. In most cases, it is the pedestrian who wins the legal battle in the courtroom.
Pedestrian Accident Lawyers
If you are a pedestrian involved in a motor vehicle accident, you should call a specialist personal injury lawyer, preferably one who is skilled in dealing with pedestrian accidents. A pedestrian accident lawyer will review your medical records, witness statements and the accident report prior to advising on liability and the value of the claim. If the motor vehicle driver was negligent, the lawyer can file a claim in a court of law to compensate you for the accident. There is nothing to pay unless the claim is successful.
Our pedestrian accident lawyers offer expertise that is second to none. All of our lawyers deal exclusively in claims involving physical injury. If you have been injured as a pedestrian and would like to talk to an experienced car accident lawyer without obligation then just call the helpline or email our offices or complete and send the contact form and a lawyer who deals exclusively in accident claims will phone you with free advice and information on how best to preserve your legal rights to compensation for your injuries.
Pedestrian Accident Statistics
Statistics show that hundreds of Canadian pedestrians are killed every year in vehicle accidents and thousands of pedestrians suffer injuries requiring medical treatment when in collision with motor vehicles. The very nature of the circumstances of a pedestrian accident usually suggests that the car driver will ultimately be held responsible and a pedestrian accident lawyer can often make a legal claim for a personal injury settlement. Pedestrians also suffer many other non vehicle related injuries often caused by poor property maintenance, sidewalk neglect, parking lot defects and construction or other debris on walkways and claims for compensation can be made if it can be established that a third party was negligent and responsible for the cause of any injury :-
- Pedestrian fatalities account for more than 10% of all motor vehicle related deaths.
- About one third of pedestrians who are killed by a motor vehicle were legally intoxicated and in about 50% of fatalities either the driver or the pedestrian had a measurable blood alcohol level. If alcohol is involved it is essential to be represented by experienced car accident lawyers.
- Children under the age of 15 years and younger represent a disproportionately high level of fatal and non fatal injury. 25% of the children between the ages of 5 and 9 years old who were killed in car crashes were pedestrians.
- Elderly adults of 70 years and older comprise less than 10% of the population but account for almost 20% of all pedestrian fatalities. The death rate for this group is the highest of any age group.
- Pedestrian fatality rate for males was more than twice that for females. Non-fatal injury rates for male pedestrians were 50% higher than for females.
- About 70% of pedestrian deaths occur in urban areas however fatality rates are higher in rural areas for almost all age groups. These higher fatality rates may be due to higher driving speeds and less immediate access to emergency medical care in rural areas.
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