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One doesn’t necessary link walking down a street to a personal injury lawsuit, but the truth is that tens of thousands of pedestrians are injured each year due to vehicular and non-vehicular accidents. The good news is, Harvey Walner Law® & Associates can help you recover any damages if it is found that someone else was negligent to your accident. Let’s review:
Non-Vehicular Pedestrian Accidents
Property defects contribute to thousands of pedestrian-related accidents every year. These “defects” could include: insufficient maintenance, sidewalk deficiencies, unsafe parking lots, or even construction areas on or above walkways. Who is liable for these kinds of pedestrian accidents? In general, it is usually the owner or person in control of the land on which the personal injury occurred. This could mean the property owner or it could mean the company maintaining said property. For example, if a construction company’s work site causes a pedestrian injury or bodily harm, it may be the one liable.
Essentially, a non-vehicular pedestrian accident is a premises liability case. Thus, in such a personal injury case, the plaintiff’s lawyer must argue that a life-threatening condition was present and the owner of the property where the condition was present was negligent in fixing it or failing to caution the passerby.
Vehicular Pedestrian Accidents
If you were hit by a vehicle as a vulnerable pedestrian, you may have a personal injury case, given that most victims experience bodily harm. But it’s important to remember that the liability claim must show that you as the pedestrian were not also at fault. It doesn’t seem possible, but in fact, pedestrians can be responsible for their own accidents. Such ways that pedestrians can be at fault for their own injuries include: disobeying pedestrian traffic signals, running through traffic, or disregarding crosswalks. A pedestrian must make an effort for his or her own safety and failure to do so will not leave the pedestrian with a personal injury lawsuit in his or her favor.
The driver in the pedestrian-auto accident also must act in a way that provides reasonable care to the pedestrian. This is especially the case when it comes to areas where children are present. While driving near a school, neighborhood, or park – motorists must be even more alert.
A driver can be found negligent if he or she did any of the following actions: speeding, not using a turn signal, defying traffic signals, ignoring weather conditions, using drugs, driving while intoxicated, not yielding to pedestrians when appropriate, etc. Any and all of these factors will be considered in a case, and a good personal injury attorney will utilize the driver’s negligence to recover damages.
About Harvey L. Walner Law® & Associates
Our attorneys have over 75 years of combined legal experience in personal injury specializations, including personal injury accidents, worker’s compensation, medical malpractice, and wrongful death cases. If you or a loved one should have the misfortune of being in a personal injury accident, and you need a personal injury lawyer, the experienced attorneys at Harvey L. Walner & Associates, Ltd. are here for you. Call us today for a free consultation.
