Pedestrian Accident Attorneys
Our experienced Vancouver, WA personal injury attorneys have successfully represented numerous clients who have been injured in pedestrian accidents. Every day across the country pedestrians are injured in accidents because of the negligence of others. Pedestrian accidents often result in serious injuries and typically involve a collision with a car, truck or bicyclist.
There can be many factors that contribute to pedestrian accidents and it can be challenging to determine who or what caused the accident. Our experienced pedestrian accident lawyers have experience reconstructing accident scenes in order to determine all the factors contributing to a pedestrian accident. It’s important to consult with an injury attorney that has experience representing clients who have been injured in pedestrian accidents to ensure the best possible outcome of any litigation.
Pedestrians hit while walking in crosswalks
Sometimes pedestrians are hit while walking in crosswalks where they have the right away to oncoming traffic. A quick assumption is that if someone was walking in a crosswalk and they are hit by a vehicle, the pedestrian would have a “slam dunk” case against the driver of the vehicle. However, what if the pedestrian was knocked out of the crosswalk and the responding police officer noted in the accident report that the pedestrian was not in the crosswalk? This happens, and when it does it is up to the accident victim’s personal injury lawyer to ensure they get all the facts of exactly what happened at the scene of the accident. The accident report may have factual errors and it is the responsibility of the accident attorney to ensure the victims legal rights are protected.
If you are someone you know has been injured in a pedestrian accident, contact our experienced accident attorneys today for a FREE legal consultation.
How many people are injured in pedestrian accidents?
Below are some pedestrian accident statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In 2010, 4,280 pedestrians were killed and an estimated 70,000 were injured in traffic crashes in the United States. On average, a pedestrian was killed every two hours and injured every eight minutes in traffic crashes. A pedestrian, as defined for the purpose of this Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, is any person on foot, walking, running, jogging, hiking, sitting or lying down who is involved in a motor vehicle traffic crash.
Almost three-fourths (73%) of pedestrian fatalities occurred in an urban setting versus a rural setting. Nearly four-fifths (79%) of pedestrian fatalities occurred at non-intersections versus at intersections. Eighty-eight percent of pedestrian fatalities occurred during normal weather conditions (clear/cloudy), compared to rain, snow and foggy conditions. A majority of the pedestrian fatalities, 68 percent, occurred during the nighttime. Between 2009 and 2010 all these percentages stayed relatively level.
Age – Pedestrian Accidents
Older pedestrians (age 65+) accounted for 19 percent (826) of all pedestrian fatalities and an estimated 11 percent (8,000) of all pedestrians injured in 2010.
In 2010, the fatality rate for older pedestrians (age 65+) was 2.04 per 100,000 population – higher than the rate for all the other ages.
In 2010, almost one-fifth (19%) of all children between the ages of 5 and 9 who were killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians. Children age 15 and younger accounted for 7 percent of the pedestrian fatalities in 2010 and 23 percent of all pedestrians injured in traffic crashes.
Gender – Pedestrian Accidents
More than two-thirds (69%) of the pedestrians killed in 2010 were males. In 2010, the male pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 population was 1.94 — more than double the rate for females (0.85 per 100,000 population). In 2010, the male pedestrian injury rate per 100,000 population was 25, compared with 20 for female.
