Orange County pedestrian accidents and personal injury law
If you live in or near Orange County and you turn on the news you’ll no doubt hear about another sad victim of a pedestrian accident, but the real sad news is some of these victims don’ t know about personal injury law, and how it can help them.
According to the National Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), 4,654 people died in 2007 as a result of pedestrian or motor vehicle crashes. That comes out to 13 people a day, every single day of that year.
NHTSA also reports that there were 70,000 pedestrian injuries that same year – one every eight minutes. These numbers are compiled from police reports, which begs the question: how many thousands of pedestrian accidents go unreported?
As Americans seek healthier lifestyles by walking more, or leaving their cars behind and walking to the neighborhood store or lunchtime destinations, the number of potential pedestrian accident victims increases.
Just how dangerous is walking in Orange County?
Breakdown of pedestrian accident victims is sobering. The following are statistics from NHTSA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS):
- California is one of the top four states for pedestrian fatalities. The other three are Florida, Texas and New York. These four states make up 39 percent of pedestrian fatalities nationwide while only accounting for 29 percent of the total traffic fatalities across the country.
- 70 percent of pedestrian killed in accidents during 2007 were males.
- Almost three out of every four pedestrian fatalities occur in urban areas (72 percent).
- Nearly half (48 percent) of pedestrian fatalities occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
Safe Kids Worldwide reports that the total cost of pedestrian death and injury among children ages 14 and younger is $5.2 billion a year.
Pedestrian accidents and Pacific Attorney Group
Not all pedestrian accidents are caused by cars, trucks or motorcycles, and at the Orange County Pacific Attorney Group, we receive calls from a variety of pedestrian accidents that did not involve a moving vehicle. Slips and falls, even death can occur when property isn’t properly maintained, there are defects in sidewalk or parking lot pavement, or when there is construction or other debris on walkways.
The personal injury professionals of Pacific Attorney Group have defended the rights of injured Orange County pedestrians for years, and we will defend yours. If you have been hurt in a pedestrian accident, you may be able to recover damages for your pain and suffering if it can be proven that the accident was caused by someone else’s negligence.
In order for our team of Orange County pedestrian accident lawyers to establish negligence, we must first prove that the other party was at fault. To do that, we must prove that the person or party at fault:
- Owed a legal duty to you under the circumstances. For example, if you are walking along a sidewalk outside of a store, but there are large cracks and chunks of loose concrete right in front of the store you’re going into, the store owner must post warning signs outside that property so that customers won’t hurt themselves.
- Failed to fulfill (”breached”) that legal duty through conduct or action (or through a failure to act). In other words, there were no signs or other indications that there were cracks and loose concrete in your path.
- Caused an accident or injury involving you (the plaintiff). Because there were no signs, you didn’t notice the dangerous sidewalk as you headed for the store, and you tripped and fell.
- Harmed or injured the plaintiff as a result. When you fell you broke your arm, and had to have an ambulance take you to the nearest hospital.
What to do if you are in a pedestrian accident
Imagine that you were walking out of a store pushing a cart full of groceries toward the parking lot. The pavement is clearly marked as a crosswalk, but a car plows into your cart, dragging you along for about 10 feet. You end up with a twisted ankle and an angry driver blaming you for crossing in front of him.
In this incident, and in any other pedestrian accident, be sure to follow these steps:
- Call the police immediately
- Stay right there until help arrives, if necessary go to the hospital or your doctor
- If you can, get the names and phone numbers of any witnesses
- Don’t talk to anyone, other than the police officer.
- Do not speak to the driver, or any insurance companies.
- Call an experienced pedestrian accident attorney.
Contact Pacific Attorney Group for a FREE case review.
If you or a family member has been injured in a pedestrian accident in Orange County or anywhere in California, call the personal injury lawyers at Pacific Attorney Group for a free consultation now.
We can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week at: