Crosswalk accidents have been on the rise throughout the nation with The Governors Highway Safety Association reporting that 6,227 pedestrians were killed by motor vehicles in 2018. Although not all of these deaths occurred at crosswalks, it’s safe to assume that a large majority of them did.
Intersections are one of the most high-risk spots for motor vehicle crashes to occur, and pedestrians in particular are extremely vulnerable to injury. If you’ve been injured in a crosswalk accident, you deserve to be compensated for your damages. At Christensen Law, our attorneys can assist you in filing a personal injury claim against the negligent parties in your case.
A Detroit personal injury lawyer from our team will perform a thorough investigation on your accident, gather any relevant evidence, and negotiate on your behalf in court to maximize your settlement. Hopefully, you’ll be able to recover more quickly once you have the compensation to fund your medical treatment.
How Crosswalk Accidents Often Occur in Detroit
Crosswalk accidents can occur for various reasons but in a congested city like Detroit, pedestrians in crosswalks are usually hit and injured by negligent drivers. Drivers may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, distracted behind the wheel, or disobeying the rules of the road in some other fashion. Oftentimes, crosswalk accidents happen at night, in bad weather, or when roads are crowded.
Proving Negligence in a Crosswalk Accident Lawsuit
In order for a pedestrian to seek compensation for their injuries from the negligent driver, they’ll need to be able to prove that negligence occurred. Negligence can be proven using a variety of different sources.
For example, if the driver was texting when they hit the pedestrian, this may have been caught on video or in photographs by an intersection traffic camera. There also may have been numerous people who witnessed the accident in action. A police report may be able to explain how the passenger was hit, at what time, and in what way. Medical records can explain specific injuries.
Damages That Pedestrians Can Recover
As long as negligence can be sufficiently proven in your case, then you should be able to recover compensation for all of the damages you’ve suffered from your crosswalk accident. Your personal injury lawyer in Detroit will examine your damages and then use these to calculate your claim value.
Economic damages, which are the financial losses you’ve experienced from the accident, can include medical expenses, property damage, and lost wages from missing work. Non-economic damages, which are the ways in which the accident affected your lifestyle, may include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, scarring and disfigurement, and emotional distress.
Contact a Detroit Personal Injury Attorney
Both cities and drivers need to do work on fixing the issue of crosswalk accidents. Although drivers need to be more vigilant behind the wheel, cities need to improve the efficiency of crosswalks and make it easier for pedestrians to get across busy intersections without fear.
We can only hope that roads continue to become safer in the future, but if you’re injured by someone else’s negligence, you have the right to recover compensation for your damages. If you’d like to speak to a Detroit personal injury lawyer from Christensen Law about your case, fill out the contact form below or call to schedule a no-obligation consultation.
