California Auto and Car Accident Lawyers | Sacramento Injury Attorneys | Demas & Rosenthal

 

Sacramento Pedestrian Injury Lawyers

Crashes in which a motor vehicle strikes a pedestrian can be a very serious type of accident with potentially severe injuries sustained or even death. If fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found that each year approximately 5,000 pedestrians are killed as a result of being struck by a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the same study reports that approximately 78,000 pedestrians are injured annually as a result of being struck by a moving car or truck.  However, pedestrian accidents may also occur without a motor vehicle being involved. These types of pedestrian accidents are usually the result of a fall due to the improper care or maintenance of sidewalks, parking lots and roads. Sacramento pedestrian injury lawyers specialize in cases in which a pedestrian injury has occurred due to the negligence of another party, whether it's the driver of a car or the municipal entity responsible for maintaining sidewalks.

If an individual was the victim of a pedestrian accident and believes another party to be at fault, they should contact a qualified team of Sacramento pedestrian injury lawyers to set up a consultation to determine if a viable negligence case exists.   If it is determined by Sacramento pedestrian injury lawyers that another person may have been either directly or indirectly responsible for the accident and the resulting injuries, damages may be recovered to pay medical expenses, compensate for any time missed at work, any property damage sustained as a result and even damages for pain and suffering.

Under the law, the term negligence is defined as, “that falls below the standards of behavior established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. A person has acted negligently if he or she has departed from the conduct expected of a reasonably prudent person acting under similar circumstances”.  This simply means that a person failed to take measures to safeguard their actions or property against potential hazards to others. During the discovery phase of the lawsuit, Sacramento pedestrian injury lawyers will first investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident to determine if negligence was a possible cause.  In the case of pedestrian accidents involving motor vehicles this could include a failure to maintain a safe operating vehicle, driving while under the influence of drugs and alcohol or failure to yield to traffic signals, among others.  In those cases in which a pedestrian is injured as a result of a fall, conditions such as failure to remove ice or snow, large cracks or holes and general disrepair of the lot, walk or road in which the accident occurred could constitute negligence. Sacramento pedestrian injury lawyers will obtain the needed information using a myriad of different sources such as an inspection of the scene, police reports, victim statements, any eyewitness accounts and any historical records relating to the property under the current owner.

In most cases of pedestrian accidents involving injury, the pedestrian is the plaintiff and believes someone else’s negligence was the primary cause. However, Sacramento pedestrian injury lawyers also handle cases in which the pedestrian is the defendant, it being believed that negligence on their part caused the accident and therefore are being sued for damages by the other involved party(ies).  Establishing contact with a firm of Sacramento pedestrian injury lawyers as soon as possible after the accident occurs will allow for the best possible case to be prepared.