Aurora Pedestrian Accident Attorneys

Auto/pedestrian accidents can cause devastating injuries, long-term medical complications, and permanent disability. Drivers are responsible for pedestrian safety, and breaching this obligation could cause an Aurora pedestrian accident, resulting in serious injuries or death.

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC law firm, our personal injury attorneys know that pedestrian accidents can cause devastating injuries, long-term medical complications, and permanent disability.

We have the skills and resources to determine your best options for legal recourse after experiencing an auto/pedestrian accident in the Aurora area.

The legal services of our Aurora, IL, personal injury lawyers are always available when you need us most – 24/7/365!

Call (888) 424-5757 to schedule a free consultation with our experienced Aurora pedestrian accident attorneys. All confidential or sensitive information you share with your lawyer remains private through an attorney-client relationship.

Pedestrian Accident Statistics

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), pedestrian accidents involving severe injuries and fatalities have risen significantly in recent years.

Data shows that:

• Over 4,730 pedestrians were killed, and another 70,000 suffered injuries from motor vehicle accidents in 2015.  That’s up from 3,477 fatalities and 55,000 injuries in 2009.
• Most pedestrian fatalities (72%) occur at night; 25% occur during dawn or dusk.
• Most pedestrian fatalities (69%) occurred in urban areas, with 22 percent occurring in rural areas.
• More than 25% of fatalities involved a single vehicle, and another 26% of the victims were struck by a car making a left turn. Conversely, only 12% of fatal pedestrian accidents involved only the car that struck the pedestrian, and just 8% involved a car traveling straight.
• In 2015, one in five killed pedestrians tested positive for alcohol, a percentage down from 28% at the beginning of the decade.
• Pedestrians aged 65 or older are at increased risk of being struck by a motor vehicle.

Common Injuries in Car/Pedestrian Accident Claims

In catastrophic injuries, a large commercial vehicle, passenger car, or motorcycle colliding with a pedestrian can be devastating.

Typical common injuries include:

• Traumatic brain injuries: These severe injuries can lead to various symptoms, including loss of consciousness, headaches, memory loss, and difficulty concentrating and speaking.
• Spinal cord injuries can cause pain or numbness in various body parts and muscle paralysis.
• Bone fractures: Common locations for bone fractures include the pelvis, femur (thighbone), skull, and ribs.
• Joint injuries: The joints in the knee or hip can be fractured or knocked out of place, causing severe pain and disability.
• Internal organ damage: Internal bleeding and organ damage occur after a pedestrian accident with severe consequences such as chronic pain and long-term health issues.

Pedestrians have the right of way in intersections when properly crossing a street. In these instances, drivers must yield, regardless of traffic signals or whether they see a pedestrian.

In addition, drivers should remember that pedestrians always have the right of way over vehicles in all marked and unmarked crosswalks.

Auto Insurance for Pedestrian Accidents

According to the Insurance Information Institute, it’s crucial to choose auto insurance that provides enough of the following types of coverage:

• Bodily injury liability coverage for at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident
• Property damage liability coverage for at least $50,000
• Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage for the amount of your bodily injury liability coverage
• Underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage for at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident
• Medical expenses coverage to pay for injuries sustained in a pedestrian accident

Uninsured motorists or underinsured motorists’ coverage can protect you financially if you become involved in an accident with a driver who doesn’t have liability insurance or if the driver’s coverage is insufficient to pay for your recovery.

Catastrophic Aurora, Illinois Pedestrian Accidents

Our personal injury attorneys specializing in pedestrian accidents have handled many cases and reviewed others where victims were seriously injured or killed through another’s negligence.

• In March 2021, a pedestrian was killed when he tried to cross a highway on foot in Aurora, Illinois. The pedestrian was struck by a vehicle and died at the accident scene. The victim’s surviving family members filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver seeking financial recovery. The case was resolved through a negotiated settlement.
• In April 2021, an 11-year-old girl was seriously injured when she walked along a street with friends near her school in Aurora, Illinois. An 8-year-old boy ran into her path, and she struck him, causing her to fall. After the girl got up from the ground, a vehicle ran her over, causing her serious injuries. Her attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of the victim against the SUV driver for negligence in failing to see and avoid the pedestrians in time to avoid hitting them. The case was settled in mediation for $1 million in damages.
• In July 2020, an older woman was struck by a moving vehicle crossing an Aurora, Illinois, street. The pedestrian was crossing the street between two stopped vehicles when a third vehicle hit her. The woman was taken to the hospital and died from her injuries. Lawyers filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the victim’s family against the driver of the striking vehicle, alleging negligence on his part in failing to see the pedestrian in time to avoid hitting her. The case settled for $1 million.
• In December 2020, a vehicle that had run off the road onto an Aurora, Illinois, sidewalk struck a young man. The pedestrian suffered head and spinal injuries and immediately went into shock. He remained in the hospital for several weeks. Our firm filed a lawsuit against the driver on behalf of the pedestrian, with our client being his late mother’s estate administrator. Attorneys claimed negligence on the part of this 27-year-old male previously convicted of driving under the influence (DUI).
• In April 2019, a pedestrian suffered injuries when a driver ran a red light and struck him in Aurora, Illinois. The injured pedestrian was immediately rushed to the nearest emergency room, where he remained in critical condition for over a week. A law firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of its client against the at-fault driver seeking damages from wrongful death because this pedestrian’s injuries were so severe that he succumbed to them.

All our wrongful death lawsuits seek financial compensation for losing a loved one and the expenses and losses sustained by family members because of their wrongful deaths.

Aurora Personal Injury Lawyers – Pedestrian & Hit and Run Accidents

Pedestrians who hit-and-run drivers strike are among the most vulnerable in our community. The victims cannot always identify the responsible parties, making seeking compensation complex after an accident.

Because our law firm is dedicated to protecting pedestrians injured or killed by negligent or reckless drivers, we have handled many cases where hit-and-run drivers have left accident victims with severe injuries or have killed them.

Pedestrian Injury Accidents

The number of pedestrian deaths in the United States continues to rise. Between 2007 and 2016, pedestrian fatalities increased by roughly 50%.

As a result, the United States has become one of the most dangerous places in the world for pedestrians to live and work. This danger is primarily due to the number of vehicles on our roads.

Pedestrians are particularly vulnerable when struck by vehicles because their bodies do not have the protective features of cars and trucks, such as metal frames or airbags.

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, our personal injury attorneys help pedestrians injured in pedestrian/car accidents obtain financial compensation for their losses, including medical costs and pain and suffering.

Fatal Pedestrian Accidents

In many cases, a pedestrian accident victim may not survive the incident, especially if the driver flees the accident scene.

In some situations, police can use license plate numbers or witnesses’ accounts of the accident to track down a hit-and-run driver. However, these measures do not always ensure that an at-fault party will be identified or held accountable for injury or death caused by their negligence.

Qualifying surviving family members have the legal right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against any party’s negligence that led to their loved one’s death. These cases involve substantial amounts of time, effort, and expense.

They also require skilled legal representation to ensure that the applicable tort and traffic laws are applied correctly.

Resolving a wrongful death lawsuit typically provides survivors with substantial funds to pay for:

• Hospitalization costs and medical bills
• Funeral and burial expenses
• Lost income and future lost earnings
• Loss of familial support
• Loss of consortium and companionship
• Pain, suffering, and misery experienced by the decedent before passing
• The family member’s pain, suffering, and grief
• Punitive damages in cases where the party at fault’s behavior was egregious

Typically, wrongful death claims can be resolved within two to five years. However, this time frame may be extended if an insurance claim is involved or the court contests the wrongful death lawsuit.

Aurora Personal Injury Lawyers – Pedestrian Accident Compensation

Pedestrians and bicyclists struck by vehicles and suffer injuries should contact a law firm experienced with pedestrian accident claims to determine if they are entitled to recover compensation.

Our pedestrian accident lawyers successfully helped many injured people navigate the legal system, securing compensation for their injuries.

Injuries often include paralysis, broken bones, head trauma, internal bleeding, psychological trauma, scarring or disfigurement, lost wages, and funeral expenses.

We have obtained substantial verdicts and settlements against all parties at fault, totaling more than $250 million today, and can help your family too.

How Can a Lawyer Help?

An experienced attorney can help determine whether you have a strong case or the evidence favors the other party. For example, in many cases, auto-pedestrian accidents are caused by driver negligence.

Suppose your Aurora personal injury lawyer can prove that the other driver was under the influence, distracted by a cell phone, speeding, or driving negligently. In that case, you may be eligible for compensation.

• Pain and Suffering – If a loved one was killed in an auto-pedestrian accident, the other party might be liable for your or your family’s pain and suffering.
• Lost Wages – If you missed work time to recover after an auto-pedestrian accident, your attorney could help you claim your lost wages.
• Permanent Disability – You or your loved one may be permanently disabled because of the injuries sustained in the accident; if so, your Aurora personal injury lawyer can help you file a claim for damages.
• Medical Bills – If the injuries are severe, your attorney can ensure you receive all the medical treatment needed to recover.
• Funeral Costs – If another driver is found negligent in an auto-pedestrian accident, they may be liable for funeral expenses if their loved one was killed.
• Loss of Companionship – If you lost a loved one due to a motor vehicle accident, you might be entitled to compensation for the pain and suffering due to the loss of companionship or support.
• Property Damage – You or your household members may have suffered property damage, including your car, during the accident. The other driver may be liable for paying to repair or replace damaged property resulting from the collision.
• Wrongful Death – If your loved one died because of an auto-pedestrian accident, you might file a civil lawsuit seeking damages according to Illinois wrongful death laws.

Contact Us Today

The Aurora pedestrian accident attorneys of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC represent the interests of injured pedestrians or the families of those killed in auto accidents.

The nature of these accidents can make them catastrophic, rendering accident victims disabled and forced to live at a reduced quality of life.

When distracted driving or irresponsible behavior hurts our clients, we ensure that the driver is held fully liable to receive the compensation they’ll need.

The Steps We Take to Prove Fault Following an Aurora Pedestrian Accident

Before you can expect to recover compensation for your injuries, you need to provide enough proof of the driver’s negligence to convince a jury if your case goes to trial.

Unfortunately, we know it is not always possible to recover this evidence when you have been injured and need emergency treatment immediately.

We try to establish the facts through many methods to build a strong case on your behalf without burdening you to gather all of the evidence yourself.

The ways we can establish fault include the following:

• Get copies of the accident reports from the police to review witness statements, evidence gathered by the responding officers, and more. Here, we will also collect information about the witnesses to contact them for another statement. In many personal injury claims, they may remember things during an interview they didn’t before.
• Send a team of reconstruction experts to review the scene of the accident. There, they will use evidence such as damage to the vehicle, skid marks, and other information to reconstruct the events as they occurred. For example, they may determine that the negligent driver made little effort to avoid the accident because they were distracted or failed to swerve or hit the brakes.
• Obtain video records of the event. There are cameras everywhere in society now. While this poses specific privacy issues, it is worth noting that the cameras at stores, intersections, and other businesses can record an accident, providing undeniable evidence about how things transpired.
• Request recordings of the 911 calls made following the accident that can be used to verify witness accounts or to refute conflicting statements.
• Collect phone records of those involved that could reveal that the driver was texting or talking on a smartphone while driving. Not only is this illegal, but it is the cause of many distracted driving accidents.

The Ways That We Can Recover Damages for Your Injuries

Insurance companies pay most of the compensation awarded for auto accident claims, and we can negotiate with them to ensure you are treated fairly.

It is essential to know what avenues are available so that you understand that policy limits and a problematic insurance adjuster are not enough to prevent you from getting the compensation you deserve.

Here are how we can collect all the money you need to pay for your expenses.

• Work with the driver’s insurance company to negotiate a settlement – when this does not work, we may be forced to take the claim to court. However, the insurance company may only be required to pay damages up to the policy limit amount, which may not suffice if your expenses exceed those limits.
• File a claim with your health insurance – working with any insurance company can be complex. Because of that, we can handle negotiating a claim with your health insurance company to cover the gap between what the driver’s insurance company will cover and what you are owed.
• Use your own driver’s insurance – you may activate your uninsured or underinsured motorist clause to recover additional compensation if required.
• Sue against the driver’s assets— if you cannot secure fair damages through the other means we’ve mentioned, we may investigate whether the driver has assets that can be used to pay the claim. If this is the case, we can leverage those assets to ensure you recover every bit of compensation you are entitled to receive.

Have Your Aurora Pedestrian Accident Case Reviewed for Free

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC is a leading advocate for the injured throughout Illinois. We have helped thousands of injured pedestrians secure the compensation needed to move forward with their lives.

If you have been in an accident, we invite you to review your legal options during a free case evaluation.

Contact personal injury attorneys at (888) 424-5757 today to schedule a free consultation. Connect with an award-winning Aurora pedestrian accident attorney so that we can let you know more about how we can help you. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means our services will cost you nothing if we cannot get results on your behalf.

Aurora Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Resources:

• NIH – Pedestrian Injuries: Emergency Care Considerations
• NIH – Injuries to pedestrians in road traffic accidents