Evanston Pedestrian Accident Attorneys
There is no question that pedestrians should take precautions when traveling in areas with heavy traffic, especially at night or during bad weather.
However, it is also important to note that motorists have an obligation of care as well. Some states have laws requiring motorists to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians in crosswalks or intersections with stop lights and signs indicating this requirement.
Were you injured by someone who failed to exercise due care while driving?
If so, contact Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC. Our personal injury attorneys will provide immediate legal representation to protect your rights while seeking compensation.
Call an Evanston personal injury attorney at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form today for legal advice and schedule a free consultation. All confidential or sensitive information you share with our legal team remains private through an attorney-client relationship.
Pedestrian Accident Statistics
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in the United States, 4,280 pedestrians died in traffic accidents, and an additional 70,000 were injured.
That means that between 2013 and 2019, on average, every two hours, a pedestrian was killed by a motor vehicle. In addition to fatalities from car accidents, another 767 pedestrians suffered injuries each day.
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, there were 5,662 pedestrian-involved accidents in the state of Illinois.
For each accident, this represents one or more people who were affected by a pedestrian accident. Unfortunately, many of these crashes resulted in serious injuries or fatalities for those involved.
2019 Pedestrian Accident Statistics
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, there were 767 pedestrians involved in traffic accidents during the first two months of 2019.
Unfortunately, these statistics include a pedestrian fatality involving a bicyclist and a pick-up truck. Additionally, in 2018, there were 1,868 pedestrians involved in car accidents throughout the entire year.
In DuPage County alone from January to March 2019, 16 personal injury crashes involved pedestrians.
Three of these crashes resulted in fatalities, and there were 19 people injured due to those accidents. In 2018, there were 27 pedestrian-involved collisions in DuPage County, including one fatality and 19 injuries.
What to Do When You Are Hit by an Automobile
Regardless of the severity of your injury or whether you suffer from a temporary or permanent disability as a result of your crash, you have the right to seek compensation for medical expenses from those at fault.
A personal injury attorney from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC can negotiate with insurance companies and help you get the compensation you deserve for your:
- Medical bills
- Rehabilitation costs
- Lost income
- Property damage
Our legal team is highly experienced with personal injury cases involving pedestrian accidents and can fight for your rights to ensure you receive the full amount of compensation that is deserved for your injuries.
Contact our Evanston, IL law firm today at (888) 424-5757 to schedule a free consultation and discuss legal services.
It may seem like an accident when you hit someone with your car while driving down the street, but it's actually against the law not to exercise due care for people who are walking nearby.
Their family members could be compensated through a personal injury claim if they choose to file one after their loved one has died from their injuries following an accident.
Evanston pedestrian accident attorneys can help injured victims' families recover compensation for medical expenses incurred during treatment and rehabilitation.
Establishing Fault is Critical to Your Evanston Pedestrian Accident Case
Our law firm must first prove that the driver who hit you was at fault for the accident and liable for any damages you suffered. Then, as a result, prosecute your claim.
There are many ways to gather the evidence needed to do this, and our resources and access to specialists in accident reconstruction allow us to dig this evidence up from places you may not expect.
Our strategies include the following:
- Look over police reports to gather evidence from witness statements and other information collected by the officers at the accident scene. From here, our law firm can contact witnesses to find out if they remember anything about the incident that they didn't include in their initial statements.
- Review video footage that we collect from nearby cameras. For example, there are cameras now at many major intersections. In addition, many businesses have closed-circuit real-time security cameras, so we may be able to access video of the accident occurring too that can let us know exactly what happened.
- Request 911 records so that our Evanston personal injury lawyer can review what the callers said at the time of the accident and compare it with later statements. It may help us determine which witnesses are most credible.
- Send our expert team of accident reconstruction specialists to the accident scene to review the evidence and see if an Evanston personal injury attorney can recreate the incident. The information we can gather here may help us determine the vehicle's speed at the vehicle's speed time of impact, whether the driver slowed down, and other important factors that may affect who is ruled at fault.
- Access the driver's phone records to determine whether they were talking or texting while driving. If this is the case, it makes the argument for distracted driving, making the driver liable for the victim's injuries.
- Create a three-dimensional visual representation of the accident to show the jury. This recreation can show the jurors how events transpired in a simple manner that is easy to understand.
Different Avenues to Recover Compensation for Your Pedestrian/car Accident Claim
Suppose we can prove that the driver is at fault for your accident. In that case, there are several ways we can recover the compensation you have the right to, which include working with insurance companies to share the liability where it is appropriate.
Here are the different methods Our Evanston personal injury lawyer may use to secure compensation on your behalf.
- Working with the driver's insurance company: In some cases, we may be able to negotiate a settlement with the driver's insurer. But this may not be enough to cover the full cost of your medical care and other expenses if those expenses exceed the driver's coverage limits. Should this be the case, we may be forced to look at other options to ensure you receive fair compensation.
- Working with your car insurance company: Many policies now include coverage for underinsured motorists. It can be used to cover the gap in compensation between what the driver's policy covers and the actual amount of damages.
- Filing a claim against your health insurance policy: Your health insurance coverage should be able to pick up a lot of what we cannot recover from other sources. We can negotiate with multiple insurers to agree between all of the insurers on which companies will be responsible for what.
- Seeking compensation against the driver's assets: If the driver has assets that can be used to fulfill their liability, our Evanston personal injury lawyer may look at recovering those assets to ensure you have the compensation you need. It is normally a last resort option after we have exhausted all other avenues.
At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, the Evanston pedestrian accident attorneys seek justice on behalf of those who have been seriously injured simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Unfortunately, negligent and distracted drivers are becoming responsible for an alarming number of accidents as the portability of technology continues to increase.
The focus is no longer on driving safely but on multitasking and getting to one's destination in a hurry. Unfortunately, this results in more accidents, including unprotected and at risk of enduring tragic and life-changing injuries.
Pedestrian Duties
By law, every individual walking near or on a roadway must create a safe surrounding and provide a significant path for a vehicle to move, especially if it is impossible for a driver to yield.
The pedestrian's duties to ensure safety include:
- Walking on the shoulder or along the path: Not facing traffic. Of course, the pedestrian must be facing traffic while walking across a road, but if they are traveling alongside it, they should face away from the motor vehicles approaching them.
- Walking at appropriate speeds: Pedestrians have to consider their pace when crossing different types of roads. For example, if the road is busy, they should cross slowly to allow vehicles to make room.
- Watching out for oncoming drivers: Pedestrians have the right-of-way in every corner of the roadway, but it does not permit them to stop paying attention while taking these journeys. In addition, pedestrians are required by law to watch their surroundings at all times when near a roadway.
- Asserting themselves: In some cases, a pedestrian may need to make sure they are seen in the area of a roadway. If a driver cannot see them due to shade or weather conditions, it is up to the pedestrian to make sure they are visible and crossing the road.
- Walking on sidewalks: Roads may not have appropriate shoulders for pedestrians to walk on in some areas. In these cases, they must travel along the side of the road with their faces pointed toward traffic and be sure to follow all laws for walking near a roadway.
Fatal Evanston Car Accidents: Filing a Wrongful Death Claim
Many injured victims of pedestrian accidents die due to severe injuries or medical malpractice while receiving care from a medical professional after the crash. Others are severely harmed with life-threatening injuries after a car crash.
Some of these personal injuries include:
- Broken bones
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord damage
When a loved one dies, the surviving family members can file a personal injury lawsuit seeking financial compensation for all those involved in causing their death.
Many of these personal injury cases are filed by spouses, children, parents, and grandchildren for financial recovery that covers all damages, including:
- Hospital bills and medical expenses
- Funeral & burial expenses
- Lost wages
- Future lost earnings
- Loss of consortium and companionship
- Loss of familial support
- Pain and suffering experienced by the decedent before their death
- Pain, grief, suffering, and mental anxiety by the surviving family members
- Punitive damages when the actions of the person responsible are egregious
Our Evanston personal injury lawyers represent pedestrian/car accident victims to ensure that they receive the maximum compensation when someone else's negligence claims their loved one's life.
Taking immediate legal action can help recover damages quickly from all parties involved and their insurers.
Speak with an Evanston car accident lawyer today at (888) 424-5757 to discuss the legal process and acquiring financial compensation for your loved one's death. Using a legal professional can ensure that every family member can get on with their life without the financial burden created by the crash.
Pedestrian/Car Accident FAQs
Our personal injury law firm understands that many families have unanswered questions about dealing directly with the insurance conveys when seeking financial compensation for a pedestrian/car accident. A personal injury attorney has answered some of those questions below.
Call our law office at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form to speak with an attorney for additional information or schedule a consultation.
Evanston Personal Injury Lawyers Can Resolve Your Pedestrian Accident Claim
Were you, or a loved one, injured in a pedestrian/car accident? If so, are you seeking financial recovery to hold those responsible for your accident financially accountable?
The Evanston car accident lawyers at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC can help you recover all of the compensation you are entitled to receive to pay for medical care, lost wages, pain, and suffering, out-of-pocket expenses, and more.
Our legal team has helped thousands of clients just like you and accepts all cases on a contingency fee basis — meaning you only pay for our services if and when we secure compensation on your behalf.
Contact an Evanston personal injury lawyer at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form today to schedule a free case review.
Please speak with one of our award-winning Evanston pedestrian accident attorneys so that we can collect the information we need to get to work on your behalf.
Our Cook County law firm provides legal representation and related practice areas, including medical malpractice, construction accidents, nursing home abuse, workplace accidents, premises liability, defective drugs, product liability, slip and fall incidents, and wrongful death.