subject: Examples Of Pedestrians Significantly Harmed In A Marked Crosswalk [print this page] Crosswalks are supposed to offer a safety zone for pedestrians. They should provide pedestrians with a clear right of way. They are supposed to signal to drivers a part of the road where they need to exercise caution. Normally, they are clearly designated. They are regularly governed by traffic signs or light signals. Yet they fall short of guaranteeing pedestrians a safe area to cross . Lawsuits involving pedestrians injured in a motor vehicle accident while in a crosswalk are part of the caseload of any attorney who handles motor vehicle accident lawsuits. When an automobile accident involves a pedestrian the injuries are often severe and have extreme and irreversible consequences. Below we examine documented lawsuits involving pedestrian injuries.
Case 1: In this case a bus hit a pedestrian while she was crossing the street in a crosswalk. The victim was a 50 year old female on her way to buy some gives for her grandchildren. She was pushing a shopping cart as she was going to the store. The bus hit her and then continued to run her over. The bus driver did not even realize she had struck a shopping cart and had run over the woman until passengers in the bus began screaming for her to stop the bus. The woman suffered multiple fractures that included fractures to her rib, her spine and her pelvis. The woman will need hip replacement surgery. The law firm that represented the pedestrian was able to report achieving a $1.25 million settlement.
Case 2: A driver was speeding in a heavily trafficked area of a large metropolitan city. There were many pedestrians in the spot. The car involved was a rental car. The driver ran a red light and wound up striking a van. The force of the impact forced the van onto the crosswalk while a 25 year old man was crossing the street at the crosswalk. As a result of the accident, the man suffered a thoracic level spinal cord dislocation leading to total paralyzes from the chest down.
The law firm that handled this case filed a claim on behalf of the pedestrian against the driver and the car rental company. Unable to reach a settlement, the law firm took the case to trial. The jury verdict was partially upheld to the sum of $20.3 million by the trial judge. This sum was intended to cover medical expenses (for the amount incurred up to the trial and for the amount for the care he will require in the future), the pedestrians loss of earning capacity, and past and future pain and suffering.
Case 3: This lawsuit report concerned the driver of a school bus making a left hand turn at an intersection. While making the turn the bus ran over a pedestrians foot. The victim was a 54 year old woman who was walking across an intersection in a designated crosswalk. The driver did not recognize what had happened until witnesses got his attention and had him back the bus up to free the pedestrians foot.
The pedestrian suffered various serious injuries to her foot and leg. The woman needed multiple surgeries in order to try to save her leg. Ultimately, though, she lost her leg as she required a below the knee amputation. After the amputation she suffered from constant phantom pain. The report of this matter by the law firm that handled it indicated that they took the case to trial and attained a jury verdict in the amount of $5.9 Million for the pedestrian.
The case above show that many cases occur in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic. The vehicles can be cars, buses, even trucks. The victims can be young, middle aged or elderly. They can be male and they can be female.
The case, however, all appear to share two basic things. The injuries are usually severe and leave the victims with permanent difficulties. Crosswalks are no guarantee of safety for a pedestrian. Drivers can be distracted even in obviously marked crosswalks. And certain drivers simply fail to follow the rules such as the speeding driver who ran a red light in the second lawsuit. Each of the case included considerable injuries and with the help of an experienced attorney on their side each of these victims achieved a substantial recovery for their injuries.
