A report prepared for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation reviewing crashes over a recent three-year period where pedestrians were hit by automobiles disclosed what may seem obvious: when a pedestrian is hit by a car, the result is almost always injury to the pedestrian, most often severe injury or death of the pedestrian. The report, entitled “Wisconsin Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Analysis: 2011-2013,” disclosed that during the period studied, there were more than 1,600 pedestrian crashes. Those crashes included 152 pedestrian fatalities. This amounted to almost 10% of all fatalities in vehicle collisions in Wisconsin.
When collisions with pedestrians don’t result in death, they still cause severe injury at a high rate. “Severe” injuries are categorized as “incapacitating,” often resulting in permanent or long-term disability. In the reported period, 774 pedestrians suffered “severe” injuries when struck by a motor vehicle. In fact, pedestrian crashes comprised almost 9% of all Wisconsin crashes causing severe injuries during the three-year period. Most of the non-fatal and non-severely injured pedestrians still suffered non-capacitating injuries. Experienced pedestrian accident attorneys understand these statistics.
Setting these “labels” aside, these injuries are real. They include traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries and paralysis, fractures, organ damage and soft tissue injuries. They can cause long-term or permanent pain and suffering and disability and may dramatically impair the injured party’s ability to support him- or herself or family. They can impede or impair one’s ability to enjoy life, and can cause mental anguish, emotional distress, depression, and other physical and psychological harm. Pedestrians injured by a negligent car or truck operator are entitled to compensation for their injuries and the harms done them. A skilled pedestrian accident attorney knows how pedestrians suffer from injuries caused by a negligent motor vehicle operator crashing into a vulnerable pedestrian.
Where a death tragically occurs as a result of a pedestrian accident collision, the deceased victim’s immediate family members suffer severe loss and are entitled to recover significant compensation for the harms caused by a negligent driver. The role of a personal injury is to assure the family is fairly compensated. First, the deceased victim’s estate may recover compensation for any pre-death pain and suffering the pedestrian endured. Second, the deceased’s survivors are entitled, under the law, to recover their losses for the economic support the loved one would have provided them and their loss of their society and companionship of their loved one. The valuation of that is an important calculation of a skilled personal injury attorney which will be measured by each individual case.
The personal injury attorneys in Madison, Wisconsin at Clifford & Raihala are experienced in vindicating the rights of pedestrians injured by negligent motor vehicle drivers. Our personal injury attorneys in Madison have decades of representing those injured in car crashes and seeking and obtaining fair and full compensation for their injuries.
Clifford & Raihala pedestrian accident attorneys understand the causes of car-pedestrian crashes. We know that 83% of fatal pedestrian crashes occur at intersections or roadways with no traffic signal or stop sign facing the driver. We know that 45% of fatal crashes occur on roads with speed limits of more than 35 miles per hour. We know that almost 70% of crashes occur even though there was a marked crosswalk present at the scene of the collision. We know that the vast majority of pedestrian fatalities at intersections involved driver error, including failure to yield to the pedestrian at a crosswalk or disobeying a traffic signal.
The knowledge and experience of Clifford & Raihala personal injury attorneys in Madison, Wisconsin can help you or a family member obtain the fair and full compensation you deserve if you or a loved one have been injured in a pedestrian crash. Call Clifford & Raihala at 608-257-7900 (or toll free at 888-791-8842) for a free consultation to learn about your rights, and how our personal injury attorneys in Madison can help you if injured in Wisconsin or Illinois. Feel free to connect with us at https://myjustice.com. We will be honored to help.
