People In Crosswalks Are At Risk Of Being Hit By A Vehicle
Crosswalks are meant to provide a safe area for pedestrians. They are supposed to give pedestrians a definite right of way. They are supposed to signal to drivers an area of the road where they have to use caution. They are usually clearly designated. They are frequently controlled by traffic signs or light signals. However they fall short of guaranteeing pedestrians a secure place to cross a street. It is not unusual for attorneys handling claims regarding motor vehicle accidents to be approached by pedestrians struck by a motor vehicle while in a marked crosswalk. These cases normally have disastrous injuries that can leave the pedestrian with lifelong disabilities or perhaps take the life of the pedestrian. Look at the next cases.
Case 1: In this case a bus hit a pedestrian as she was crossing the street in a crosswalk. The victim was a fifty year old female on her way to buy some gives for her grandchildren. Because she was on her way to a local store she had a shpping cart in front of her. The bus struck her and then kept going, running her over. The driver failed to realize she had struck a shopping cart and had run over the victim until passengers in the bus began screaming for her to stop the bus. The impact and the weight of the bus running her over caused the pedestrian to suffer fractures to her rib, fractures to her pelvis, and a fracture to her spine. The woman will need hip replacement surgery as a result of her injuries. The law firm that handled this claim reported that they obtained a settlement of $1,250,000 on behalf of the victim.
Case 2: This claim concerned the driver of a rental car who was speeding while in a high traffic area of a large urban city. There were many pedestrians in the vicinity. 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 twenty five year old male pedestrian 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 helped the pedestrian started legal actions against both the driver and the company that rented the car to the driver. The claim went to trial with a judge upholding $20.3 million of the larger jury verdict. This included $10 million for future pain and suffering. The remainder was for the expense of medical care, past and future loss of earning capacity, and pain and suffering.
Case 3: In this case the report mentioned that as a school bus made a left turn the driver did not yield the right of way to a pedestrian. While making the turn the bus ran over a pedestrian