PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS RISING NATIONALLY - ALWAYS RAMPANT IN NEW YORK CITY

According to the most recent statistics from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the number of annual automobile accidents involving pedestrians is rising.   In 2010, the most recent year with updated figures, 70,000 pedestrians were injured and 4,280 were killed.   Of course, in a city like New York, despite some attempts to strictly enforce pedestrians’ rights, people often get hit while walking throughout the boroughs.

The common emphasis on automobile accidents, underscored by the insurance companies’ extensive advertisements on the subject, often obscure the problem of injuries to pedestrians. Whether pedestrians can obtain monetary relief for their injuries is not an unusual civil dispute revolving around the issues of right-of-way and whether the pedestrian exercised reasonable caution in crossing the street.    Accordingly, if you are injured in such a fashion, it is critical to determine if any witnesses saw what happened as it may be difficult for you to have full awareness of everything that occurred.   Being hit by a car can obviously cause very serious injuries.  One’s memory may be negatively impacted by the traumatic event.  However, making sure you, or the police, get the names and contact information for any witnesses before leaving the scene is essential.

From there, you will need effective legal counsel to pursue a civil claim.   In the event the driver of a car or taxi that hit you also faces traffic citations in a criminal court, it is advisable that your attorney accompanies you and gets involved in the parallel proceeding.