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Articles Posted in Pedestrian Accident

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In a fatal auto accident case, there are many forms of damages to which you may be entitled. Some of these, which may include emotional matters like the loss of the deceased’s “advice” or the loss of the deceased’s “companionship,” can sometimes be difficult to quantify. That’s why, if you have been harmed by an auto accident and have suffered emotionally, you need an experienced San Mateo wrongful death attorney to help you make the most persuasive and effective presentation possible to the court to get you the full amount of compensation you deserve.

The law generally permits you to recover as much the jury believes you have proven to them. As a recent case demonstrates, the amount to which you can be awarded isn’t capped by what other juries have awarded in previous similar cases.

In that recent case, E.J. was driving drunk and was being chased by CHP officers. E.J. crashed into a crowd near a taco truck, killing two. One of the fatally injured was 38-year-old C.F., a single mother of four. In court, the children sued both the driver, E.J., and the owner of the vehicle, M.E.R., for wrongful death.

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Recently, the family of a 62-year-old man killed in a San Mateo County crash recovered a judgment of $9.5 million against a driver and the state Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Rather than relying solely on the past history of injuries at the exact intersection where their relative died, they used proof of a similar death at a similar intersection to persuade the jury that Caltrans should have known about the dangerousness of the intersection. The success of this technique, affirmed by the Court of Appeal, demonstrates that there may be more than one way to achieve a successful outcome in your intersection accident case against a governmental entity. Be sure to retain an experienced San Mateo pedestrian accident attorney who can help you explore all your options.

A 62-year-old bicyclist, C.C., was crossing El Camino Real in Atherton on foot when a southbound passenger sedan struck him. C.C. was walking with his bike inside a crosswalk at the time of the accident. The driver never saw C.C. and never hit his brakes. In fact, he was going an estimated 42 mph when he slammed into C.C. and thought a tree branch had fallen on his car. The collision was violent enough that it threw C.C. more than 50 feet and his bicycle more than 70 feet. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The bicyclist’s wife and daughters sued the driver and Caltrans. The crosswalk where C.C. died was unreasonably unsafe, the department should have known it, but did nothing address the dangerous condition, they argued. A jury agreed. After a two-week trial, the jury found the driver 10% at fault and Caltrans 90% responsible. The jury assessed the total damages to be $9.5 million.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released its fatal vehicle crash statistics and the news for people who use roads while on foot are not good. In 2018, the number of pedestrians killed nationwide rose by 208 to 6,283, which is an increase of 3.4%. The news closer to home was no better. 57 of those 6,283 deaths occurred in the Sacramento region (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo Counties,) with more than 80% of those 57 happening in Sacramento County alone. Additionally, 22 pedestrians have died in San Francisco just in the first eight months of 2019.

There can be many reasons for fatal pedestrian accidents but, many times, driver mistakes are a factor. Maybe the driver was speeding or improperly failed to yield, maybe the driver was distracted, maybe the driver was impaired or… maybe all of the above are true. Whatever the specifics, if you’ve lost a loved one due to a fatal pedestrian accident caused by driver negligence, be sure to contact an experienced San Mateo pedestrian accident attorney to find out what can be done to protect your family.

Urban areas are where the biggest increase in fatal pedestrian accidents have occurred, according to the Sacramento Bee. The report stated that fatal pedestrian accidents have surged by 69% over the last 10 years.

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When a family loses a child due to the negligence of others, there are many feelings they will feel. One of the feelings they may encounter is a desire for some good to come out of the tragedy. That may be a central motivation for pursuing a civil lawsuit. No amount of money will ever replace their lost child, but a successful jury verdict and award of damages may be just the thing to motivate those responsible to make needed changes, with those changes averting similar tragedies in the future.

Whatever needs inspire you to pursue your wrongful death or personal injury action, be sure you have legal representation from an experienced San Mateo personal injury attorney, who can help guide you to the specific goals you have.

A tragic real-life example of these concepts played out recently in Southern California. A.D. was a 14-year-old student at a San Bernardino County high school in March 2016 he was involved in his fatal accident. According to a Daily Press report, the student was crossing an intersection adjacent to his school when a Ford SUV crashed into him, killing him.

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When you are injured as a pedestrian, you may recognize that you have an opportunity to seek compensation in court, but you may not know the best way to go about getting the full and fair recovery you deserve. You know to sue the driver who hit you, but the facts of your case could indicate that there are more people or entities who owe you compensation. That’s why, whenever you’re hurt in a pedestrian accident, it is well worth your while to retain the services of an experienced San Mateo injury attorney.

One tragic case where that issue (of multiple at-fault parties) was a factor was the fatal accident that claimed the life of K.P., a Cal State East Bay student. According to a Mercury News report, K.P. was out for a jog around noon, just five blocks from her home, when the accident took place. Two men who had been street racing crashed into one another. The crash sent one of the vehicles, a Nissan Altima, careening off the road. It bounced off some utility trucks and then slammed into the jogger, pinning her against a tree, according to the report. She died at the scene.

Certainly, the driver who struck and killed K.P. would be liable to her family for the harm that he was proven to have caused. However, in a circumstance like this, the extent of liability doesn’t stop there. The other driver (the one who did not directly hit the jogger) is also liable for his negligent or reckless conduct.

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For many people who undertake civil lawsuits after they’ve lost a loved one due to another’s negligence or misconduct, the lawsuit is an important means to an essential end. The deceased may have been a primary, or even sole, income provider for an entire family, and a civil judgment or settlement may be necessary to pay outstanding medical bills and final expenses, as well as to avoid a financial crisis from the loss of the deceased’s earnings.

Sometimes, though, the money from a judgment or settlement isn’t as much of a need. Whether it is due to insurance payouts or other financial reasons, the deceased’s death, while undeniably taking an incalculable emotional toll, may not have created as much of a financial hardship. Even in that latter scenario, there may be very important reasons for undertaking a civil lawsuit and seeing it through to a judgment. Whether it is seeking closure, seeing justice done or some other reason, these reasons are just as valid, require just as much diligence, and are cases just as much in need of a thoughtful and experienced San Mateo wrongful death attorney as any other.

There are cynics among us who say, “Even when they say it’s not about the money, it’s about the money.” Here’s a case, reported by keyt.com, that disproves that notion. The victim in the case was a popular Southern California assistant principal, who was out jogging when he was struck and killed by an intoxicated driver, who was reportedly high on Xanax and marijuana at the time.

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Sometimes, the crux of your case will be focused primarily on establishing that the defendant was at fault and is liable for paying you compensation. The defense may contest liability aggressively, arguing that someone else (or no one) was to blame for the injuries. Other times, you may have evidence that makes contesting liability very difficult or nearly impossible and, in some of those cases, the defense may even admit liability.

Even when that happens, your work is not yet done, especially in a wrongful death case. Getting a truly proper judgment means putting on the evidence you need to show just how extensive the loss you suffered truly was. If you’ve lost a loved one due to a driver’s negligent conduct, you have, first and foremost, a hole in your heart and hole in your life that nothing can fill. You probably also have substantial damage to your family’s financial situation, however, especially if your deceased loved one was a primary earner. All of these damages are real and deserve to be compensated. Be sure you take on your case with the aid and representation of a skilled San Mateo wrongful death attorney to get the full award you deserve.

C.P.’s was an example of a case with a tragic loss and a very large jury verdict. As reported by the Ventura County Star, C.P. was jogging along a street in Ventura as part of his training for a marathon race. As C.P. jogged, a driver, S.C., struck him with her vehicle, killing him. The driver had consumed both Xanax and marijuana prior to getting behind the wheel, according to the report.

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If you watch many TV courtroom shows, you’ll likely see at least one or more moments when the action reaches a peak of tension or drama. This often involves some groundbreaking reveal discovered while a witness is testifying in open court, which shifts the odds and allows the just outcome to be reached. Rarely, if ever, will you see your favorite courtroom show build to a dramatic crescendo around attorneys arguing over what jury instructions the judge will read to the jury. Yet, in the real world, it is details like these, and getting them right, that can make all the difference between success or defeat, whether you’re in criminal or civil court. To make sure you have the representation you need when it comes to “sweating the small stuff,” be sure you have an experienced San Mateo injury attorney on your side.

To see how important these things can be, look at what happened in the case of U.S.G., an injured pedestrian. In the city of Salinas, there is a shopping mall whose driveway meets a public road at a “T” intersection. A crosswalk runs along that driveway. The crosswalk was situated on public land, and was the city’s responsibility when it came to maintenance. The city originally painted the crosswalk’s white lines in 1997. Those lines were never touched up or repainted at any point after the original 1997 paint job.

These unfortunate facts came to matter a great deal for U.S.G., who was crossing the driveway inside the faded crosswalk one day in 2013 when a truck turned left off the public road and onto the driveway. The truck slammed into the pedestrian, seriously injuring her.

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When you decide to cross a street, there are certain things you can do to enhance your safety. You can choose to cross with the light and you can choose to cross inside the crosswalk. When you do those things, you likely have certain expectations, like not being run over by a large vehicle. Regrettably, these kinds of pedestrian accidents do happen all too often. If you’ve been hurt (or a loved one was killed) in this type of pedestrian-versus-truck accident, be sure you reach out to a knowledgeable California injury attorney about your situation.

Unfortunately for one 69-year-old southern California woman, she allegedly did all those safety-related things right as she cross a street in Alhambra, but still met with a tragic end. She reportedly had a walk signal and she was inside the crosswalk when a cargo van that was turning left crashed into her. She suffered injuries to her brain and to her cardiovascular system. Those injuries ultimately proved fatal, according to the Pasadena Star-News.

When that happens to your loved one, there are certain things you should know. It is fundamentally understood that no amount of money can take the place of a beloved family member. However, what is also undeniably true is that the unexpected loss of a loved one can cause massive harm to the family members left behind, both emotionally and, sometimes, financially.

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According to the Los Angeles Times, an injured woman and the family of a deceased woman worked out a settlement recently with the City of Los Angeles to bring to an end lawsuits that accused the city of failing to maintain parts of the Venice Beach Boulevard properly, allowing a driver to avoid barriers and crash into pedestrians located on the Boardwalk. The outcome occurred in part because the plaintiffs were able to defeat the city’s claims of immunity (which would have ended their lawsuit) and were subsequently in a position to negotiate a workable settlement. Whether you are intent upon pursuing your case all the way to judgment or are open to settling, it helps to have skilled California pedestrian accident counsel on your side, who can provide you with the benefit of their experience and give you the advice you need.

The accident happened on a late summer afternoon in August 2013. Locals and tourists were enjoying the usual activities along the Venice Beach Boardwalk until a driver, who had managed to maneuver his car around the Boardwalk’s barriers, drove his vehicle into the crowd on the Boardwalk. The crash injured 16 and killed one Italian woman who was on her honeymoon.

One of the injured people, as well as the family of the deceased woman, sued the City of Los Angeles. The lawsuits asserted that the inadequacy of the barriers between the Boardwalk and a nearby city street (which the driver used to enter the Boardwalk with his car) amounted to a dangerous condition and that the city’s failure to correct this hazard made it liable for the injuries caused.

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