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Were you a victim in an accident as a pedestrian?
We'll fight for your rights and aggressively negotiate for the financial compensation you deserve.
Los Angeles County, including Glendale, is statistically one of the most deadly places to be a pedestrian. The city has launched Vision Zero, an ambitious program hoping to eliminate traffic accidents involving pedestrians by 2025. Unfortunately, those efforts are not enough to combat the reality that, on average, over 10 accidents involving pedestrians happen in LA every single day.
If you were a victim in a pedestrian accident, know that you are not alone. This story happens all too frequently — but there is something you can do about it. You can fight for compensation, even if the driver got away. Don’t face a big insurance company alone, without experienced legal representation actively advocating for your best interests. It’s the job of insurance companies to minimize their payouts and obligations when a claim is made. On the other side of that coin, it’s the job of our Glendale pedestrian injury lawyers to hold those insurance companies (and the driver that impacted you) accountable for making you financially whole. Far too many people simply roll over and accept that an accident will ruin them financially, without fighting for the proper amount of compensation they deserve.
Don’t let yourself be just another pedestrian accident statistic. With Dordulian Law Group as your advocate, you can fight to recover the financial compensation you deserve.
Getting injured in a pedestrian accident can be devastating – both physically and emotionally. You should seek medical care immediately if you’re hit by a vehicle as a pedestrian. Additionally, you should try to get the contact information and insurance details of the driver who is at-fault for your injury. California Vehicle Code mandates that drivers yield to pedestrians in any crosswalk at an intersection – whether marked or unmarked. You may be entitled financial compensation for your injuries if the driver is at fault. To understand your legal options and rights, it’s best to speak with an attorney from D Law Group. We specialize in helping personal injury victims get justice after Los Angeles pedestrian accidents.
After a pedestrian injury, it is best to consult a lawyer as soon as you can. A pedestrian accident can have a difficult aftermath including a long road to recovery, and not taking legal action immediately could jeopardize your right to financial compensation. Having a knowledgeable attorney on your side will ensure that you are protected right from the start.
The good news is, you’re currently on a pedestrian accident lawyer’s website. We’re here to help answer any questions you have 24/7. But it’s common for people to search for California pedestrian accident lawyers with Google, Bing, and even review sites like Yelp. Personal injury lawyers that take on pedestrian accident cases can often be seen advertising on TV and billboards as well. But it’s very important to do your own independent research when determining who is the best pedestrian accident lawyer to handle your case.
Consider the following criteria when choosing an attorney to represent you in your pedestrian accident case:
A lawyer can be beneficial in many ways following a pedestrian accident, such as:
The goal in a pedestrian accident case is to help make the victim “whole” again. That’s a personal injury law term which essentially means helping you, as the victim, to make a full recovery that includes not only your physical well-being, but also your financial well-being.
Compensation may be available to California pedestrian accident victims for various damages, such as:
In California, a pedestrian accident will generally result in a two-year statute of limitations, meaning you have two years to file your civil claim. However, although you technically have two years to file your claim, it’s better to act sooner rather than later. Consulting with a lawyer immediately to make sure you are meeting all legal deadlines is strongly recommended after a pedestrian accident injury.
A pedestrian accident lawsuit is a classic personal injury case. In most instances, a case will involve an injured pedestrian seeking money damages for their injuries. The injured party must therefore prove that the vehicle’s driver was negligent. If you have been the victim of a pedestrian accident, you may be wondering, how do I know if I have a valid lawsuit? The answer is, you very likely do have cause to pursue a claim if:
When evaluating an accident between a pedestrian and a vehicle, it is critical to determine not only who is at fault, but the degree of responsibility for each party (i.e. in some pedestrian accident cases both the driver and the pedestrian can be partially at fault). California has multiple right-of-way laws that protect pedestrians and are helpful when proving that a driver is liable for an accident. For instance, California law mandates that “u>the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk, or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.”
So, if a pedestrian walks along a crosswalk when the sign says, “Don’t Walk,” and is hit by a car that has the right to be driving across the walkway at that time, the pedestrian may technically be at fault. However, many factors have to be taken into consideration when determining the total degree of fault. If a driver hits a pedestrian due to any amount of negligence, or fails to stop and help the injured victim, the driver can be held liable.
If a driver backs up into a pedestrian, or veers off the road and hits a pedestrian walking along the side of the road or the sidewalk, the pedestrian is certainly not a fault and has excellent grounds for a lawsuit where financial compensation for damages can be awarded.
Establishing degree of fault in a pedestrian accident can be very difficult for the average person. You may have been involved in a pedestrian accident and not realize that the majority of fault actually falls on the driver. An experienced Dordulian Law Group pedestrian accident lawyer can help you determine the degree of fault for your specific accident and whether you should pursue a claim for financial damages.
Pedestrian fatalities now represent the highest percentage of all traffic-related deaths. While improvements to roads, signage, local laws, etc. are all important to increasing pedestrian safety, the legal system is an excellent means through which victims can be adequately compensated.
Even if a pedestrian is partially at fault for an accident, the pedestrian may still sue the driver of the vehicle, provided the driver also shares at least some of the fault. This is due to California’s classification as a “comparative fault” state. Under California’s “comparative fault” law, also known as “comparative negligence,” an injured person can still obtain compensation when she or he is partially to blame for the accident. For instance, if a pedestrian is 30% at fault for the accident, she or he could still sue the driver for 70% of the damages.
While such scenarios may sound complicated and burdensome, particularly after sustaining a serious pedestrian accident due to a driver’s negligence, Dordulian Law Group’s team of experienced pedestrian accident lawyers are here to help simplify the process of filing your claim. We will fight for you in pursuing the maximum available compensation to which you are entitled.
What are the most common pedestrian accident injuries?
When a car hits you while you’re walking along the street or on a sidewalk, the trauma can be deadly. Serious, catastrophic, and even fatal injuries are often sustained in pedestrian accidents. The severity of your injuries will have an impact on the overall value of your case. Some catastrophic injuries lead to multimillion dollar pedestrian accident settlements or verdicts.
Here are some of the most common types of pedestrian accident injuries:
Consulting with a qualified Los Angeles pedestrian accident lawyer can help ensure you get the justice you deserve for your injuries.
While it is true that negligent drivers are the primary cause of pedestrian accidents, sometimes a third-party is responsible. Some examples of third parties who may be financially liable for a pedestrian’s injuries include:
Dordulian Law Group (“DLG”) has experienced and dedicated sidewalk accident attorneys and crosswalk accident attorneys who specialize in pedestrian accident lawsuits. We thoroughly investigate every case, including assigning our Chief Investigator and former 30-year LAPD veteran, Detective Moses Castillo, to every pedestrian accident claim. Having a seasoned investigator like Castillo dedicated to your case is part of the DLG advantage, and is a critical factor in helping to determine all liable parties and hold them accountable. Having a dedicated Chief Investigator on staff is just one of the many advantages offered to DLG clients.
Tragically, pedestrian accidents frequently lead to death. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported an increase of over 3% in the number of pedestrians killed in traffic crashes. Said increase resulted in 6,238 total fatalities. That figure represents the most annual pedestrian deaths to have occurred since 1990.
In 2018, the NHTSA reported that most pedestrian traffic deaths occurred in urban settings (79%), or on the open road (74%) vs. intersections (25%), and at night (76%). Furthermore, most pedestrian deaths occur on Saturdays (1,031), and the majority of these deaths happen at night (837). The NHTSA also reports that the highest percentage of pedestrian fatalities occur between 6 P.M. and 8:59 P.M.
Pedestrians are projected to account for 17% of all traffic deaths in 2019, compared to 12% in 2009. The number of pedestrian deaths have increased significantly over the past several years, while the number of all other types of traffic-related deaths have increased by a mere 2%. That translates to a scenario where our nation’s streets, roads, and sidewalks are more dangerous than ever for pedestrians.
Back in 2017, 5,977 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States, which amounts to about one death every 88 minutes. Also in 2017, an estimated 137,000 pedestrians were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal crash-related injuries.
Unfortunately, walking on a sidewalk doesn’t always protect pedestrians. Drivers often veer off the road and cause accidents leading to serious injuries. For instance, in 2017, 9% of pedestrian accident fatalities occurred at places including roadsides/shoulders, parking lanes/zones, bicycle lanes, sidewalks, medians/crossing islands, driveway accesses, shared-use paths/trails, non-traffic way areas, and other frequented sites.
Pedestrian accidents are unfortunately a more frequent occurrence in California than in other states. The estimated number of pedestrian deaths for the first half of 2018 ranged from just one in New Hampshire to 432 in California. California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas-just 5 of the 50 states-accounted for nearly half of all pedestrian fatalities in 2018. California has reported 1.09 pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 people.
Socioeconomic status – mainly poverty level-appears to be contributing factor in pedestrian accidents. A California study found that pedestrian crashes were four times more frequent in poor neighborhoods.
It can be difficult to tell a potential pedestrian accident plaintiff what the average pedestrian settlement amount is, or even the average compensation for being hit by a car. This is because injury settlements are often confidential, so the information is often not publicly available.
However, we always try to estimate the settlement amounts on a case-to-case basis. There are multiple variables to consider, such as degrees of fault, seriousness of the injury, third-party responsibility, etc. Whatever the circumstances of your specific case, you can be certain that we will fight to recover the maximum financial damages award for you.
As demonstrated above, vehicles kill thousands of pedestrians every year. While some drivers may suffer injuries in these accidents, the likelihood of experiencing severe, often life-threatening injuries is significantly increased for pedestrians. Given the size disparity between a vehicle and a human, pedestrians almost always suffer much more significant injuries than drivers. When calculating a settlement offer, the adjuster will take into account medical bills that the injured pedestrian has had to pay, bills for future medical treatments, and the amount of pain and suffering a pedestrian has endured (and will continue to endure) as a result of their injuries.
Fault in pedestrian accidents predominantly falls on the driver in most cases, especially given California’s right-of-way laws. As explained above, a pedestrian can be somewhat (or even mostly) at fault for causing the accident and still recover some compensation from the driver. For instance, pedestrians often cross a street when the sign says, “don’t walk,” or jaywalk where there is no crosswalk. But if the driver was also at fault, for instance, looking at their phone while driving or speeding, the injured pedestrian could still recover financial damages.
Even if you abided by the law governing pedestrian crossing rules in California 100% of the time, you’d still be at the mercy of drivers under the influence or acting unpredictably. California pedestrian laws are clear that you do have the right-of-way, although they remind you that there are situations in which it is prudent and necessary to yield that right of way in order to prevent or mitigate an accident.
As anyone who has spent significant time walking or driving around Los Angeles County can tell you, our roadways and sidewalks are extremely dangerous places. It’s not just your imagination: LA county has seen pedestrian-involved accidents skyrocket since 2015. And the county also bears the grim reality that the leading cause of death for children ages five to 14 in Los Angeles is traffic accidents.
If you’ve been involved in a pedestrian accident, you might be feeling hopeless. You might think that lawsuits are something that other people do, not you. But the reality is that all of our satisfied clients were in a similar position to you. They simply picked up the phone and called us, for free, to see if they had a case.
California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1 states that an injured pedestrian has two years to file a claim against people who may be liable for the accident and injuries suffered. It is very important for an injured pedestrian to file their lawsuit within this two-year statute of limitations. Filing a claim outside the two-year stature of limitations means a case will be dismissed, leaving an injured pedestrian without legal recourse.
Being the victim of a traffic accident as a pedestrian can be a devastating experience. Chronic injuries, PTSD, emotional trauma, financial hardship, and other stressors suddenly enter your life without warning. It’s okay to ask for help, and it’s okay to let an experienced, compassionate law firm take the reins of responsibility off your shoulders and into our capable hands. You don’t need to walk this path alone — we’re here to connect you with medical specialists, work with our on-staff therapist, and provide you with the very best legal representation.
DLG’s personal injury attorneys have a great deal of experience with pedestrian accident cases. If you are thinking about filing a pedestrian accident, or other type of personal injury lawsuit, take a moment to look at the testimonials from our satisfied clients. For over 20 years DLG has continued to win various types of vehicle and pedestrian-related accident cases.
DLG attorneys have secured many sidewalk pedestrian accident settlements in California, leaving injured victims “whole” through peace of mind in knowing they won’t be overwhelmed with staggering medical expenses or lost wages due to their injuries.
DLG stands out above the competition because we combine personalized care, support, and discretion with the resources and results that are typically expected only of larger firms. DLG’s founder and president, Samuel Dordulian, is a former Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County who has successfully handled countless pedestrian accident and car accident cases. He has helped clients recover over $200 million dollars in verdicts and settlements.
Here at DLG, we care about our clients, and we get them the results they deserve. We also WIN for our clients. Our 98%-win record in trials speaks for itself. We are ready to fight for you to secure the largest possible financial award for your pedestrian accident case.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a pedestrian accident, DLG can offer you the best legal services in the state of California.
Client Review
“Thank you to all the staff, and attorney’s at Dordulian Law Group for an outstanding service. I was injured last year and my case was recently close. I will always be grateful to all the staff for your commitment. I will highly recommend to anyone.”
Maria V.
DLG’s personal injury attorneys have a great deal of experience with pedestrian accident cases. If you are thinking about filing a pedestrian accident, or other type of personal injury lawsuit, take a moment to look at the testimonials from our satisfied clients. For over 20 years DLG has continued to win various types of vehicle and pedestrian-related accident cases.
DLG attorneys have secured many sidewalk pedestrian accident settlements in California, leaving injured victims “whole” through peace of mind in knowing they won’t be overwhelmed with staggering medical expenses or lost wages due to their injuries.
DLG stands out above the competition because we combine personalized care, support, and discretion with the resources and results that are typically expected only of larger firms. DLG’s founder and president, Samuel Dordulian, is a former Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County who has successfully handled countless pedestrian accident and car accident cases. He has helped clients recover over $200 million dollars in verdicts and settlements.
Here at DLG, we care about our clients, and we get them the results they deserve. We also WIN for our clients. Our 98%-win record in trials speaks for itself. We are ready to fight for you to secure the largest possible financial award for your pedestrian accident case.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a pedestrian accident, DLG can offer you the best legal services in the state of California.
Think you can only get quality legal representation if you can pay high fees up front? Think again. Dordulian Law Group is an experienced, confident law firm that understands your financial concerns. If we take your case, it will be on contingency, meaning that you don’t owe us a dime for any of our services unless we win you a settlement.
We’re in this together — call us today for a totally free, low-pressure conversation about the circumstances surrounding your accident. Our attorneys have represented many people in similar situations to you, and we can provide helpful advice that sets out your options and illustrates what to do next. Contact us today to set up a free consultation.
Do you have a case? Let's find out.
Do you have a case? Let's find out.
