Fort Worth Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Fort Worth is a vibrant city in the northern part of Texas, with museums, gardens, and plenty of attractions. It is known for its history and community connections, and people walk its streets everyday while enjoying the warm weather and friendly residents.

While it is a car-dependent city, Fort Worth does have many locations and neighborhoods like its Cultural District or downtown area that are considered walkable, with a walkability score ranging from 70 – 89 out of 100 in some areas. Unfortunately, when pedestrians are near vehicle traffic, there is a risk of pedestrian-vehicle accidents. These accidents can cause irreversible losses, with some people sustaining fatal injuries.

If you or someone you love were injured by a car or truck while walking in our lovely community, turn to a dedicated Fort Worth pedestrian accident lawyer at DFW Injury Lawyers who can protect your legal rights and recover the compensation you deserve to pay for your medical expenses and more.

If you or someone you love has suffered a pedestrian accident injury, you need the muscle of a Fort Worth pedestrian accident attorney near you. The team at DFW Injury Lawyers can explain your legal options and help you navigate the injury claims process. Schedule a free legal consultation today.

Pedestrian Laws in Fort Worth

The legal definition of a pedestrian is someone who travels on foot or walks on a sidewalk next to a street. Sometimes, pedestrians have to cross the road or walk too close to traffic. Other times, a motorist may be driving carelessly or negligently while pedestrians are present. In these cases, vehicle-pedestrian accidents may occur. When this happens, a pedestrian who usually has no bodily protection can be seriously injured or even die.

The Texas Department of Transportation outlines a few pedestrian safety tips and laws to help create a safer environment for walkers. Both pedestrians and motorists can help prevent accidents if they follow these suggestions.

If you are a pedestrian:

• You should yield to vehicles and not assume traffic will stop.
• You should use the sidewalk when available.
• If no sidewalk is available, you should walk as far to the left as possible on the side of the street facing traffic.
• You must adhere to traffic control signals unless directed by a special pedestrian control signal.
• You should not jaywalk (walking across the street where there is no crosswalk).

Meanwhile drivers:

• Should slow down when approaching crosswalks.
• Must yield to the right of way of pedestrians when turning.
• Must yield to the right of way of pedestrians in crosswalks when there is no traffic control signal and the pedestrian is walking in the marked crosswalk.

Recently, Texans experienced an unusual winter storm that created the need for new and improved pedestrian laws. A pedestrian was charged with a misdemeanor for not using a sidewalk during the icy weather. After reviewing the situation, the charges were dropped but a new law, House Bill 1277, was passed. Now, a pedestrian can walk as far to the left side of the road as possible and face oncoming traffic when no sidewalk is available or usable.

Surprisingly, it hasn’t always been a crime to strike a pedestrian in a crosswalk in Texas. Only within the past few years has the Lisa Torry Smith Act officially made it a crime to cause bodily harm to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. This Senate Bill was passed after a mother and son were both hit by a vehicle while crossing the road to go to school. While the son sustained serious injuries, his mother lost her life. Due to the laws at the time, the defendant only received a $50 fine for failing to yield.

If you were injured in a pedestrian accident in Fort Worth, reach out to the legal team at DFW Injury Lawyers to learn more about the compensation you might receive from the at-fault driver who caused your accident.

Common Fort Worth Pedestrian Accident Injuries

A typical adult in Texas weighs less than 200 pounds. In sharp contrast, an average vehicle weighs around 4,000 pounds. As you can imagine, anytime a vehicle collides with a pedestrian, the damage is likely to be extreme for the pedestrian. It’s also important to consider the average speeds involved in a pedestrian accident—while the pedestrian moves very slowly on foot, a vehicle may be traveling at high speeds.

In these situations, most pedestrians face severe injuries and life-changing repurcussions. Here are some of the most common injuries our pedestrian accident attorneys in Fort Worth handle:

• Wrongful death
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal injuries
• Neck and back injuries
• Paralysis
• Loss of limbs
• Broken bones and fractures
• Road rash and burns
• Lacerations
• Internal bleeding
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

When injuries are minor and minimal medical intervention is required, the situation may be easy to resolve. When the damage is extreme, however, an injured pedestrian may sustain significant financial losses as a result of their medical bills, inability to return to work, and emotional distress.

How Common Are Pedestrian Accidents in Fort Worth?

Pedestrian accidents are fairly common in Texas in general. In one recent year, there were 5,751 total pedestrian accidents, out of which 825 were fatal. Many such accidents happened in major cities, such as in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. According to the Fort Worth accident reports, there were at least 145 pedestrian roadway crashes that resulted in injuries in another recent year.

While pedestrian accidents may happen without our control, Fort Worth has several dangerous roadways that pedestrians should avoid whenever possible. These areas include East Lancaster, West Belknap, Main Street, and the Las Vegas Trail area. The increased foot traffic as well as dangerous intersections increase the risk for pedestrian accidents in these areas.

What Are the Main Causes of Pedestrian Accidents?

The number one cause of pedestrian accidents is human error. Since every pedestrian accident situation is unique, we’ll need to analyze the specifics of your crash to determine what caused it and who might be at fault. Here are some of the main causes of pedestrian accidents:

• Driver Inattention: Distracted driving happens when the driver’s focus shifts from the road to something else temporarily. When that happens, the driver might not have enough time to stop or swerve when they see a pedestrian.
• Speeding: Speeding can keep a vehicle from stopping or slowing down in time to properly yield to pedestrian traffic. It may also prevent a driver from even noticing how close they are to a crosswalk.
• Driving Under the Influence (DUI): Drugs and alcohol impair judgement and reduce the driver’s reaction speeds. Alcohol can also impair vision, so a driver might not even see a pedestrian in time to prevent an accident.
• Poor Visibility: Inadequate lighting on a roadway can prevent both pedestrians and vehicles from seeing each other until it is too late.
• Failure to Give the Right-of-Way to Pedestrians: Vehicles must yield to pedestrians who are on crosswalks. A failure to give them the right of way can lead to a crash.
• Failure to Give the Right-of-Way to Vehicles: Similarly, pedestrians who enter into the roadway when vehicles have the right of way may also be responsible for an accident. Pedestrians should never cross the road without a marked crosswalk, and they shouldn’t go into a crosswalk until the traffic signal states that it is safe to do so. When no traffic signal is present, you will need to use your judgment and still yield to cars.

To prevent an accident, pedestrians and drivers should both remain as vigilant as possible while on or around the road. Both drivers and pedestrians need to adhere to traffic laws. If a pedestrian is aware that they are walking in a dangerous area, then they should consider wearing bright or reflective clothing, and everyone should avoid using their cell phone while walking or driving.

What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident

Pedestrian accidents often result in serious injuries. If you need immediate medical care, call 911 right away. If your situation isn’t an emergency, take the following steps if possible:

• Call the police and report the crash.
• Do not admit fault or say that you aren’t injured (it is better to wait until you’ve been medically examined and you probably don’t know all the facts regarding your accident).
• Call for medical attention and get a full body checkup at a hospital as soon as possible.
• Collect evidence at the accident scene, such as the driver’s contact and inusrance information, photographs, and contact details from eyewitnesses.
• Document your losses by keeping your medical bills, diagnosis, and wage statements from your employer.
• Contact the Fort Worth pedestrian accident attorneys at DFW Injury Lawyers as soon as possible for a free consultation.

When Should I Call a Fort Worth Pedestrian Accident Lawyer?

In general, you should contact our pedestrian accident lawyers when:

• You or a loved one was involved in a pedestrian accident.
• You believe someone else was primarily responsible for the collision.
• You need help recovering your financial losses from the responsible driver.

Under these circumstances, it makes the most sense to look for a pedestrian accident attorney near you. To start, begin by researching personal injury law firms in your area and look for firms that have specific experience handling pedestrian accidents. Our team of pedestrian accident lawyers can help you unpack what happened and identify your legal options.

Be sure to review our past case results and client reviews to better understand what you can expect when you work with our legal team. Remember, lawyers cannot guarantee any specific outcomes, but our past success and reviews are an indicator of our capability and experience.

Where Can I Find a Pedestrian Accident Attorney Near Me?

If you’re hurt in the Fort Worth area, then you can reach out to our Fort Worth team for help. Our office is conveniently located at 4200 South Fwy, Ste. 2335. Check out this map of La Gran Plaza de Fort Worth to see exactly where we’re located.

Who is Responsible For My Pedestrian Crash? What If I am Partially at Fault?

In order to identify who might be responsible for your pedestrian accident, we need to learn more about your unique circumstances and review the factors that led to your accident. For example, was the driver who hit you under the influence of alcohol, narcotics, or certain prescription pills? Who had the right of way? Was the driver on the phone when they hit you? These facts can help determine who might be held responsible for the accident and the degree of their liability in an injury claim.

In general, the at-fault party will be obligated to pay for the losses associated with the accident. If there were multiple factors, more than one person may be found liable for the crash. If you did something that contributed to your accident, you can still seek compensation from the other parties as long as you were less than 50% at fault.

Fort Worth Pedestrian Accident Lawyer: FAQs

1. How Many Pedestrians Get Hit by Cars Every Year?

Pedestrian traffic injuries in Texas have increased in recent years. In one recent year, there were about 830 deaths and 5,766 pedestrian accidents involving pedestrians state-wide. Pedestrian fatalities are very high in Fort Worth, and cause a great deal of grief to the loved ones of such pedestrians every year.

2. What Are the Odds of Getting Hit by a Car While Walking?

According to the National Safety Council, the odds of getting hit by a car while crossing the street and sustaining fatal injuries are about one in 485. These odds have surprisingly increased in recent years. Recently, the number of fatal pedestrian accidents was at a 40-year-high in the country. This disturbing trend means that your odds of being hit by a car while crossing the street in Fort Worth are higher than you might think.

3. Where Do Collisions With Pedestrians Happen Most?

According to Safe Roads USA, the most dangerous roads in Fort Worth include:

• Weatherford St.
• The intersection of 6th St. and Taylor St.
• Currie St. between 7th St. and Bledsoe St.
• Rosedale St.
• Berry St.
• Allen Ave.
• And certain areas in Main St. and the Stockyards district.

4. Do You Have to Report an Accident to Your Insurance If It’s Not Your Fault?

Yes. In general, it is best to report all crashes even if it’s not your fault. If your insurer finds out you were involved in an accident that you never reported to them, they could potentially refuse coverage.

5. How Much Money Can You Recover After Being Hit by a Car as a Pedestrian?

Since pedestrian accident injuries are usually serious, the average compensation for being hit by a car is fairly high. In general, a pedestrian can receive a settlement award upwards of tens of thousands of dollars, however, every case is different and therefore compensation can vary significantly. Hiring a skilled Fort Worth pedestrian accident law firm like DFW Injury Lawyers can help ensure that you get a settlement that accurately reflects your losses.

The average settlement award in fatal pedestrian accident situations is often higher. The loved ones of pedestrians who died from their injuries can claim damages in the form of burial costs, loss of financial support, pain and suffering, and more.

Call the Fort Worth Pedestrian Accident Lawyers at DFW Injury Lawyer Today: You Won’t Pay Until We Win

If you or a loved one were recently injured in a pedestrian accident, talk to a Fort Worth pedestrian accident lawyer at DFW Injury Lawyers to learn whether you have legal recourse.

At DFW Injury Lawyers, we know you’re already dealing with significant financial losses, so we won’t ask for payment until we successfully resolve your claim. This type of payment arrangement is called a contingency fee and it helps all accident victims receive the legal assistance they deserve. In a nutshell, we’ll investigate your accident, collect evidence, build your case, and represent you without any financial obligation on your part. Once you receive a settlement or verdict, we receive a percentage of your settlement award in exchange for our help.

Don’t wait any longer to speak with a dedicated pedestrian accident attorney about your situation. Call our Fort Worth offices at (817) 646-2527  or fill out our simple contact form for a free consultation today.

Fort Worth Office Location

4200 South Fwy Suite 2335,
Fort Worth, TX 76115
817-646-2527