Home / Practice / Torrance Injury Attorneys / Torrance Pedestrian Accident Law Firm

• Moms pushing baby strollers
• Children under 18 years old 
• The Blind
• Elders

First of all, pedestrians have the right to use sidewalks without worrying about being struck by a negligently operated car with a dangerous, speeding, or distracted driver behind the wheel. 

Here are the main causes of victim’s rights violations in the City of Angels. 

1. DUI or drug use
2. Distracted drivers
3. Aggressive drivers
4. Hit-and-run
5. Speeding
6. A faulty path signaling device 
7. Unsafe Crossing Pathways

Los Angeles County suffered 123,552 vehicle wreck situations from 2018-2019. (California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and California Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) numerical data sets). 

Of the reported statistical research related to the term “pedestrian accident” collated by our legal team:

• 11,414, or 9.2% of collisions involved cars, motorcycles, and bicycles. 
• By far, the ordinary automobile is responsible for the most, causing 9,771 pedestrial collisions, or 7.91% of all car accidents in L.A.

A negligent, reckless motor vehicle operator causes accidents involving a pedestrian at or near a sidewalk, bus stop, avenue, bench, or an off-street parking lot. They must be held liable for their negligence; hopefully, one or more insurance companies will offer justice. 

1. DUI/DWI Under The Influence Pedestrian Accidents

Although each administration has made serious efforts to reduce pedestrian accidents, yearly from 2014 to 2018, the County LA in Southern California have led the United States to lose a life, averaging 237 decedents per annum. 

 There are two main accidents: 

1. Traffic Accidents, Including Dangerous Condition of Public Property
2. Non-Traffic Accidents, Including Dangerous Condition of Public Property 

• Auto accidents cause the most severe injuries in L.A. 
• A car striking a pedestrian, even at low speeds, will cause catastrophic harm, whereas car passengers wearing seatbelts at similar speeds may escape severe crash injuries.
• Statistics show that 1 in 10 pedestrians died in surface accidents during the 2002-2013 time period, making up over 35% of reported roadway casualty calculations on L.A.’s narrow, long-drawn-out streets and close-by freeway onramps.

Below we cover more accident statistics, rights, and facts about severe injuries.

The crime of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) or prescription or non-prescription narcotic drugs (DWI) leads to pedestrian accidents from reduced reaction times associated with slower brain sensory functions. 

• The compiled SWITRS research data denotes that DUI/DWI bicyclists and automobilists caused 6,368, or 5.18% of wrecks reported Countywide from 2018-2019. 

A DUI defendant will face civil lawsuits:

• Criminal fines, 
• Penalty assessments,
• Restitution orders.

DUI first offenders with wobbler plea bargain agreements may face low-end punishments like:

1. Cal-Trans Trash Pick-Up.

 Defendant’s punishments for causing a pedestrian’s death or causing severe damage to their person or property can include:

• Mandatory Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) meetings
• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
• Confinement for days, years, or life
• Restitution compensation
• Potential capital punishment. 

2. Distracted Driver Pedestrian Accidents 

We hear it all the time. The driver never saw the signals, the child playing in the roads, or the old lady crossing the intersection. The reason for most pedestrian accidents is driver inattentiveness.

Data shows children passengers present similar distraction risks to texting or chatting on your smart-phone. Factors like infants are eight times as distracting as driving with only adult passengers. 

An automobilist also may not be paying attention to their surrounding after they become distracted by any number of activities,including:  

• Sending an email 
• Using headphones 
• Playing with radio stations or a GPS device 
• Eating fast food while driving 
• Talking on cell phones 
• Looking towards a different direction than the traveler’s location while turning a vehicle
• Gridlock frustration.

Old and experienced drivers and new vehicle operators may ignore their surroundings, failing to realize a park or school nearby with small children debarking from or climbing onto a school bus.

Improper turning during distracted driving caused 14,109 pedestrian-car accidents from 2018-2019, making up a staggering 11.48% of cases.

3. Pedestrian Accidents Caused By Extreme, Aggressive Rage

Torrance, CA remains the road rage capital of the world despite AAA attempting to reduce enraged, aggressive behavior. Extreme aggressive driving might cause an altercation, assault, or crash resulting in serious physical ruin or a shooting of a targeted pedestrian.  

Journalists coined the term “road rage” because many drivers can suffer a flared temper, causing them to lash out depending on various factors. An aggressive person might angrily display poor behavior, make rude gestures, physical threats, hurl verbal insults, intimidating others to release their frustration. 

Our motivated, happy team of lawyers will hold at-fault parties liable. We have the experience to get you paid, or we get paid nothing. 

4. Claims Against Drivers Hitting A Pedestrian And Fleeing

• California hit-and-run driver figures show that Los Angeles is the home to approximately 20,000 annual reported collisions.
• Under California Vehicle Code Section, 2001-2002, a driver crashes into a pedestrian or fixed object to stop at the car accident scene. Each party must exchange identifying information, like their name, and render basic assistance depending on the situation. If not, the driver faces a felony or misdemeanor conviction. 
• California’s reported statistical data figures to indicate a whopping one-third of hit-and-run auto collisions involved drugs or alcohol.
• Most L.A. hit-and-runs happen around dawn or nightfall. (many involving a crosswalk and big trucks). 

Our Torrance pedestrian accident lawyer will seek a finding of civil “negligence per se” liability, or “presumed negligence,” against the defendant breaking this law. Adjusters facing a finding of presumed negligence must focus on evaluating the reasonable medical bills claim.

In addition to what your doctors say, you are entitled to reimbursement for lost income, pecuniary losses, permanent trauma from organ impairment, or bodily function. 

A fleeing driver causing severe, punishing indignity is a fugitive, which holds up insurers. But clients need help now! We will set up a pedestrian accident claim with your health insurer, homeowner’s insurance company, other defendants, and sources like an uninsured motorist insurance policy (UM). 

We will recover compensation from any and all sources, not just insurance companies.

5. Pedestrian Involved In A Speeding Related Car Accident

Speeding driver: Drivers ignoring basic rules like speed limit signs and their speedometers will risk a tragic accident.

The researchers at the Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) reported that:

Unsafe speed was an aggravating factor in 35,842 LA, California wrecks. These amounted to 29.16% of all Countywide crashes from 2014-2019.

Whether a bystander passes away or survives with a minor case or lifetime disability depends mainly on how fast the buses or motorcyclists were driving during the initial impact. 

The federal U.S. study data shows that:

When you hit a pedestrian in a a 20 mph crash speed there is a 90% statistical probability of surviving, 

Speeds of 40 mph during impact allow a 20% chance of pedestrian collision survival.  

With a large municipal bus or commercial delivery truck with greater braking distances and weight, driving too fast in any populated metropolis can cause pedestrian accident claims. This increase is why it remains vital to hire the best Torrance pedestrian accident attorneys right away when pedestrian accidents occur. 

The very best pedestrian accident attorney at Ehline Law Firm will work to identify the defendants, their employers, and any auto manufacturers potentially liable for your severe injury or killing of a close family member.

In addition to caution signs, the California Vehicle Code mandates drivers to:

Proceed slowly near a school zone, residential area, junction artery, or park. 

Many drivers fail to notice the speed limit signs or don’t pay attention to their speed rate at all. At the end of the day, children, senior citizens, and others get run over, seriously injured, or killed in large numbers. Our lawyers aggressively assist clients wounded from a speed-related accident to protect their legal rights.

Our Best Torrance Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Helps People Injured Crossing Streets 

Like other large cosmopolitan towns, many crosswalk accidents occur at busy intersections. A signalized or unsignalized crosswalk is a designated location for pedestrians to cross a path purposely built to herd pedestrians somewhere a motorist will see, usually a side view at an intersection. 

Traffic calming uses designs, physical crossing pathways near a school, shopping mall, commercial or residential area, and other measures to combat unsafe speeds and other dangerous driving behaviors by motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists by encouraging safer, more responsible driving, potentially reducing traffic flow. 

For example, some urban planners and traffic engineers narrowed roads, created refuge islands, or raised surfaces like speed humps to reduce road speeds, making it safer for pedestrians to use a designated crosswalk. 

City Collision Data:

City supervisors studied collision data and pinpointed their most dangerous streets for pedestrians and cyclists, starting work in 2017 to improve 40 of the most dangerous corridors and broad thoroughfares like Chinatown’s North Broadway, 3rd St in Koreatown Sepulveda Blvd in the San Fernando Valley.

The DOT reported that over 65% of accidents involving walkers on foot occurred on only 6% of streets from 2009-2013 (Source). Someone can step out from behind a building and get run over.According to the CHP, there were 16,413 crossings and marked crosswalk accidents from 2018-2019. But with some of these wrecks, the fault lies with government defendants, not just negligent autoists. 

Leading causes: 

A Driver’s Violation of a Statute or a pedestrian disregarding traffic signals and laws – (Issues like complying or failing to comply with laws won’t pardon you from civil tort liability). 

Negligent Control Light Maintenance Or Repair. 

6. California Code Violations At Crosswalks 

Pedestrians generally have the legal right-of-way when crossing roads, and pedestrians have the absolute right-of-way when traversing public areas.

According to the CHP:

40.13% of LA tickets are issued to drivers failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian (often with disabilities), running a red light at a marked or unmarked crossway (See CVC Section 21950), accounting for 4,580 all citations issued from 2018-2019). Drivers must yield right of way, period!

Everyone, including pedestrians, must remain alert, exercising due standard of care when sharing highways. Even when a driver has a green light, they must “exercise due caution.” You have an obligation to look out for someone jaywalking without a warning.  

After all, it remains foreseeable that a pedestrian or infant could dart off the curb and jaywalk across the street. No one is allowed to obstruct roads, even when they retain the right of way. As a result, pedestrians are often cited for standing, lying, playing, running, or working, according to officer information in police reports. 

Additionally, pedestrians must yield, or they violate CVC Sections, including: 

• 21955 by failing to cross the streets at a traversal or between adjacent signal-controlled crossings, causing 424 cases, or 3.71% of all highway pedestrian accident-injuries in LA from 2018-2019.
• 21956 – Failure to walk close to the left-hand road’s edge when no sidewalk was present.
• 21456 – Failure to obey walk-don’t walk signs and signals, or finish crossing before “countdown” ends.
• 21953 – Failure to yield to vehicles when crossing a highway without using a pedestrian tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing when one exists.
• 21106 – Failure to obey crossing signals that prohibit pedestrian crossing.
• 21964 – Pedestrians not totally or partially blind carrying a predominantly white cane in a public space.

7. Faulty Highway Artery Signals – Government Liability 

Los Angeles recently changed the timing of 67 signals to give the walk indication a few more seconds before motorists receive a green light called the “leading pedestrian interval.” 

Whether or not this helps reduce drivers hitting pedestrians in crossings, we already know that cities failing to maintain or repair a signal light’s phasing properly will place more significant numbers of pedestrians at risk of a controlled exchange accident. 

But suing the government often turns on help from a superior pedestrian accident attorney near you. Ehline Law Firm provides you that help when you need it most. 

According to studies mentioned in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere, some crossings remain far more dangerous to those on foot than others.  

Virtually every L.A. highway accident occurs at less than 1% of intersections, including: 

• Alameda St & Cesar Chavez Blvd.
• Hollywood Blvd & Highland Ave.
• Normandie Ave & Wilshire Blvd.
• 43rd Place & Figueroa St
• 43rd Place & Central Ave
• 31st St & Vermont Ave
• 31st St & Figueroa St
• 29th St & Hoover St 

The most treacherous crossways are in the downtown and Hollywood areas with high populations and confusing streets to navigate. Some iconic boulevards like Santa Monica, Sunset, and Hollywood are also extremely dangerous for pedestrians, possibly because of increased loitering tourists. Like many great law firms, our top personal injury lawyer has filed multiple lawsuits over these locations.

• Darkness – Lack of visibility is a huge problem and worse at night with low lighting. 38% of self-propelled 16 years old and under killings happened between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. (Source.)
• Holidays – New Years Day remains among the most dangerous times of the year to drive. But few on foot die each New Year than trick-treating on Halloween. 
• Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays – 49% of homicides happened during the weekends. 

While LA attempted to reduce pedestrian trauma and deaths, in the end, drivers must be alert for pedestrians, particularly in congested pedestrian danger zones. The Vision Zero initiative in August 2015 was supposed to lower highway homicides by 20% upon 2017’s completion.

 Instead, the initiative failed miserably, with accidents surging more than 80% after two years. In 2017, LA made 1,120 changes to its streets crossings, modifying hundreds of crosswalks, adding four criss-cross multi-directional street crossings paths, along with 144 digital passage signs designed to telegraph roadway speeds to approach drivers. 

Since 2017 The LADOT Failed To Improve Safety For Pedestrians:

Entities Like LADOT have spent a lot for protection, but nothing is changing.

• 828 High-Visibility, Marked Crosswalks
• 32 Updated Trafic Signals 
• 12 Speed Feedback Signs
• 87 Barrier Extensions 
• 18 Refuge Islands 

In 2017, L.A. County promoted its own “Vision Zero Action Plan,” with work beginning in 2020. The goal is increased safety through engineering, education, and code enforcement. 

 The County Vision Zero action plan will improve unincorporated County roadways with:

• “Road diets” designed to funnel, reduce and slow available driving lanes 
• Midway stopping areas at long crossings
• Light beacons to illuminate coss-walks
• Travel circles and roundabouts
• High visibility crossings
• Increased lighting
• Curb extensions
• Left turn arrows 

A client may suffer scarring, or a tragic, bleeding traumatic brain injury. Some other permanent, disabling conditions like quadriplegia or paraplegia after being thrown to the ground may prevent the use of extremities.

These traffic crashes won’t just involve physical injuries under California law. You could lose your business income and you’ll need to seek compensation for injuries sustained. Stress is a killer in a legal claim for driver negligence. Our pedestrian accident attorneys help potential clients with complex cases. We explore the legal options in the best interest of the client seeking legal action.

• Pedestrian Wrongful Death Claims 

When pedestrians cross the street, they are vulnerable to severe injuries, even death. They must pay attention to the traffic from all sides. Small children must be grasped firmly when crossing a busy street. A pedestrian killed in a wrongful death accident will leave behind close relatives with needs.

Professional, experienced attorneys can seek wrongful death claims. The survivors of the deceased can hire pedestrian accident attorneys to sue for a support order following their catastrophic injuries to recover financial compensation for the negligent accident. 

The case statistics are grim in a personal injury case. 

• From 2012 to 2016 those on foot suffered in 8% of wrecks in L.A. but represented 44% of homicides, the Transportation Department said.  
• From 2014 to 2018, LA County has led the nation in pedestrian deaths, averaging 237 yearly fatalities. 
• According to a 2016 Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA) study, US bereavement increased by 16%. 
• Statewide 2017 data equates with 2.43 killings per 100,000 residents.

Coronavirus: Deactivating cross-walk push signals and increased gridlock stopping times failed to stop thousands of rising incidents in 2020. 

Rest assured, as you and the family go through the funeral and begin to heal from the grief and agony, our superb law group will be fighting the insurance adjuster. Our reputation for obtaining fair compensation recovery for last wages, earning capacity, scarring and disfigurement under California pedestrian laws remains second to none. 

You can’t value your compensation amounts by using your calculator. How much cash you’ll receive from a defendant in your case depends on your situation. Did the defendant breach their duty not to run you over? Defendants may be accountable for paying their lifetime damages for back injuries, or skull fractures, for example, with help from a Torrance pedestrian accident attorney. 

Case Evaluation – Proving Liability 

Without medical care proof and other evidence proving the plaintiff’s case burden, pegging liability on a defendant for your brain injury, for example, may prove elusive for the best attorney. Failing to seek prompt medical attention can create arguments about when and how you suffered your permanent disability.

You must gather evidence when proving negligence. Even with the preponderance of the evidence, you must assure coverage money exists, and that will require help from a sharp, savvy personal injury lawyer. 

Pure Comparative Negligence System– Northern, Central, and Southern California utilize a pure comparative negligence system, meaning a decision-maker may reduce your compensation recovery award based upon your proportion of fault (did you fail to cross safely at the stop sign?).

Some Parties Who May Be Liable

Parents, delivery companies, government agencies, greedy corporations could be liable. (CalTrans, DOT, etc.) Unless you preserve evidence, dangerous conditions can be swept under the rug. Don’t expect the government to honor the pedestrian’s rights.

Statute of Limitations For Pedestrian Accident Victims

• Government Agency Defendants. 

Victims normally will have six months under the Government Code to file their pedestrian claim. Beware, this is a far shorter period than the regular two-year statute of limitation. You can see why a free consultation with trial lawyers will protect your pedestrian accident case recovery.  

What Are My Compensatory Damages?

Various laws decide your damages. Legal damages include special compensation for your economic losses and general compensation for emotional losses like past, present, and future: 

Pain and suffering, mental stress, lost companionship, love, and affection

• Medical bills (physical therapy, etc.)
• Dental expenses
• Lost wages, contracts, and salary
• Job retraining, etc.
• Pain and Suffering?  

When an accident permanently changes lives or a mind, the value of non-economic damages alone may reach millions of dollars or more in the personal injury lawsuit claims process. Our Torrance pedestrian accident lawyer can explain everything to the victim during their free consultation.