Tucson Pedestrian Accident Lawyers

The situation for pedestrians in Tucson and across the country has deteriorated in the past decade or so. A spike in fatal accidents has negated years of progress Tucson made towards safer streets. There is no sign of this trend abating.

If you or a loved one suffered injuries while walking, you need an experienced Tucson pedestrian accident attorney from Zanes Law Injury Lawyers right away.

Causes of Tucson Pedestrian Accidents

Drivers have a duty of care toward pedestrians and are responsible for avoiding pedestrian accidents by following the rules of the road. When a driver breaches their duty of care—such as by speeding or running red lights—and causes an accident, they can be held liable for the injuries you suffer as a result.

Pedestrian accidents in the Tucson area arise out of many different causes:

• Distracted driving
• Poor weather
• Fatigued driving
• Mechanical problems
• Failure to follow local road laws or signs
• Aggressive driving/road rage

Arizona has one of the highest rates of pedestrian accidents in the country. Filing a claim against the responsible party after your pedestrian accident injury can not only allow you to pursue compensation for your injuries but may also prevent them from repeating the same negligent actions.

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Pedestrian Responsibility in Tucson

Negligent motorists cause most pedestrian accidents, but sometimes a pedestrian might also be at fault. Pedestrians who break state laws meant to protect them could be found negligent.

For example, Arizona Revised Statutes § 28-796 requires pedestrians to use crosswalks when available and to walk on the far left side of the road facing oncoming traffic if the road does not have sidewalks. Arizona law also requires pedestrians to use crosswalks or cross at intersections. A pedestrian crossing outside of a crosswalk or intersection must yield to traffic.

Motorists must drive safely and avoid pedestrians whenever possible. In a collision between a motorist and a pedestrian, the motorist usually carries some blame. Following the law as a pedestrian could help ensure your safety and strengthen your case should an accident occur.

Drivers Must Yield the Right of Way in Crosswalks and Certain Intersections

Arizona law states that drivers must yield the right of way to a pedestrian in the half of the roadway that they are approaching or when they are very close to that half. There are serious penalties for Tucson drivers who fail to yield the right of way to a pedestrian. At the same time, pedestrians must yield the right of way to vehicles when they are crossing outside a crosswalk or on an unmarked crosswalk.

Pedestrians do not always have the right-of-way to cross where and when they want, and one of the first things that a defendant or insurance company will try to do is blame the defendant. Nonetheless, if the driver has injured a pedestrian when they have failed to yield, they could be made to pay damages.

Pedestrian Accident Injuries Are Far Worse on Average Than Other Accidents

Pedestrian accidents have a much higher statistical chance for a serious injury than a Tucson car accident because pedestrians have absolutely nothing to protect them from the force of the vehicle striking them. While car accidents are serious, nearly 40,000 people die each year when there are roughly six million car accidents across the country. By comparison, in 2019, 220 people were killed in 1,842 pedestrian accidents throughout Arizona, a rate of 11 percent.

The faster the car travels, the less chance the pedestrian has of survival.

At lower speeds, the pedestrian will most likely suffer injuries but will survive:

• At 23 miles per hour, there is a 25 percent risk of death or serious injury.
• At 31 miles per hour, the risk of death or serious injury rises to 50 percent.
• When the car travels over 45 mph, there is a 90 percent chance that the pedestrian will be killed or suffer serious injury.

While speed is a major factor in how badly the pedestrian will be injured, other factors are also at work. The size of the car that strikes the pedestrian is also important. The larger the vehicle, the more likely it is that the pedestrian will be injured. Since more vehicles on the road are larger these days, pedestrian injuries will be more severe. In addition, injuries will be greater when the driver has not attempted to brake.

Accident Victims Will Be Left With Serious Injuries

Even when pedestrians do survive a crash, they are likely to sustain serious injuries. There is a very slim chance of walking away from being hit by a car unscathed. Usually, the pedestrian will suffer a traumatic impact, whether it is with the car’s hood, windshield, or pavement.

Pedestrian accident injuries could include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Broken bones and fractures
• Lacerations
• Internal injuries
• Damage to internal organs
• Crush injuries

Comparative Negligence Could Reduce Damages

Under Arizona law, an injured person could collect damages even if they were negligent. Each party is responsible for the consequences of their actions.

During negotiations, the defendant’s lawyers or insurer might try to shift responsibility onto you, decreasing their liability. We could aggressively oppose such tactics, ensuring that you carry no more than your fair share of the blame for an accident.

If a pedestrian accident case goes to trial, a judge will allocate responsibility for the accident among the parties. If the judge decides that you bear some fault in the incident, the judge will reduce your damages by an amount that reflects your apportioned responsibility.

How to Prove Legal Responsibility for a Tucson Pedestrian Accident

The way to put yourself in a position to receive financial compensation for these injuries is to prove that the other driver was negligent. If the police come to the scene of the accident and ticket the other driver for failing to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian, that would go a long way toward determining negligence. Breaking the law is often proof in itself that the driver was negligent.

Outside that, you must make the following showings:

• The other party owed you the duty of care (drivers always owe a duty of care to pedestrians, so this element is rarely in doubt).
• The driver breached that duty by acting unreasonably under the circumstances.
• You suffered an injury.
• The driver’s actions were the proximate cause of your injury.

Examples of the Driver’s Negligence

In a pedestrian accident, some examples of drivers’ actions that would be considered unreasonable under the circumstances are:

• Failing to see a pedestrian because they were not paying attention.
• Driving through a crosswalk when the pedestrian is trying to cross.
• Driving drunk and not seeing the pedestrian.
• Not seeing the pedestrian at night because the driver cannot see.

Pedestrian accident injuries are usually serious. If you have been the one who has suffered an injury, you are in no condition to deal with your legal situation on your own. If your loved one has been injured or killed, you are similarly dealing with other things, and you cannot handle the details of your own case.

How a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer in Tucson, AZ, Can Help You

You do not have to navigate life after a pedestrian accident alone. There are many ways in which a pedestrian accident lawyer in Tucson can help.

Build Your Case

We must build your case in a way that showcases just how significantly the pedestrian accident has impacted your life. We will collect important documents that determine who is responsible for your injuries, including:

• Police reports
• Witness statements
• Images or videos from the accident
• Driver logs
• Recreating the scene of the accident

These documents can help us establish liability in your case, including the vehicle driver that caused the accident and a third party such as the driver’s employer or the manufacturer of faulty equipment.

What Your Lawyer Can Do to Help Your Claim

It would be best if you took care of many things after an accident, including:

• Speaking with people who witnessed the accident.
• Fielding calls from the insurance company.
• Compiling documents that back your possible claim.
• Collecting other evidence that could prove what happened.

These are not things that an accident victim or their family could do alone. Beyond that, you do not have the technical knowledge about the legal process to carry the case forward. You would not know of their legal options on their own or what their case is worth. The insurance company is notoriously difficult to deal with, and they do not make it any easier because you are injured.

There are two steps to your claim for compensation if you choose to go down the insurance company route. The first is showing liability. The second is proving your damages.

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