Los Angeles Pedestrian Accident Attorneys

Helping Severely Injured Pedestrians with Complex Legal Claims

Pedestrians who survive accidents involving cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, or other vehicles often suffer serious injuries. Some victims require months or years of intensive medical treatment before they recover, while many other pedestrian accident victims may sustain permanent disabilities.

Pedestrians have no protection if a vehicle crashes into them. Motorists have seat belts and airbags; motorcyclists and bicyclists often wear helmets and other safety gear; but pedestrians have nothing to lessen the force of the impact. Pedestrians can suffer traumatic injuries from the initial collision with the vehicle or they can be thrown into the ground or nearby objects. Catastrophic pedestrian accident injuries we have seen include:

• Head and brain injuries – Car accidents often cause pedestrians to hit their heads with extreme force. This can result in skull fractures, facial disfigurement, and serious traumatic brain injuries. Victims may fall unconscious or even enter a coma depending on the severity of the damage. Upon waking, they may show signs of physical impairment, behavioral problems, and cognitive deficiencies. Rehabilitation may be a long-lasting process, and many traumatic brain injury victims will never regain their full capabilities. They may require 24-hour residential supervision for the remainder of their lives.
• Spinal cord injuries – Spinal cord injuries can disrupt neurological messages from the brain, causing loss of function in body parts below the damage. Victims will need emergency immobilization and transportation by medical professionals and will likely spend extended amounts of time in the hospital. Even with the best available treatment, victims can suffer paralysis and never walk again.
• Internal bleeding or other internal injuries – Not all injuries are visible from the outside. Collisions can cause damage to internal organs or rupture blood vessels. Without proper blood flow, oxygen circulation may be dangerously reduced. Internal injuries often require emergency surgery and lengthy hospitalizations—if doctors catch them in time. Some organs may never regain functioning abilities.
• Crush injuries and amputations – Sustained, heavy forces can shatter or crush bones in ways that are difficult, if not impossible, to repair. Severe soft-tissue injuries may likewise be irreversible and result in loss of limb. The rehabilitation process, not to mention the continued care required for prosthetics and other concerns, may require the help of specialists.

Unfortunately, serious injuries like these often change the ability of accident victims to return to their lives. Many must either leave their jobs or scale back dramatically. Some require daily care.

Our team at Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, wants to help pedestrian accident victims receive the compensation they deserve after serious injuries like this. Call our Los Angeles attorneys at (866) 634-4525 for a free consultation.

Wrongful Death Claims After Pedestrian Accidents

Under the worst imaginable circumstances, pedestrian accident victims do not survive their injuries. In 2018, more than 6,000 pedestrians died in motor vehicle collisions. Aside from the terrible pain these individuals endure before they pass, their loved ones lose a partner, parent, sibling, or child. Grieving is never easy, and in such cases the deceased may have also been a provider for the family, leaving their survivors in a difficult financial state.

California law gives certain close family members and dependents the right to file a legal claim for wrongful death. Such a claim can seek recovery for many losses, including:

• Burial expenses
• Funeral expenses
• Costs of medical care provided to the loved one before death
• Lost income of the loved one and future financial support
• Lost household services, including childcare, cooking, and cleaning
• Lost love, affection, companionship, moral support, and when appropriate, sexual intimacy

No compensation will ever return your loved one to your family. Compensation can, however, help your family move forward in a better financial position so you can focus on your emotional healing.

Proving Pedestrian Accident Claims

You may assume that drivers might face automatic liability when they hit a pedestrian. This is not the case, because the law requires that any injury victim prove liability before recovering compensation. An accident victim must prove the driver was at fault by showing their negligence. They may accuse the driver of:

• Distracted driving – A driver who is texting or not paying attention to the road ahead may not see a pedestrian and stop in time to prevent a collision.
• Drunk driving – Alcohol can significantly impair a driver’s abilities, slowing reaction times, blurring vision, or diminishing control of the vehicle. All of these can lead a drunk driver to hit a pedestrian.
• Traffic violations – A speeding driver may not slow down enough to allow a pedestrian to cross safely. Drivers who fail to follow traffic signals or properly yield at crosswalks can also crash into pedestrians.
• Assault – In some cases, a driver may actually hit a pedestrian on purpose, out of anger or other criminal motives. A criminal case will not help a seriously injured pedestrian to fully recover compensation. Instead, the pedestrian must seek compensation by filing a claim in civil court.

These are only some of the many negligent or wrongful acts that may lead a driver to hit a pedestrian. In addition, drivers are not the only potentially responsible parties. For example, a vehicle manufacturer may have sold a car with defectively designed or assembled brakes. When an unknowing driver attempts to slow down or stop for a pedestrian and the brakes malfunction, the driver may hit the pedestrian due to no fault of their own.

Work with Experienced Attorneys to Build a Strong Case

It is not enough to simply accuse a driver or another party of distraction or negligence. The law requires evidence to support claims of liability. Sometimes, if an officer arrested a drunk driver or cited a driver for running a red light, a conviction can help prove negligence. However, most cases are not nearly that simple. Our investigators work hard to determine liability and gather the evidence necessary to prove our clients’ claims. We then use that evidence in settlement negotiations, and at jury trials when necessary.

Even in cases of clear liability, you must further prove the extent of your damages. You cannot simply claim you incurred $2 million in losses—you must provide evidence of those losses. Fortunately, our attorneys are highly skilled at proving when our clients’ enormous losses have reached into the millions of dollars. 

This can include both economic and non-economic damages, such as:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Past and future lost earnings
• Physical pain and suffering
• Mental trauma
• Permanent disfigurement or disability

Our lawyers know that the last thing you want to do after a catastrophic injury is add another concern to your plate. Call Greene Broillet & Wheeler for help: We make the legal process as stress-free for our clients as possible. Do not delay, because you may risk losing your right to seek compensation if you wait too long and allow the statute of limitations to expire.

Contact Our Los Angeles Pedestrian Accident Lawyers for a Free Case Evaluation

Our Los Angeles pedestrian accident attorneys always aim to pursue full and fair compensation for pain and suffering, current and future medical expenses, lost wages and lost future earning capacity, and permanent disability for every client in each case. We also know how to successfully obtain wrongful death damages for the families of pedestrian accident victims who did not survive.

More Than $100 Million in Compensation for Injured Pedestrians

Our team of experienced attorneys has obtained more million-dollar settlements and awards for our clients than any other law firm in California. Many factors allow us to continually represent catastrophically injured clients and obtain the compensation they truly deserve.

Dynamic negotiators – Reaching a settlement that adequately covers our clients’ losses prevents the need to go to trial. Jury trials require extensive preparation and resources, and a successful settlement can resolve a claim without the added time, energy, and cost of trial. Our attorneys know how to skillfully use the investigation and discovery processes to gather evidence and strengthen our position in settlement negotiations.

Skilled litigators – Sometimes, an opposing party will refuse to agree to a settlement that will fully cover the enormous costs they caused our clients. When necessary, our lawyers are confident and skilled trial attorneys who never hesitate to protect our clients’ interests in the courtroom. We know what it takes to convince a jury of our clients’ right to full compensation and how to persuasively present those cases at trial. We are ready to take whatever path a case requires.

Reputation for success – Our firm has a reputation across California and the United States as a top law firm for injured plaintiffs. When opposing counsel sees our attorneys, they know we will not back down. They know we will fight both at the negotiating table and in the courtroom. This reputation benefits our clients in every case because it helps us obtain the outcomes they deserve.

Our impressive settlements and verdicts mean we have substantial resources to provide every client, including, where necessary or appropriate:

• In-house investigators who have gathered evidence to support a claim
• Access to respected experts who have analyzed cases and testified on our clients’ behalf
• An evidence warehouse that allows us to store and test substantial physical evidence and records, as well as present live demonstrations to opposing parties, judges, and juries to illustrate liability
• The time to give each client and each case the full attention it truly needs and deserves to succeed

When a law firm takes every case and stretches its attorneys thin, no one benefits—especially not the clients. Our firm’s philosophy is to represent clients with the most severe injuries and give them the personalized attention and representation they deserve.

If you sustained severe pedestrian accident injuries, do not wait to contact Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, to discuss whether we can assist you.

You can call our team at (866) 634-4525 to schedule a free consultation. See why we have more million-dollar verdicts and settlements than any other firm in California.