Pedestrian Accident Attorneys in McAllen
A pedestrian may follow the traffic laws and cross the street with the light at a McAllen intersection and still be struck and seriously injured by a motorist who is not paying attention to the road. After a pedestrian accident, you may require a lengthy recovery and be unable to return to work. You need the help of a determined personal injury attorney.
Our McAllen pedestrian accident lawyers are dedicated to fighting for individuals who have been severely injured in pedestrian accidents and families who have lost a loved one due to a driver’s carelessness or negligence. At-fault drivers should be held accountable when they cause pedestrian accidents involving serious injuries or fatal injuries.
The victims of unsafe drivers should be compensated for their losses. Herrman & Herrman has bilingual staff and can answer your questions and discuss your injury claim in the language you are most comfortable talking about legal matters.
Let our knowledgeable McAllen pedestrian injury attorneys review the specific details of your pedestrian accident and explain your legal options during a free consultation.
Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
A car can strike a pedestrian crossing a McAllen intersection or walking beside a road at any time or at any location. Pedestrian accidents occur more often at night because pedestrians are more difficult to see in the dark and drivers may not be expecting to come upon pedestrians at night.
A study by Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that 15 percent of all fatal traffic accidents in Texas involve pedestrians. More than 600 pedestrians were killed, and more than 1,100 pedestrians sustained serious injuries in traffic collisions in Texas in 2017, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
Most non-fatal pedestrian accidents occur at city intersections during the daylight hours, transportation researchers say. Fatal pedestrian accidents are more likely to involve pedestrians crossing high-speed roadways midblock at night.
Pedestrian accidents are often the result of driver negligence, aggression, or recklessness, and could be avoided if McAllen drivers are always alert for people on foot. Many accidents occur because drivers are not looking for pedestrians and fail to see them stepping off the curb, walking in an intersection crosswalk, or walking beside the road.
The common causes of pedestrian accidents include:
Speeding—The faster a car or truck is going, the more severe the resulting injuries when a person on foot is struck by a moving vehicle. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that 5 percent of pedestrians will suffer fatal injuries when struck by cars or trucks moving at a speed of 20 miles per hour or slower. By comparison, 40 percent of pedestrians will sustain fatal injuries if struck by an automobile traveling 30 miles per hour and 80 percent will be fatally injured by a vehicle going 40 miles per hour.
Failure to Yield— Motorists in McAllen and throughout Hidalgo County are required by law to yield the right-of-way to people on foot in a number of situations. McAllen drivers must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians at intersections that do not have traffic signs or signals.
Motorists turning out of driveways or alleys onto roads must yield to pedestrians on sidewalks. Drivers must yield to a pedestrian at an intersection who has a green light if there is no pedestrian WALK signal.
Drivers should remain vigilant for any blind or partially blind pedestrians walking with a white cane or guided by a service dog and yield to them.
Distraction—Distracted driving is a contributing factor in many McAllen pedestrian accidents. A driver who is distracted by a cell phone, tuning the radio, eating food, or talking with passengers is less likely to see a person on foot. Distracted drivers pose a danger to everyone sharing the road with them. Pedestrians who are distracted by a cell phone may put themselves at risk of injury by failing to pay attention to where they are walking.
Driving Under Influence—Texas has a high number of drunk drivers, and alcohol contributes to many pedestrian accidents in Hidalgo County and across Texas. In some cases, the driver is intoxicated. In some accidents, the person on foot has had too much to drink. One of every six pedestrians fatally injured are struck by intoxicated drivers, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Commission, while one of every three pedestrians who are killed in a collision are legally intoxicated. Some pedestrians who are intoxicated wander into an active traffic lane or even lie down in the road.
Lack of Visibility—Three fourths of deadly pedestrian accidents happen during hours of darkness, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Pedestrians, especially on unlighted roads, are harder for drivers to see at night. A motorist may come upon a pedestrian in the roadway at night and spot the individual in the road when there is not enough time to avoid hitting the pedestrian.
Common Injuries
You are more likely to suffer serious injuries if you are struck by a car while on foot. The blunt force impact of being hit by a moving vehicle can cause trauma to the head, back, hips and legs. The severity of the injuries in a McAllen pedestrian accident depends on multiple factors including the type of road, the speed at which the vehicle is moving, the angle of impact, and the point of the first impact on the pedestrian’s body.
In collisions involving adult pedestrians, the vehicle will strike the legs of the person on foot, causing his or her legs to be pushed forward and the upper body and head to strike the hood or windshield of the vehicle. If the vehicle is traveling at higher speeds, the impact of the collision may throw the pedestrian onto the car hood or into an active traffic lane, causing secondary impacts.
A young child may suffer injuries to the head and upper body if struck by a vehicle. Pedestrian accidents involving children commonly occur in residential areas of McAllen and when unaccompanied children are walking home from school or playing.
For example, a child may dart into the road to chase a ball and be struck by a vehicle. The most common pedestrian accident injuries involving children are traumatic brain injuries and musculoskeletal injuries, which can cause long-term disabilities.
A serious injury may require a lengthy recovery and leave a person unable to work or go to school for months. A family may have sizable medical bills. Disabling injuries in a pedestrian crash may leave a crash victim unable to go back to work.
If you or your loved one has been seriously injured in a pedestrian accident in McAllen or elsewhere in Texas, you should seek the help of an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer.
Dangerous Intersections for Pedestrians in McAllen
A pedestrian accident can occur anywhere and at any hour. Some intersections in McAllen where fatal pedestrian accidents have occurred in recent years include:
- Bicentennial Blvd at Jackson Avenue
- SP 115 at Houston Avenue
- Ridge Road and 2nd Street
- Bentsen Road
- SR 336/10th Street
- U.S. 83 at S. Ware Road
- SR 336 at Pecan Blvd.
How Our Pedestrian Accident Lawyers Can Help
At Herrman & Herrman, our attorneys agreed many years ago to offer legal representation to personal injury accident victims, regardless of the individual’s income or ability to pay for services. It is the right thing to do. If you have been injured in a pedestrian accident and are unable to work, we understand that you may be dealing with financial stress and money may be very tight. We want to help if possible.
If we accept your pedestrian accident case, an experienced McAllen injury attorney at Herrman & Herrman will represent you on a contingency fee basis. A contingency fee arrangement allows you to have skilled legal representation without having to pay money out of pocket.
You will not owe a legal fee unless our personal injury lawyers are successful in obtaining a settlement or winning a jury award for you. If our attorneys obtain compensation for you, then our law firm will receive a share of the settlement or jury award to cover our legal services and expenses.
Our McAllen pedestrian crash attorneys aggressively seek full compensation for people injured by motor vehicles. While each pedestrian accident has a specific set of facts and our attorneys can never guarantee a certain outcome, we have had success in resolving more than 20,000 cases.
We will apply that experience to handle your claim. The Herrman & Herrman legal team has obtained multiple seven-figure settlements. Call for a free consultation with a knowledgeable attorney at Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C. today if you or your loved one has been injured in a McAllen pedestrian accident.
Our firm has offices in the following locations: Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi South Side, Brownsville, McAllen, San Antonio, Houston, and Ft. Worth, TX.
