Turn to Compass Law Group, LLP
If you or a member of your family has suffered a pedestrian brain injury as the result of a driver’s negligence in Los Angeles, you should contact our practice as soon as possible so that we can assess your case, file a lawsuit against the offending party, and create the strategy that will best serve your interests.
How Driver Negligence Causes Pedestrian Brain Injury Accidents
Negligent or reckless drivers are often responsible for pedestrian brain injury accidents. In most cases, the driver does not see the pedestrian in time to avoid her. More than a quarter of pedestrian accidents occur in the darkening hours between 6 and 9 p.m. when pedestrians are coming home, shopping, or going out for the evening and there is still a great deal of traffic on the street. Young children and seniors are at elevated risk, the former due to impulse actions, the latter due to slowed reflexes and mobility issues.
Driver negligence can take many forms:
- Distracted driving
- Driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs
- Speeding or other reckless driving
- Failing to obey a traffic light or stop sign
- Careless left turns or back-ups
- Driving while too tired to focus
Weather conditions often contribute to pedestrian brain injury accidents since snow, sleet, heavy rain or fog make it more difficult for both drivers and pedestrians to maneuver.
Types of Brain Injuries and How They Can Be Life-Altering
There are many types of brain injuries, classified according to what part of the brain is impacted and how seriously it is damaged. Brain damage is typically worse if the brain is not only shaken or banged against the skull but is penetrated. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can be:
- Concussions in which the brain hits the skull
- Hematomas in which there is clotting in blood vessels in the brain
- Hemorrhage or extreme bleeding
- Edema or swelling of brain tissue
- Hypoxia in which the brain receives insufficient oxygen
Depending on the precise nature of your injury and its level of severity, you may suffer one or more of the following symptoms:
- Headaches, nausea, vomiting
- Lightheadedness, confusion, loss of consciousness
- Balance problems, seizures
- Cognitive impairment (e.g. memory loss)
- Psychiatric impairment (e.g. depression, mood disorder)
- Loss of sight or hearing
- Sleep difficulties
Because the brain is the control center for the body, just about any region of the body can be affected by brain injury. Patients may lose muscular coordination, ability to speak or think clearly, or control of bladder or bowels. In the most extreme cases, brain injury patients may remain in a vegetative state temporarily or permanently, or may die.
The Enormous Costs of Brain Injuries
It is impossible to overstate the costs — physical, emotional, and financial — of brain injuries suffered in pedestrian accidents. At best, the victim may require surgery and a lengthy period of rehabilitation. In severe cases, patients may require 24-hour long-term nursing care.
If the patient is a wage earner, now unable to work, the whole family will need funds to survive. If the pedestrian accident victim’s brain injury was fatal, the family will have to deal with final medical costs and funeral/memorial expenses in addition to covering the deceased’s lost income.
How Compass Law Group Can Help
Our pedestrian brain injury accident attorneys have the experience and comprehensive legal knowledge to help you navigate this terrible and challenging phase of your life. We will use our considerable negotiation and litigation skills to:
- Handle all communications with insurance adjusters and opposing attorneys
- Investigate the site of your accident
- Interview witnesses
- Examine police records and medical reports
- Consult with experts (medical or otherwise) who may support our case in court
Once you become our client, we will work tirelessly to obtain the compensation you need to restart your life. Not only will your initial consultation be free, but we will charge you no attorneys’ fees until we win your case.
What happens when both parties share fault for the pedestrian accident?
Although in most cases drivers are responsible for pedestrian accidents, there are situations in which pedestrians are at least partially to blame. The law gives pedestrians the right of way at intersections but requires that pedestrians, like drivers, obey traffic signals and use available sidewalks. On rural roads, pedestrians are expected to face traffic as they walk.
This means that a pedestrian who is hit and suffers a brain injury may be held partially responsible for the accident if that pedestrian:
- Was walking in the road parallel to traffic
- Failed to wait for a walk signal or green light at an intersection
- Was distracted (e.g. texting) while crossing the street
- Was impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident
- Ran into the street without looking
- Stepped unexpectedly from between 2 parked cars into the roadway
California is a pure comparative negligence state which means that our state courts allow injured parties to collect damages unless they are solely responsible for the accident. So, even if the court deems you to 99 percent at fault, you may still be entitled to compensation.
The only catch is that your percentage of fault will be deducted as a percentage of your damages. For example, if the court determines that you should be awarded $1,000,000 for your brain injury, but you have been deemed 20 percent at fault, you will receive $800,000.
Other factors may also contribute to pedestrian accidents, such as poorly maintained roads, defective traffic signals, or defective auto brakes. You can be sure that Compass Law Group will sue any person or entity who is liable for the harm that has come to you.
Damages We Will Fight to Win
Our lawyers are well aware of the struggles you and your loved ones are facing and will fight aggressively to win you the compensation you need to see you through. We are sharp trial attorneys and know which tactics to use to get you maximum damages for:
- Medical and rehabilitation costs
- Lost income, present and future
- Property damage or loss
- Pain and suffering
- Permanent disability
- Extended nursing care
- Replacement services (e.g. cooking, cleaning)
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Final medical costs, funeral costs, loss of financial and emotional support (in cases of wrongful death)
Contact Us Today So We Can Begin Protecting You and Your Loved Ones
Our dedicated attorneys are not jaded by their extensive experience with pedestrian accident brain injury victims. On the contrary, we are increasingly sensitive to the unnecessary suffering caused by negligent drivers. You can be certain that once we take your case we will provide you with deep compassion as well as excellent legal counsel.
Contact our skilled Los Angeles brain injury attorney today for a free, initial consultation.
This list isn’t all-inclusive many personal injury suits have been raised based on different factors that aren’t included above. Our team of Los Angeles car accident attorneys can work on cases without anything out of pocket.
We’re old enough to have the necessary experience, yet young enough to use the most cutting-edge technology and tactics, and are determined enough to fight and outsmart the other side, every time.
