Pedestrian Accident

The Sacramento Bee recently ran an article that revealed that the streets of San Francisco are the second most dangerous place for pedestrians. Reportedly, San Francisco ranks solely behind New York City as the nation’s leader in pedestrian fatalities. According to Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, the two groups that created the report, San Francisco ranks No. 40 overall on the “Pedestrian Danger Index.”

Claims made by Walk San Francisco, a pedestrian advocacy group situated in San Francisco, state that the fatality rate per 100,000 people in the city is 2.6 percent. This figure is 70 percent higher than the national average. The report also speculates that most pedestrian deaths are in fact preventable, with the primary causes of such accidents being a lack of safe sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian signals, and other preventative measures put into place to protect pedestrians. And San Francisco isn’t the only area in Northern California that failed to rank well for pedestrian safety. The Sacramento-Arden-Roseville metropolitan area ranks No. 22 nationally, while the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area comes in at No. 26.

Pedestrian safety should be of the utmost concern to state departments of transportation and county and municipal transit agencies. In the event that negligent action on the part of some governing party leads to pedestrian injury, then that party may be held liable for damages associated with the injury. In fact, in any type of accident, the negligent party who contributes towards causing the accident can often be held liable for monetary compensation to assist injured individuals in recovering from their accident.

At Van Der Walde & Associates, our experienced San Francisco pedestrian accident attorneys will examine every detail surrounding your accident, and will hold negligent parties responsible for contributing to your accident. We will seek monetary compensation on your behalf while ensuring that your rights as an injured pedestrian are protected. If you have been injured, please don’t hesitate to contact our personal injury lawyers today for a free consultation of your case. Call us at 877-862-6288.

Source:http://www.sacbee.com/trafficnews/story/2327863.html

The Mercury News recently reported in an article that a 16-year-old female student from Palo Alto High School was struck by a vehicle as she attempted to cross six lanes of traffic in order to catch her bus. The driver of the vehicle, a 75-year-old woman from San Jose, was apparently unaware that she had struck a person. The driver was only aware only that she had possibly hit something, but didn’t know what it was.  The accident occurred on El Camino Real, and was not the fault of the driver. However, it is still being determined whether or not the woman will have to face hit-and-run charges because she did in fact leave the scene of the crime.

While the 16-year-old did break a traffic law, pedestrians are still afforded the right-of-way in all instances involving vehicles. Whether or not the elderly woman failed to even see the teenage girl is unknown at this time. One officer’s opinion of the driver’s state-of-mind was that she seemed “disoriented” and “confused.”  In many auto accidents involving pedestrians, driver inattention often plays a significant role in pedestrian injury.  Failing to observe all rules of the road, particularly those that protect pedestrians, puts unsuspecting pedestrians at risk of injury.  In instances where driver inattention or other negligent behavior plays a determining factor in causing pedestrian injury, it is the responsibility of the negligent motorist to accept accountability.

At Van Der Walde & Associates, our experienced San Jose pedestrian accident lawyers will examine the details of your pedestrian incident to determine if negligence played any sort of role, and will hold all parties responsible for their negligence actions. We have assisted many pedestrian accident victims receive compensatory damages to help with recovery. If you have recently been injured, don’t hesitate to contact a skilled personal injury attorney to ensure that your rights are protected in a court of law. Please call Van Der Walde & Associates today at 877-862-6288 for a free consultation.

Source Article: http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_13221109?nclick_check=1

The Mercury News recently reported in an article that a San Jose resident was struck and killed while crossing the street north of Downtown San Jose. The 51-year-old, whose name was not revealed, was struck between Hedding Street and Mission Avenue while crossing First Street. The man was taken to a local hospital after the pedestrian accident in San Jose, but medical personnel were unable to save him.

The man was struck by a white 2008 BMW, according to a Sergeant. The BMW was driven by a 33-year-old, San Jose woman. The woman was not determined to be under the influence of any substance, nor did she flee the scene of the accident. She has not been charged with a crime as of yet.

San Jose police report that this incident is the ninth involving pedestrian death in vehicle-related collisions in the city of San Jose in 2009. Though negligence may not have played as much of a role in this man’s death as it has in other pedestrian related deaths, negligence is still one of the leading causes for pedestrian injury in vehicle-related accidents.

If you or a loved one has recently been involved in a vehicle-pedestrian accident, please don’t hesitate to contact the personal injury attorneys at Van Der Walde & Associates. Our knowledgeable lawyers will examine the details surrounding your accident, and will hold those responsible for their actions. Please contact a skilled San Jose pedestrian accident attorney today for a free consultation, and we’ll help restore the order that your accident took away.

San Francisco’s local CBS news affiliate, KPIX-TV (channel 5), recently reported in an account that a female motorist inadvertently caused harm to a female pedestrian and her 4-year-old son outside of Green Acres Elementary School at 966 Bostwick Lane. No parties involved were identified by name. The female pedestrian sustained major industries, while her son sustained minor injuries.

The pedestrian accident in Santa Cruz occurred around 8am, as the female pedestrian and her young son were walking through the school parking lot. At that same time, a female motorist accidentally hit her car’s gas pedal instead of the brake pedal as she attempted to pull into a parking space at the school. The motorist’s vehicle struck a nearby chain-link fence, which consequently dislodged from the ground. The end post of the fence struck the female pedestrian in the head. There was no report as to whether or not her son was struck by the post and/or fence. Both mother and son her were airlifted to a nearby trauma center for treatment.

It was determined that the female motorist was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and was not arrested by CHP officers who responded to the scene. The female motorist did not sustain any injuries and her child who was in the car with her also was not injured.

Thoughtless mistakes can lead to serious injuries. Under the law, you are entitled to compensation in the event of being injured in an accident caused by another person’s negligence. This compensation can include reimbursement for medical bills and lost wages as the result of the accident. The Santa Cruz personal injury attorneys at Van Der Walde & Associates specialize in cases regarding pedestrian and automobile accidents, and are prepared to assist you with your case. Please call us today for a free consultation so that we may examine the details of your case.

The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported in an article that a 6-year-old girl and her mother were seriously injured in a Burlingame pedestrian accident.  Holly Rogers, 49, and her daughter, Caroline Schoustra (now age 7), were selling Girl Scout cookies outside of a Burlingame grocery store when a motor vehicle struck them, pinning the mother-daughter pair between the car and the building.  The motor vehicle, a Lexus belonging to Paul Glad, 59, of San Mateo, pinned Holly Rogers with such force that her left leg was beyond repair and needed to be amputated above the knee, leaving her disabled.  Her daughter suffered from multiple leg fractures.  There were also three other people who suffered injuries due to the automobile accident in Burlingame, two 6-year-old girls and a 53-year-old man, but they were all treated at a local hospital and promptly released.

Paul Glad told police that he inadvertently hit the gas pedal instead of the brake while attempting to park his vehicle.  However, Holly Rogers told authorities that Mr. Glad began to get out of his car even before it had come to a complete stop, and failed to shift the vehicle into park.  Paul Glad did not show any signs of intoxication or impairment, although he did inform police that he had taken Oxycontin, a prescription painkiller, earlier in the day as treatment for a previous spinal injury he had sustained.  Furthermore, Mr. Glad attempted to park his car in a space reserved for disabled drivers, although no mention of whether or not Mr. Glad legally qualified to park in that type of parking spot was made.

Negligence played a significant role in determining Holly Rodgers’s fate.  If you, like Holly, have suffered from a debilitating injury that has permanently changed your life, you need the help of a personal injury lawyer more than ever.  The Northern California personal injury attorneys at Van Der Walde & Associates specialize in cases regarding pedestrian and automobile accidents, and are prepared to assist you with your case in every way possible.