Articles Tagged with Pedestrian accident lawyer

Fort Lauderdale pedestrian accident victims may find it difficult to obtain full and fair financial compensation after their ordeal. For one thing, 1 in 4 Florida pedestrian accidents are hit-and-run crashes, meaning the driver who caused the crash fled the scene. Secondly, even if the driver stays, 1 in 5 are uninsured, despite statutory requirements. Finally, Florida is a no-fault car insurance state, meaning crash victims’ own insurer covers up to $10,000 in damages, and it’s only if you’re seriously injured that you can step outside of that no-fault system. Pedestrians aren’t required to have personal injury protection (PIP) coverage, though they can use it if they or a member of their household has it. More likely, they’d be relying on the driver’s PIP. But if the driver doesn’t have insurance or flees the scene, securing compensation becomes more challenging. Fort Lauderdale pedestrian accident lawyer

Working with an experienced Fort Lauderdale injury attorney helps ensure you’re leaving no opportunity for compensation off the table.

Fort Lauderdale Pedestrian Accident Statistics

Walking is dangerous business in South Florida, the state that ranks No. 1 in pedestrian deaths in the United States, according to thinktank Smart Growth America. Continue reading

Fort Lauderdale pedestrian accidentTaking a stroll in South Florida could be hazardous to your health. Smart Growth America, an organization dedicated to pedestrian safety, ranks the Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach-Miami metro area as 13th in the country for the most dangerous to those  traversing traffic on foot.

In its Dangerous by Design 2021 report, Smart Growth America notes that 1,675 pedestrians have died in Florida from 2010 to 2019, which amounts to 2.8 pedestrian accident deaths per 100,000 residents. The analysis establishes a Pedestrian Death Index to assess the risks and rank the road safety status in cities and states. It looks at how dangerous it is for people to walk in a given area based on the number of people injured and killed in pedestrian accidents controlled for the population and the number of folks who walk to work as a measure of average overall walking in the region. South Florida’s PDI was 171.9. The metro area with the highest PDI was Orlando, with a PDI of 295 and 3 deaths per 100,000 people.

Among states, Florida was once again No. 1, with nearly 5,900 people killed and a PDI of 201.4. Most other states with high pedestrian danger were in the South, including Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas. New Mexico, Arizona and Delaware were also high on the list. Among the top 13 most dangerous metro areas, regions in Florida held nine of those slots. Continue reading

Florida has long held the unfortunate distinction as the being one of the worst (if not the worst) for deadly pedestrian accidents – far too many of those being hit-and-run. As the Governors Highway Safety Association reports, more than 6,500 pedestrian accidents occurred in 2019 – the highest in three decades. Five states – including Florida – accounted for 50 percent of those.pedestrian accident attorney

As our Fort Lauderdale car accident attorneys can explain, victims of pedestrian accidents have several legal avenues for compensation and accountability. These include no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) benefits, as well as bodily injury liability claims against at-fault drivers/vehicle owners/employers and possibly uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

Several recent Florida pedestrian accident lawsuits stem from unspeakable tragedy: Two college students killed and a handful more injured in two pedestrian accidents near the same area just a month apart. Continue reading

Pedestrian accident deaths in the U.S. are at their highest level in decades – and Florida ranks No. 1 nationally. Florida pedestrian accident lawsuit

The simple act of going to work on foot, walking your dog or enjoying an after-dinner stroll is increasingly a risk to your safety in the Sunshine State. The Governors Highway Safety Administration reported more pedestrian accident deaths in 2018 than in the last 30 years. With nearly 6,230 pedestrians killed that year, it was 4 percent more than the year before and higher than it’s been since 1990.

In fact, as our Fort Lauderdale injury attorneys can explain, while motor vehicle deaths have been steadily falling over the last year, pedestrian accident fatalities have spiked by 35 percent.

Why Pedestrians are at Greater Risk

Part of the reason pedestrians are at greater risk on our roads has to do with physiology. There are more large trucks on the road, and an increasing number of drivers are opting for larger vehicles, like sport utility vehicles. These are far more likely to kill a pedestrian than smaller, more compact cars simply due to the size and weight differential. Continue reading

Recently, three tourists were injured in Fort Lauderdale after they were struck by a vehicle on Dania Beach Road. All three were family members on vacation from Utah. All were seriously injured, and one lost her foot. crosswalk

According to news reports, the trio were reportedly walking back to their hotel along Southwest 42nd Street after dinner. They were in a wide swath of grass when a pickup truck driver veered toward them and crossed over from the westbound lane to the eastbound lane and then onto the shoulder of the road. Authorities said speed and alcohol are likely factors in this pedestrian accident.

Florida – and South Florida in particular – is a perilous place for pedestrians, and has been for some time. Addressing these issues may take an approach that considers better traffic engineering and more targeted enforcement. However, those efforts can only go so far if drivers continue to disregard our traffic laws and the safety of pedestrians. Two recent reports show the problems, at least for now, aren’t getting better.  Continue reading

A Florida man alleges he suffered permanent personal injury in a pedestrian accident he says occurred when two police officers left him intoxicated by the side of U.S. 98 North last summer. The 29-year-old says he’ll never walk again without assistance, and is seeking to collect damages from the department that employed the officers, as well as from the officers personally. crosswalk

He was one of 7,870 people injured in pedestrian accidents in Florida last year, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). The agency’s latest traffic accident statistics report indicates there was a nearly 2 percent increase in pedestrian injuries in the Sunshine State last year. There was a 3 percent increase in the number of overall pedestrian crashes (from 8,838 in 2014 to 9,085 in 2015), as well as a 4.3 percent increase in the number of pedestrian accident fatalities (from 606 in 2014 to 632 in 2015).

The total number of traffic accidents last year was 374,342 – a 9 percent increase from the year before. Pedestrian accidents comprised 2.4 percent of all traffic crashes, but 23.6 percent of all fatal crashes last year.  Continue reading

Pedestrians are in a perilous position every time they step out in Florida, which is known to have the highest number of traffic fatalities per 100,000 population, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Still, one would think the sight of a person pushing a stroller would give most drivers pause and reason to exercise great caution.stroller

Unfortunately, it seems more and more accidents are involving pedestrians with strollers. Although there are no available statistics on the issue, the anecdotal evidence is mounting.

Take for example the most recent case in Florida, which occurred in Fort Lauderdale. According to the Sun-Sentinel, a mother and 18-month-old baby girl were rushed to a nearby hospital on a recent night after being struck by a car. The report was that mother and child in stroller were crossing Davie Boulevard in the crosswalk. The vehicle was traveling eastbound. Continue reading

Contact Information