Abogados de Accidentes Peatonales en Roswell, Nuevo México

Pedestrian Accident Injuries

Unlike motorcyclist victims in car accidents, pedestrians have no protection between themselves and the vehicle when they are struck. Naturally, this makes their injuries even more severe when they are in collisions with heavy vehicles. The types of injuries pedestrians receive in accidents are affected by the type of vehicle and the speed at which the vehicle was traveling.

Fatality

Clearly, the most serious injury a pedestrian accident victim can receive is death. In 2021 in New Mexico, 99 pedestrians were killed, which is an increase from 81 in 2020 and 83 in 2019. If your loved one died as a result of a driver’s negligence, you can file a wrongful death lawsuit on their behalf. Talk to an attorney about who can file a wrongful death lawsuit and the type of compensation that may be available to the victim’s family.

Head injury

Pedestrians typically don’t wear any of the protection that cyclists or skaters might wear, such as helmets or elbow and knee pads. So there’s really no protection between pedestrians and the road, making them extremely vulnerable to head injuries.

At a minimum, a pedestrian who suffers a head injury in a collision might experience a concussion. However, a pedestrian who collides with a moving motor vehicle can be left blind, paralyzed, or even killed. Approximately 19% of injuries to pedestrians in roadway accidents result in head injuries.

Spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injuries can be permanent. Between 6.2% and 8.3% of collisions, or about one in every fourteen collisions, between pedestrians and automobiles involve injuries to the back and spine. Severe spinal cord injuries can mean permanent paralysis for the victim.

Less serious injuries

Just because a pedestrian has not received a spinal cord injury or a head injury does not mean that the victim does not deserve to be compensated for their injuries. Less serious injuries such as road rash and lacerations can leave scars; and fractured or broken bones may require extensive treatment. In fact, the injury that pedestrians most often receive when they have been hit by a car is fractured bones .

Read more:

What should you do if you have been hit by a car?

As we have discussed, a pedestrian’s injuries after being hit by a car can be life-threatening. The chances that you will be able to take any immediate action after the accident may be slim. However, if you are conscious and able to move, there are certain steps you can take that will make your recovery much easier later on.

Taking immediate action after the accident allows you to gather all the evidence you can while the accident scene is fresh. Immediate action can help preserve the strength of your claim.

Unable to move, or perhaps you were transported by ambulance to a hospital? Don’t worry. A Roswell pedestrian accident lawyer can help you put the pieces together if you were unable to document or regain access to the accident scene sooner.

Get medical help

If you’ve been seriously injured, the first thing you should do is get emergency medical help. This means you won’t be present for a police report and you probably won’t be collecting evidence on your own at the scene of the accident, but your life could depend on emergency treatment.

It’s not worth risking your life even if you know you could get better evidence for your claim by staying. Call 911 if you can or have someone else call 911.

Even if you don’t need emergency medical attention, visit a doctor soon after the accident and let them know what happened to you. You may not notice injuries right away, but some injuries take time to show up.

While you are receiving treatment for your injuries, keep a personal record of the care providers you have visited, the diagnoses and treatment you received from them, and the costs of your visits and treatment. All of this can serve as evidence of how serious and expensive your injuries are.

Accident report

If you are not seriously injured after the accident, you can report the accident to the police. An officer will arrive to take down the names, contact information, and insurance information of those involved in the accident.

You can also gather all of this information for yourself to keep as a personal record. Take photos of the accident scene if you have a camera device.

The police officer’s accident report will become public record a few days after the accident, and you can request a copy of the report online. In the report, you should see some account of how the accident occurred with an indication of who might be at fault.

Submit your claim

Once you have enough information to explain how the accident happened and who was involved, you can contact an attorney to see what you can do next. Keep in mind that in New Mexico, personal injury victims have three years from the day of the accident to file their claim against the person who injured them. This time restriction is called the statute of limitations .

The attorney you consult should be able to give you an idea of whether your claim will be successful in court. Have they handled pedestrian accident cases before? They should also be able to approximate how much compensation you could expect from a settlement.

4 Safety Tips for Pedestrians

With pedestrian deaths on the rise , it is important for pedestrians to know how to safely avoid accidents with vehicles. Below are ways pedestrians can make themselves safer when walking near traffic.

1. Make yourself visible

Many pedestrian accidents occur at night, when it is difficult for drivers to see people walking. Make yourself visible by carrying a flashlight and wearing bright clothing. If you have reflective clothing, wear it.

2. Avoid crossing out of lane

Instead, cross at an intersection or a designated crosswalk. If the crosswalk has a button that will make the signals light up as you cross, press it.

3. Avoid walking on the road

If there is a road or sidewalk, use it. If you must walk on the road, walk on the shoulder toward oncoming traffic. That way, you’ll see approaching vehicles and can swerve around the vehicle if necessary.

4. Don’t get distracted

Avoid distractions that may affect your vision or hearing, especially if you have been using alcohol or drugs. Listening to music with headphones or watching videos on your phone can make you less alert to your surroundings.

If you took all the proper precautions as a pedestrian, but were still hit by a car because the driver failed to take proper precautions, speak with a Roswell pedestrian accident lawyer near you. He or she can help you determine whether the driver was responsible for the accident and what you can do about it if they were.

Safety tips for drivers

We’ve already talked about the dangers of drunk driving when it comes to pedestrian accidents. It can’t be said too often: don’t drive if you’ve had too much to drink. Three alcoholic drinks in one hour is enough to put most 160-pound people at or over the legal limit for driving.

The faster the vehicle is traveling, the more likely the driver is to hit a pedestrian and the more severe such an injury will be. Drivers must adhere to the speed limit and pay extra attention when the speed limit is higher. Additionally, most pedestrian deaths occur in urban areas, so drivers in the busiest areas of the city should be prepared to encounter drunk pedestrians, especially during the holidays.

Stay alert and don’t drive distracted. Follow the rules of the road and drive extra carefully during bad weather. All of the safety tips outlined here benefit not only pedestrians but also other drivers on the road.

Talk to a Roswell Pedestrian Accident Lawyer at Zinda Law Group

Now that you know the statute of limitations in New Mexico, you know that you don’t have much time to decide whether you should pursue your personal injury claim in court. A Roswell pedestrian accident lawyer can help you decide whether you will be successful if you try to receive compensation from the person who hit you.

During your free consultation with a Roswell pedestrian accident attorney, you will describe what happened to you and what you know about the person who hit you. The Roswell personal injury attorney can then give you a rough idea of whether you could receive compensation for your injuries.

An experienced attorney may be able to give you a rough estimate of how much compensation you might be able to recover. Even the most experienced attorney, however, will need more information before he or she can give you a more accurate estimate of that nature.

CALL THE ATTORNEYS AT ZINDA LAW GROUP AND GET THE HELP YOU NEED TO WIN YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

You deserve to not only be compensated for your injuries, but also to have the help of an attorney who cares about the outcome of your case and respects your goals. If you are looking for a personal injury attorney near you, the attorneys at Roswell’s Zinda Law Group are ready to take your call at (800) 863-5312 .

If you hire one of our attorneys, you can benefit from the security of our No Win, No Fee Guarantee . This means that you don’t owe us anything unless we win your case for you.

Meetings with lawyers are only held by appointment.