Santa Monica Pedestrian Accident Attorneys

Santa Monica is a tourist-friendly city on the coast of a large urban area with a large citizenry and a huge tourist population visiting its beautiful climate and beaches every year. The City has also taken extensive measures to encourage a walk-friendly city and alternative transportation methods to driving. These factors come together to make Santa Monica a very risky city for injury-causing pedestrian accidents for the myriad of people who choose to walk its streets every day, as well as the surrounding areas.

Pedestrians not only have to exercise caution around motor vehicles, they must avoid collisions with bicyclists, runners, mass transit vehicles, and scooter operators when navigating the city streets. It’s common for injuries to occur in intersections, on streets without marked crosswalks, in parking lots, or even on sidewalks. Using caution will not always eliminate the risk; in 2016 California had 867 pedestrians killed on roadways and more than 14,000 injured – Santa Monica in 2017 investigated 5 fatalities and 660 major injury collisions. In 2017, five pedestrians were killed in a one month span in Santa Monica alone on thoroughfares, a street, and in a parking lot. Though streets such as Third Street Promenade have barriers to prevent collisions with motor vehicles, many do not. Because many injuries and fatalities result from negligence, if you were hurt in a pedestrian accident, contact an experienced Santa Monica Pedestrian Accident attorney to learn if you may be entitled to compensation.

Causes of Santa Monica Pedestrian Accidents

In Santa Monica, due to the high volume of vehicles and large pedestrian population, injury-causing collisions with motor vehicles are common. The risk only increases when drivers operate their vehicles negligently by speeding, texting while driving, or failing to check or signal before turning or switching lanes. Other factors, however, also come into play and contribute to injury-causing pedestrian accidents. Nearly 70 percent of pedestrian accidents occur outside of intersections with a marked crosswalk, 72 percent occur in the evening or other conditions where low light and low visibility exists, nearly 50 percent involve at least one intoxicated party, and children and the elderly are by far the most common victims of pedestrian injuries and fatalities.

How Do I Recover for My Santa Monica Pedestrian Accident Injuries?

Pedestrians are at risk for particularly serious injuries when involved in accidents with larger, faster objects such as motor vehicles, scooters and bicycles. Serious trauma to the neck, back, and head are common, as are traumatic brain injuries – these can amass enormous medical bills and require long term treatment.

Injured pedestrians usually argue for recovery in a Santa Monica personal injury case by proving another person’s negligent behavior caused their injuries. Once a victim can prove a party breached a legal duty of care to them and the breach caused their injuries, the accused must have a valid legal defense to avoid being liable for the victim’s damages.

What Can I Recover?

If a Santa Monica pedestrian can prove negligence, they may recover provable compensatory damages to make them whole for physical harms, property damage, financial harms, and emotional or psychological injuries. Medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of consortium, and even burial expenses are commonly brought up when arguing for a compensatory damage award. Additional damages may also be warranted in certain extreme circumstances where particularly reprehensible behavior is present.

What if I am Involved in a Santa Monica Pedestrian Accident?

If you’re a pedestrian injured in an accident in Santa Monica or the Greater Los Angeles area, taking a few actions after your accident can help protect your health, aid your recovery, and greatly strengthen any legal claims you may bring to recover damages in the future. It may seem overwhelming to act so quickly after an accident, but it is critical to do so.

Do Not Delay

If you were injured during a pedestrian accident in Santa Monica or anywhere else in California, it’s important you take action quickly after you have been involved in an accident. California has adopted a 2-year statute of limitations for filing most personal injury claims after the date of your injury – failing to do so means you are permanently barred from filing a claim for recovery in civil court or recovering damages for your injuries.

Get Medical Help

Whether or not you believe you were hurt, get evaluated by a medical professional as soon as possible after an accident. Many injuries present no symptoms at first, so it’s important to be checked and treated for all injuries – obvious and hidden. To protect your health and your legal claim, it’s critical to obey treatment plans, take medication as prescribed, and keep all follow-up medical and rehabilitation appointments.

Gather Records

It’s important for you to gather evidence that can show what caused your accident and substantiate the extent of your damages. If possible, notify law enforcement immediately and give them a detailed statement for an accident report. Get contact information from any witnesses and take pictures of the scene of the accident before it is cleared. Keep all records of any damages you suffered – medical bills, hospital records, paystubs, and any other expenses related to the accident.

Contact a Santa Monica Pedestrian Accident Attorney

If you were are a pedestrian who has been hurt in a Santa Monica accident, speak to the skilled Pedestrian Accident Attorneys at Steven M. Sweat, Personal Injury Lawyers, APC serving Santa Monica and the surrounding area in Greater Los Angeles. We have more than 20 years’ experience delivering aggressive, tailored representation for victims like you, and our attorneys have secured millions of dollars in damage awards. Both Los Angeles Magazine and the Thomson Reuters News Service have awarded Mr. Sweat the “Super Lawyer” designation, given only to the top 5% of all California pedestrian accident attorneys. To schedule your risk-free initial case consultation contact us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (866)-966-5240 or on our online Contact Page. The evaluation is confidential, and you owe nothing until we win your case. Let us review your unique situation and give you the best representation possible so you can focus on your recovery.