Were you hurt in a pedestrian crash?
Because cars have the potential to seriously injure and kill a pedestrian, vehicle drivers must make an effort to watch out for and yield to pedestrians. For this reason, California pedestrians have the right of way in numerous traffic scenarios.
This does not mean that an adult pedestrian can dart out into the middle of the street, get hit by a car and expect to have a viable claim for damages. A pedestrian who is hit by a car in a crosswalk, on the other hand, will likely have a viable claim. Especially at crosswalks and intersections, drivers are legally obligated to look out for pedestrians and yield to them.
For example, imagine you were walking to your local convenience store one Saturday morning. You looked both ways before stepping into the crosswalk and a vehicle was coming, so you waited for that car to come to a stop. As you continued to walk across the street, however, the car jerks forward and hits you.
Even when a pedestrian crash happens in a crosswalk like this, insurance companies might try to argue that the pedestrian was at fault for not exercising enough care. When this happens, injured pedestrians can benefit from having an experienced personal injury trial lawyer on their side.