Pedestrians continue to face unprecedented dangers in New York. If you take anything away from the below, make it this: Be careful when walking our streets.
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles releases an annual summary of statistics involving motor vehicle crashes. As the New York City Police Department and the city’s Mayor are proudly pointing out that homicide rates are dipping below the lowest levels in 50 years, New York State’s DMV released a staggering statistical compilation of pedestrian/motor vehicle crashes from the year 2014.
The figures that were released related to pedestrian accidents should give you pause. There were 14,952 crashes involving pedestrians within NYS in 2014. That comes out to an average of 41 pedestrians a day being struck by car, 1.7 victims per hour. The pedestrian crashes in 2014 caused the death of 271 victims. What does this represent? It means more than 5 people a week in our state are being killed in pedestrian accidents. 268 of the 271 victims were pedestrians.
Pedestrian accidents are frequently caused by reckless driving and driver inattention. It is well documented that pedestrian accidents can have very severe consequences. That is because the pedestrian is obviously considerably smaller than the vehicle there struck by and they are often defenseless. Additionally, pedestrians are usually without anything to keep them safe in a crash and generally will absorb the contact of the vehicle and then the secondary contact of the ground.
Victims in pedestrian accidents as well as their loved ones should learn as much as they possibly can about the medical and legal consequences of a crash. You may learn more about pedestrian accidents here.
Pedestrian accident victims may have the ability to bring a lawsuit to address their losses, including financial compensation for medical expenses, any wages that they lost and for their injuries. The law firm of Block O’Toole & Murphy as a long and proud history of significant recoveries for pedestrian accident victims. They include a record setting $32,756,156 verdict for a pedestrian in Suffolk County who had orthopedic injuries as well as a traumatic brain injury, a $12 million settlement for a child victim in Brooklyn who sustained a leg injury, and an $8,800,000 Settlement for a Queens pedestrian who sustained a trauma.
Block O’Toole and Murphy has recovered nearly $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients. You may learn more about the firm and have an opportunity to discuss your case by calling them at 212-736-5300.