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Car Accident Lawyer in Austin: How Our Team Handles Pedestrian Accident Cases
You were in a crosswalk, following the signals, doing everything right—and a driver who wasn’t paying attention changed your life forever. Pedestrian accidents produce devastating injuries because human bodies have no protection against multi-ton vehicles traveling at high speeds. The injuries our car accident lawyer in Austin sees in pedestrian cases rank among the most severe we handle—traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, multiple fractures, and all too often, fatalities. We fight for pedestrian victims and their families, holding negligent drivers accountable and pursuing compensation reflecting the catastrophic nature of these injuries.
The Severity of Pedestrian Accidents
When vehicles strike pedestrians, the physics are brutally unfair. Vehicles weighing thousands of pounds impact unprotected human bodies, transferring enormous energy that causes devastating trauma.
Why Pedestrian Injuries Are So Severe
Pedestrians lack any protection in collisions with vehicles. No seatbelts restrain them, no airbags cushion impact, no vehicle structure absorbs crash forces. Their bodies directly absorb collision energy.
Initial impacts typically strike lower extremities, fracturing legs and damaging knees. As pedestrians fall onto vehicles, they suffer torso and head injuries from hood and windshield contact. Secondary impacts with pavement cause additional trauma.
Even “low-speed” pedestrian accidents cause serious injuries. A vehicle traveling 20 mph generates forces sufficient to break bones and cause brain injuries.
Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries
Our Austin car accident attorneys have represented pedestrian victims suffering virtually every type of serious injury:
Traumatic brain injuries from head impacts with vehicles or pavement. Spinal cord injuries cause paralysis. Multiple fractures requiring surgical repair. Internal organ damage from blunt force trauma. Severe lacerations and soft tissue injuries. Permanent scarring and disfigurement. Psychological trauma, including PTSD.
Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
Understanding what causes pedestrian accidents helps our car accident lawyers in Austin establish liability against negligent drivers.
Distracted Driving
Drivers focused on phones, passengers, or in-vehicle systems fail to see pedestrians entering roadways. Crosswalks, intersections, and parking lots become danger zones when drivers aren’t watching.
Failure to Yield
Texas law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and other specified situations. Drivers who ignore yield requirements cause preventable pedestrian collisions.
Speeding
Higher speeds reduce driver reaction time and increase impact severity. Speeding drivers can’t stop for pedestrians who enter their paths.
Impaired Driving
Alcohol and drugs impair the awareness, reaction time, and judgment that drivers need to avoid pedestrians. Impaired drivers cause disproportionate numbers of pedestrian fatalities.
Turning Vehicle Conflicts
Drivers executing turns focus on vehicle traffic and fail to notice pedestrians in crosswalks. Right turns on red and left turns across crosswalks create particular hazards.
Backing Accidents
Vehicles backing in parking lots, driveways, and other areas strike pedestrians the drivers never saw. Limited rear visibility contributes to these accidents.
Establishing Liability in Pedestrian Cases
Pedestrian accident victims must prove driver negligence to recover compensation. Our car accident attorney Austin builds strong liability cases for pedestrian clients.
Traffic Law Violations
Drivers who violate traffic laws—running red lights, ignoring crosswalk yield requirements, speeding—are negligent per se. Our Austin car accident lawyers document traffic violations that establish liability.
Witness Testimony
Witnesses who observed accidents can testify to driver negligence. We identify and interview witnesses promptly to preserve their observations.
Surveillance Footage
Traffic cameras, business security systems, and dashcams may capture pedestrian accidents. Our car accident lawyers in Austin move quickly to obtain footage before it’s deleted.
Accident Reconstruction
Expert reconstructionists analyze physical evidence to determine how accidents occurred. Their analysis can establish driver negligence even without eyewitness testimony.
Cell Phone Records
When distracted driving is suspected, we subpoena the driver’s cell phone records showing whether they were using devices at the time of the accident.
Comparative Negligence in Pedestrian Cases
Insurance companies frequently argue pedestrians share fault for their accidents—crossing against signals, entering roadways unexpectedly, or failing to watch for traffic. Our Austin car accident lawyer team addresses these arguments head-on.
Texas Comparative Negligence
Texas follows modified comparative negligence rules that reduce pedestrian recovery by their fault percentage and bar recovery entirely if pedestrians are more than 50% responsible. Insurance companies try to inflate pedestrian fault to reduce or eliminate claim values.
Countering Pedestrian Fault Arguments
We investigate accident circumstances thoroughly, gathering evidence showing our clients acted reasonably. When pedestrians did nothing wrong, we demonstrated this conclusively. When a pedestrian fault exists, we minimize its extent and ensure insurance companies don’t exaggerate it.
Driver Duties to Pedestrians
Texas law imposes duties on drivers to watch for pedestrians, exercise care around them, and yield when required. Drivers can’t escape liability simply because pedestrians weren’t perfectly careful. We emphasize driver duties when insurance companies try to shift blame.
Compensation for Pedestrian Victims
The severity of pedestrian injuries warrants substantial compensation. Our car accident attorneys in Austin pursue maximum recovery for pedestrian clients.
Extensive Medical Damages
Pedestrian injuries often require emergency surgery, extended hospitalization, rehabilitation, and ongoing care. Medical expenses often exceed $100,000. We document all treatment costs and project future medical needs.
Permanent Impairment
Many pedestrian victims suffer permanent disabilities—paralysis, brain damage, amputations, and chronic pain. We pursue compensation reflecting lifetime impairment impacts.
Lost Earning Capacity
Serious pedestrian injuries often prevent victims from returning to their previous employment or working at all. We calculate lost earning capacity over the victims’ remaining work lives.
Pain and Suffering
The physical pain and emotional trauma pedestrian accidents cause deserve substantial compensation. We fight for non-economic damages reflecting the true impact of catastrophic injuries.
Wrongful Death
When pedestrian accidents cause fatalities, we pursue wrongful death claims for surviving families, seeking compensation for their losses and holding negligent drivers accountable.
Our Commitment to Pedestrian Victims
Pedestrian accident victims deserve attorneys who understand the severity of their injuries and fight accordingly. Our Austin car accident attorneys bring resources, expertise, and determination to every pedestrian case.
If you or a family member was injured as a pedestrian in Austin, contact our car accident lawyers Austin to discuss your case. We’ll investigate the accident, establish liability, and fight for the compensation you deserve.