Michigan Pedestrian Accident Lawyer | Protecting Your Rights
A Michigan Pedestrian Accident Lawyer can protect your rights if you’re seriously injured. Sinas Dramis Law has over 70 years of experience handling these types of cases. Concerns over pedestrian safety are increasing. More and more vehicles are striking people while they’re walking, whether it’s due to speeding or distracted driving. Safer roads are not only for drivers of automobiles but walkers and bicyclists as well. If you or a loved one have been injured while walking outdoors, our Michigan Pedestrian Accident Lawyers can help you recover damages, including your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other costs associated with the accident.
Pedestrian Accident Injuries
By nature, pedestrian accident injuries are oftentimes more significant than other types of injuries, especially in comparison to collisions between two motor vehicles. Simply because walkers, runners, bikers, and joggers lack any type of protection from a vehicle, they’re at a much greater risk for injury. Many of the clients we’ve helped in the past have suffered from the following pedestrian accident injuries:
- traumatic brain injury
- spinal cord injury
- lower extremity injuries
- bruises, lacerations, abrasions
- sprains and breaks
What Our Michigan Pedestrian Accident Lawyers have Learned in 70+ Years of Litigation
The most serious Michigan pedestrian accidents happen when a motor vehicle strikes someone who is walking or running. In recent years, there has been a rather alarming rise in pedestrian deaths. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, nearly 6,000 pedestrians were killed in crashes in 2017 alone and accounted for 16% of all traffic fatalities.
Top causes of pedestrian versus motor vehicle accidents include:
- Speeding drivers
- Drinking and driving
- Distracted drivers and distracted walkers/runner (particularly cell phone use)
- Increase in motor vehicle travel overall
- More people are walking and running
Pedestrians Injured by Roadways or Sidewalks
Michigan law requires that if a sidewalk is present, pedestrians — whether walking or running — should use that sidewalk. If there’s no sidewalk, Michigan law requires pedestrians to use the edge of the street and run/walk against the traffic/facing traffic.
While most Michigan pedestrian accidents involve motor vehicles, many do not. Tripping on cracked pavement or uneven cement causes about 25 percent of pedestrian accidents. Michigan law requires that a city or municipality make sure that a sidewalk is in a reasonably safe condition. People injured due to a defective condition on a sidewalk may be entitled under the public sidewalk exception to governmental immunity to bring a claim against the governmental agency responsible for the maintenance and repair of the sidewalk.
Free Case Consultation
$500,000
Settlement for West Michigan woman who suffered amputation of an extremity after she was struck by a car as a pedestrian.
$2,000,000
Settlement for severe brain injuries suffered by a 15-year-old boy who was struck by a motor vehicle while walking across the street on his way to school.
$237,500
76-year-old woman involved in a pedestrian/automobile accident, sustaining multiple orthopedic injuries.
$475,000
Wrongful death settlement, with UIM component. Pedestrian struck by a passenger vehicle.
Additional Information About Pedestrian Accidents
Can injured pedestrians receive auto no-fault benefits?
Pedestrians injured in accidents involving motor vehicles may be entitled to personal injury protection (PIP) benefits under the Michigan No-Fault statute. Under the no-fault statute, injured pedestrians can receive no-fault benefits regardless of who was at fault for the accident so long as a motor vehicle was a major contributing factor causing injuries.
Can injured pedestrians sue negligent drivers?
If the driver of the motor vehicle that caused your injury was negligent, Michigan law allows the pedestrian to bring a negligence claim against the driver and his or her insurer. In this negligence lawsuit, the injured person may recover non-economic damages — sometimes called “pain and suffering” damages.
How Michigan’s No-Fault Reform Impacts Pedestrians
Grand Rapids attorney, Tom Sinas, appeared on Fox 17 “Know the Law” to discuss not only a 2018 update in Grand Rapids pedestrian ordinances but to also describe the significant impact of Michigan’s 2019 no-fault reform on pedestrians without insurance.
