Pedestrians represent 13% of all motor vehicle traffic-related deaths in the United States, according to the CDC, and that number is on the rise.
“We have seen an increase in pedestrian wrongful death cases for several reasons, including the rise in cell phone use while driving,” said Fred Pritzker, a wrongful death lawyer who has won millions for families and helped them get justice.
Fred recently settled a wrongful death case where a child was run over by a school bus. “There is no excuse for a bus driver who fails to focus his attention on the children as they enter and exit the bus.”
The CDC recently analyzed pedestrian fatalities for a ten year period and found the following:
- A total of 47,392 pedestrians (32,873 males and 14,519 females) died from traffic crashes;
- The overall, annualized age-adjusted traffic-related pedestrian death rate was 1.58 deaths per 100,000 population;
- The age-adjusted death rate for males (2.29) was 2.5 times the rate for females (0.92);
- Pedestrian death rates increased with age;
- For males, death rates were highest among those over the age of 85 (6.35), followed by those aged 75–84 years (4.53);
- Rates were lowest among those aged 0–14 years (0.83), followed by those aged 15–24 years (1.98)’
- For females, death rates were highest among those aged 75–84 years (2.43), followed by those over 85 years (2.16);
- Rates were lowest among those aged 0–14 years (0.43), followed by those aged 25–34 years (0.72) and 15–24 years (0.78); and
- About ¾ of all pedestrian deaths occurred in urban areas.
To prevent these tragic deaths, roadways should be assessed for pedestrian safety and needed improvements should be made, including:
- The installation of cross walks, sidewalks, or speed bumps;
- The creation of pedestrian safety zones and streets for walking;
- Longer pedestrian walk signals; and
- Better mass transit route design.
Our law firm has won millions for its clients, including a $4 million settlement for a family who lost loved ones in a wrongful death accident in Minnesota.
