Pedestrians, no matter if they are walking, jogging or even sitting in public can be vulnerable to injuries because of negligent drivers. They can also sustain injuries and it’s important that they stay safe. But what are the most common pedestrian accident injuries?

Pedestrian Accident Injuries

Spinal Cord Injuries – A sudden and traumatic blow that fractures or dislocates vertebrae, can result in a spinal cord injury. And because our spinal cord is the mechanism that transmits signals between our brain and the rest of our body, even a minute of damage could have life-changing consequences. Traumatic brain injuries – TBI usually occurs when an external force causes dysfunction in our brain. Most TBIs are caused by violent blows to the head for example during a car accident. Not every TBI is dangerous. There can be mild TBIs but also the kind that can have serious consequences. Fractures – Fractures can also be one of the common pedestrian accident injuries. When an external force is applied to our bones, and the force is stronger than the bone itself, the bone will fracture or even break. Now, fractures can be easily treated, but this doesn’t mean that they don’t have to be taken seriously. Even after a bone fracture has successfully healed, it can still leave you with lifelong pain or medical problems which can impact your quality of life and ability to work. Soft tissue injuries – These pedestrian accident injuries are also common. If you involved in an accident and you’ve ended up with bruises, lacerations, tears, dislocations etc…those are so-called “soft tissue injuries”. The majority of these injuries will resolve on their own without any medical attention e.g. bruises, but some of them do need medical attention like dislocations. Just like with fractures, these injuries do seem to be minor, but sometimes that can affect your life e.g. you dislocated your shoulder and even after medical attention, you still don’t have your full range of motion. Broken bones – These are also among the most common pedestrian accident injuries. Unlike fractures, the external force is a lot greater, so bones not only fracture, they actually break. Broken bones can be very painful, but with good and fast medical care, can be corrected. Emotional trauma – Pedestrian accident injuries don’t always have to be physical. Even if a pedestrian walk away from an accident seemingly without a scratch, that doesn’t mean that he/she didn’t suffer emotional trauma or distress. Sometimes, pedestrians aren’t able to cope with this emotional disress which was caused by the accident.

Types of pedestrian accidents

Pedestrian accidents are considered to be all accidents between a car, truck or any kind of motor vehicle and a person who is not in any kind of vehicle. When it comes to pedestrian accidents, we can distinguish the following types:

• Crosswalk accidents
• Parking lot accidents
• Loss of control accidents which usually occur on sidewalks

In majority of cases, pedestrian accidents turn into a hit-and-run if the injuries to the pedestrian seem severe and the traffic is light so the negligent driver can drive away pretty easily. However, by law, the driver is required to remain on the scene. Failure to do so makes this a hit-and-run accident which is a felony is some US states. If you were involved in a pedestrian accident, there are few things you need to do: Seek medical attention – This is absolutely vital. You might feel okay, but that doesn’t mean that you actually are. Once the shock of the accident wears off, you could start feeling the extent of your injuries. Furthermore, getting medical attention is important so that you can rule out any injuries (if there are any) or document them which could help you in the process of getting your compensation. Record everything you can remember about the accident – As time passes by, your memory of the accident and what happened will fade. So it’s important that you document everything you can, as soon as possible. Hire an attorney – Anyone who’s been involved in a pedestrian accident, should hire a skilled personal injury lawyer so they could submit a claim on their behalf. You need to do so as soon as possible, because pedestrian accidents also have a statute of limitations, after which, you won’t be able to claim compensation for the injuries/damages that you sustained.