The thought of hitting a pedestrian is about as appealing as thinking about having a colonoscopy done. Yet, both are not unheard of in life. Additionally, motorists hitting pedestrians is a sad reality in California’s big cities. This is because of California’s huge population and ‘crazy’ traffic. If the thought of hitting a pedestrian wasn’t bad enough, the thought of hitting a pedestrian in a wheelchair is worse! If you have ever been one of these unfortunate motorists, you need to hire a personal injury lawyer. It would also help if you read the advice in this article.
Why do wheelchair accidents happen anyway?
It does seem counter intuitive that wheelchair accidents even happen given all of the wheelchair friendly accommodations like wheelchair friendly ramps that exist for these disabled people. However, personal injury lawyers know all too well that people in wheelchairs are more vulnerable to hit and run injuries which can be fatal at intersections. The statistics speak for themselves. People who use wheelchairs to get around are more than 300% more likely to die in pedestrian involved traffic accidents than the general population.
The facts get even more grim from here! Almost half of fatal accidents involving people in wheelchairs occur in intersections. What’s more is that traffic was out of control in approximately 40% of these situations.
The main culprit behind wheelchair accidents
Personal injury lawyers have volumes of research on motorist accidents involving wheelchaired pedestrians. This research states that most of these accidents are easily preventable. They are caused by the dearth of wheelchair friendly infrastructure on California’s sidewalks. Since wheelchairs are large and only work on smooth surfaces, wheelchair users are often forced to travel on California’s busy and increasingly dangerous streets. Police report data backs this up. It states that 15% of all accidents occurred because motorists could not see the wheelchairs. Also because of their nature, people who use wheelchairs find it hard to make them move faster in potentially fatal situations.
The ADA
The provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act require local and state governments to make public infrastructure and public facilities easy for physically disabled people to use! Ramps on curbs must be of a certain grade, angle, width, and distance away from traffic, for example. Disabled people can sue state and local governments that do not comply with these regulations.
You will need to hire a good personal injury lawyer in Lompoc if you ever hit a pedestrian on a wheelchair. This is because California follows the “eggshell plaintiff” rule. This law will hold you liable for the person in the wheelchair’s bodily injury and property damage because he or she suffered from a physical condition that makes it harder for him or her to safely avoid dangerous encounters with motorists!