It’s a disturbing statistic: despite the fact that overall motor vehicle fatalities have continued to decrease on a national basis, the number of bicyclists and pedestrians who die in motor vehicle accidents has actually gone up dramatically. One of the biggest culprits in these deaths is the difficult-to-monitor danger of distracted driving. In fact, over the five-year period leading up to 2010, distracted drivers killed 500 pedestrians, a number that jumped up by almost half from the 344 fatalities in 2005. Bicyclists saw a similar big jump, with deaths increasing from 56 in 2005 to 73 in 2010. After suffering a devastating loss from a fatal motor vehicle accident, some surviving relatives find themselves considering contacting a St. Louis car accident personal injury attorney to find out if they may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit in civil court.
Personal injury laws in Missouri and Illinois allow such surviving relatives the opportunity to pursue monetary damages such as final medical and funeral expenses, along with lost income, pain and suffering, and sometimes punitive damages in some cases. Of course, most people would prefer to have their loved ones safe and sound rather than be facing the difficult choice to file a personal injury or wrongful death claim in a court of law. It seems especially tragic in the case of distracted driving injuries and deaths, since these can almost always be avoided.
Most of us are now used to seeing drivers around us talking on their cell phones; or, even worse, texting while they’re operating their motor vehicles. The majority of Americans are aware of just how dangerous driving while distracted can be – and yet, that doesn’t seem to stop a significant portion of us from engaging in this dangerous behavior anyway. It doesn’t help that law enforcement officials can find it difficult to prove distracted driving in some cases, which can also make it harder to develop effective policies to decrease risky behaviors like texting and talking on cell phones while driving.
Distracted Driving Cases Leading to Bicyclist and Pedestrian Car Accidents Vastly Underreported?
In fact, some experts believe that the number of injury-causing and fatal car crashes may actually be underreported due to that difficulty in proving when distracted driving has actually occurred. However, there are some steps that victims of distracted driving collisions may be able to take to improve their odds of proving that this has taken place in the accident causing their injuries. For instance, an experienced St. Louis personal injury pedestrian accident lawyer may be able to take the necessary steps to obtain cell phone and texting records or any video records that may exist to help show that a distracted driver engaged in a risky or illegal behavior just prior to causing or contributing to an accident that seriously injures a pedestrian or bicyclist.
Distracted driving can occur without warning at any time of the day or night. Statistics show that approximately half of those pedestrians and bicyclists killed due to distracted driving were fatally struck during daylight. This means that there is no particular time that is more dangerous than others. Until government and law enforcement officials find a more effective way to crack down on this danger to innocent civilians who bike and walk alongside motor vehicles, victims who have been hurt or lost a loved one to such a fatal collision may wish to take action by filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit in a Missouri or Illinois civil court. This can help recover medical or other related expenses and send a message that these dangerous types of behaviors should not be tolerated.
Bicyclist and Pedestrian Car Accident Victims Can Take Action to Enforce Their Rights
If you aren’t sure what rights you or a loved one might have after being injured in a motor vehicle accident as a pedestrian or bicyclist, please call my St. Louis personal injury law firm toll-free at 1-888-586-7041 so we can set up an initial consultation to discuss the facts of your case. You will pay nothing for this first meeting, and my firm only collects fees in the event that we obtain money on your behalf, either through settling your case or successfully litigating it in a court of law. As a St. Louis personal injury attorney with more than two decades of experience trying cases in court, I want to help you and your loved ones obtain justice for the injuries you have suffered. Please call me as soon as possible to discuss your rights and how I can help put the power of the law on your side.
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