California has a higher pedestrian accident fatality rate than most states in the United States. Factors that contribute to California’s high rate of tragic pedestrian fatalities include distracted, reckless, and intoxicated drivers.

In many situations, pedestrians have the right of way and drivers must yield to them. Even at intersections that do not have a marked crosswalk, California law establishes “unmarked” crosswalks where pedestrians are permitted to cross. Nonetheless, drivers often put pedestrians at risk by failing to obey traffic signals or by texting and driving. Because they are exposed and unprotected, pedestrians often sustain major injuries when hit or run over by a car.

In auto versus pedestrian accidents, it is important to investigate and determine fault for the crash. California law is favorable to pedestrians, holding that driver’s have a greater duty to be careful because a car is capable of causing much more serious injuries than a pedestrian. At Patzkowski Law, we leverage our deep knowledge of California law to advocate for pedestrians hit by cars. We handle each pedestrian accident case personally, with a custom-tailored legal strategy. This recipe for success has produced first-class results in countless pedestrian accident cases.