San Antonio Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Pedestrian accidents happen with alarming frequency in San Antonio, and they can take a devastating toll. Vehicles might strike pedestrians in the River Walk, at Zarzamora Street intersections, and out by the Westlakes Mall, to name just a few trouble spots. No matter where a collision between a motor vehicle and a pedestrian happens in San Antonio, however, the pedestrian runs a risk of suffering severe or fatal injuries. Pedestrian victims in San Antonio often face severe physical, emotional, and financial difficulties for years afterward.

Motor vehicles should never strike pedestrians. When they do, blame for the accident rarely rests with the injured victim. Instead, the fault for pedestrian accidents can lie with careless or reckless drivers, municipalities that failed to design or maintain areas safe for foot traffic, and other individuals and entities who could have taken reasonable, simple steps to keep pedestrians safe from harm.

Those at-fault entities should pay compensation to injured pedestrian accident victims.  The San Antonio pedestrian accident attorneys at Dolman Law Group can help make sure they do. If you or a loved one suffered severe injuries in a pedestrian accident in San Antonio, contact us today for a free consultation to learn how we can help you get the money you deserve for your injuries and losses.

The Plague of San Antonio Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian accidents are a serious problem in San Antonio. Over a recent five-year period, the city saw no fewer than 3,934 pedestrian accidents resulting in injury or fatality. That is an average of about two pedestrian crashes per day. 

In addition, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in one recent year, 46 pedestrians died in traffic accidents in San Antonio, accounting for roughly one-third of all traffic fatalities in the city over those 12 months. San Antonio consistently ranks among the deadliest metropolitan areas for pedestrians in the United States.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) maintains a Crash Records Information System (CRIS) that catalogs specific data on motor vehicle accidents, including pedestrian accidents, throughout the Lone Star State. The information on San Antonio pedestrian crashes tells a frightening tale. Multiple pedestrian crashes have happened at intersections and along roadways in virtually every San Antonio neighborhood.

Some spots seem particularly dangerous for pedestrians over five years, including:

• The River Walk, especially intersections along Commerce Street and Market Street. One intersection, at Commerce and N. Saint Marys Street, saw eight pedestrian accidents in five years, and numerous others in the area experienced four or more. It is worth noting that this area is often packed with pedestrians, and better protections may need to be considered along the River Walk.
• Broadway at East Josephine and East Grayson Streets, which saw at least nine pedestrian accidents in five years.
• Major and minor intersections along the length of Zarzamora Street, including at Guadalupe Street (7 accidents), West Commerce Street (5 accidents), Ruiz Street (6 accidents), and Culebra Road (10 accidents).
• The length of WW White Road near Eastwood Village and Huntleigh Park, which saw more than 20 pedestrian accidents.
• Fredericksburg Road near Methodist Hospital, with more than a dozen pedestrian accidents.

These are just some examples of potentially dangerous areas in San Antonio for pedestrians. No matter where you go in the city, from Rainbow Hills to East Side to Stone Oak, you may not be far from an intersection or stretch of road where pedestrians have suffered serious or fatal injuries in the past few years.

Common Contributing Factors in San Antonio Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian accidents happen, in the simplest sense, when pedestrians walk in or near a road and drivers of motor vehicles fail to stop for them or fail to avoid a collision with them. The specific circumstances that lead to that tragic result often involve one or more of the following factors:

Failure to Yield a Right-of-Way

All road users, drivers and pedestrians alike, have a duty to follow the rules regarding who has the right of way in a given traffic situation. Texas law and San Antonio city ordinances generally require drivers to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians in crosswalks, and to stop or drive safely around pedestrians in or near a roadway.

Pedestrians should yield the right of way to motor vehicles when crossing outside a crosswalk, but that does not mean that a driver has license to run a pedestrian over in that situation. Drivers must still do their best to make the road safe to vulnerable road users like pedestrians, which means slowing down, giving them a wide berth, and stopping to let them cross if they are in a roadway.

Pedestrian accidents happen when drivers fail to follow those basic rules of the road. Collisions between vehicles and pedestrians commonly happen in San Antonio, for instance, when drivers fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections, particularly when turning left.

Driver Distraction

San Antonio can feel like a feast for the eyes, but that does not give drivers an excuse to look away from the road while they are navigating the city's streets. A moment's inattention behind the wheel can result in a deadly collision with a pedestrian. The sights and sounds of San Antonio offer distractions that drivers sometimes struggle to resist. 

Other distractions can include passengers in the vehicle, specifically children in the backseat, loose pets in the car, dropping items, a desire to change the radio station, CD, or other music, and eating behind the wheel.

Smartphones and other devices with screens also often capture and hold driver attention, causing dangerous lapses in drivers' visual, manual, and cognitive abilities. A San Antonio city ordinance bans the use of handheld cell phones while operating a motor vehicle within the city limits, but drivers still succumb to the temptation of using their phones while driving, with predictably harmful consequences for pedestrians.

Speeding

All drivers must drive at an appropriate speed for road, traffic, and environmental conditions. Within any large metro area like San Antonio, that duty includes factoring in the likelihood of encountering pedestrians on the road. A driver who speeds anywhere in San Antonio risks not having enough time to stop or slow down to avoid a collision with someone crossing or walking along the road on foot. Tragically, speeding also increases the likelihood that a pedestrian will die or suffer catastrophic injuries in a collision.

Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol plays a role in a disproportionate number of pedestrian accidents nationwide, according to the NHTSA. Drivers who consume alcohol before getting behind the wheel suffer from impaired physical, motor, and cognitive function. Their reaction time slows, their visual acuity and perception of distance get skewed, and they lose the ability to make sensible decisions. In areas of high pedestrian traffic in San Antonio, like the River Walk, drinking and driving runs an extreme and unacceptable risk of causing a pedestrian accident.

Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries

A pedestrian accident in San Antonio can inflict a vast array of serious, life-altering, and sometimes fatal injuries. At Dolman Law Group, we have represented clients whose lives have taken devastating turns as a result of common pedestrian accident injuries that include:

• Spinal cord injuries that left our clients paralyzed and unable to live independently without the assistance of mobility devices and expensive modifications to their homes and workspaces, and which caused serious, lasting health complications for them.
• Traumatic brain injuries that caused permanent losses of consciousness or significant physical, emotional, or cognitive impairments that altered our clients' abilities to live their lives and interact with others.
• Crush injuries and amputations that deprived our clients of use of their appendages and limbs, causing permanent disability and severe emotional trauma.
• Internal injuries that have damaged our clients' vital organs and transformed every aspect of their lives, from the foods they could eat to the jobs they could hold.
• Lacerations and abrasions that put our clients at risk for deadly infections, caused massive blood loss, and left behind disfiguring scars.
• Broken bones and other orthopedic injuries that, even after they healed, caused our clients to struggle with chronic pain and limited mobility.

No injury is too severe or too minor to support a pedestrian accident claim. If you had to seek medical care following a pedestrian collision, you have medical bills. You have accumulated such expenses even if you only need to see a doctor once and there was no follow-up care after your initial assessment and treatment.  You could incur ongoing costs if you suffered a catastrophic injury and required hospitalization, inpatient rehabilitation, and around-the-clock nursing care.

No matter what the injury a San Antonio pedestrian suffers in an accident, the team at Dolman Law Group possesses the collective knowledge and resources to assess the harm done and pursue maximum compensation for our clients.

Seeking Compensation for Pedestrian Accident Injuries in San Antonio

San Antonio pedestrians who suffer injuries in a traffic accident deserve the opportunity to pursue compensation from one or more parties whose dangerous decisions and actions contributed to the cause of the collision. At Dolman Law Group, our San Antonio car accident attorneys dig into the evidence to determine who might owe our clients damages, and the amount of damages our clients have the right to pursue under Texas law.

We develop a case against the at-fault parties and seek compensation based on that case. We may secure a financial recovery on our client's behalf by:

• Filing an insurance claim based on the driver's auto liability policy and negotiating a fair settlement agreement with the insurer
• Suing the liable party or parties in civil court and asking the judge or jury to award appropriate compensation based on the evidence we present

Parties Who May Owe Damages for Pedestrian Accident Injuries

It may seem obvious that in a pedestrian accident, the motorist who drove the car that collided with the pedestrian should face legal and financial accountability for the harm done. And, that is often the case. Cars should never strike pedestrians, and when they do, the drivers often bear at least some blame and legal liability.

However, others may share that liability with the at-fault driver. At Dolman Law Group, we understand the importance of conducting a careful analysis of the facts of a San Antonio pedestrian accident, to identify all parties who may owe damages to our clients.

In addition to the at-fault driver, those parties might include:

• A driver's employer, if a commercial vehicle struck the pedestrian
• Local government, if the accident happened because of a dangerous, preventable road design or condition
• An automotive manufacturer, if the collision between the vehicle and pedestrian happened when defective car parts failed to function as intended

These are just a few examples. The point is that San Antonio pedestrian accident lawyers like our team from Dolman Law Group leave no stone unturned in exploring the legal options available to our clients for seeking compensation from parties at fault for their injuries and losses.

Compensation Injured Pedestrians May Receive

At Dolman Law Group, we also understand that the harm a pedestrian suffers in a San Antonio traffic accident consists of more than just physical injuries. A pedestrian accident can cause wide-ranging trauma and financial difficulty for which the victim deserves compensation.

Every case we handle at our firm differs; but in general, a San Antonio pedestrian accident victim may have the ability to receive compensation to pay for:

• Medical expenses related to treating the pedestrian accident injuries and any follow-up complications.
• Other expenses the pedestrian would not have had but for the accident.
• Wages and income the injured pedestrian did not earn because of the injuries caused by the accident, such as when injuries caused disabilities that kept the victim out of work.
• The victim's pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life and relationships due to the accident.

In some cases, our team at Dolman Law Group can also succeed in convincing a San Antonio court to award our injured client punitive damages, which aim to punish extreme or outrageous conduct by the at-fault party that led to the crash. However, this award is rare in any type of traffic accident case. We will discuss the possibility with you if we believe you're eligible for punitive damages based on the facts of your injury collision.

Of course, we can never guarantee to our clients that they will receive compensation for their injuries and losses. We can, however, point to our track record of success in pedestrian and traffic accident cases as proof that our team of award-winning attorneys knows how to get results in complicated pedestrian accident matters. Contact us today to get started.

Individuals who suffer harm in San Antonio pedestrian accidents frequently have questions that need answering about what they can do to obtain compensation for their injuries and losses. We always welcome them to contact us here at Dolman Law Group to speak with an experienced legal professional who can answer their questions. They may also find the following FAQ useful:

Can I Sue for My Pedestrian Accident Injuries?

A pedestrian accident is the type of traumatic event that just should not happen, and the fact that it did often indicates that someone other than the pedestrian made a fateful mistake for which they should pay compensation to the victim. Generally speaking, you may sue for damages if someone could have, and should have, taken reasonable actions that would have kept you safe from harm.

Sometimes, it is clearer that someone made an error that harmed you, such as when a driver runs a red light and hits a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Sometimes, however, it is not so obvious, such as if a street crossing has a dangerous design that puts you at risk without you even realizing it. Driver error is often more obvious than failed maintenance or design. 

That is why it is always important to contact a San Antonio pedestrian accident lawyer, like a member of the team at Dolman Law Group, as soon as possible after the accident. By taking quick action, you give your lawyer maximum opportunity to investigate the facts and uncover all parties—not just “obvious” ones—who may owe you compensation.

What Is My Pedestrian Accident Case Worth?

We cannot rightly say without knowing the details. Even then, no attorney can guarantee how much you will receive. Every San Antonio pedestrian accident case differs. No two collisions are the same, and no two pedestrian victims suffer the same traumas. As a result, the potential value of a claim for damages can vary widely.

In general, several factors influence the potential size of the payment a pedestrian accident victim may receive through a settlement, judgment, or jury verdict. They include:

• What types of injuries the victim suffered and how extensively they impacted the victim's life. The greater the harm and effects, the higher the victim's medical bills, the more income the victim loses, and the more pain and suffering the victim tends to endure—all of which factor significantly into the amount of compensation the victim can seek, with a lawyer's help, in legal action.
• The lawyer's ability to construct a solid case on the victim's behalf. Lawyers build cases on evidence and legal principles. A case featuring strong evidence and legal arguments tends to have a greater potential value than one with slim evidence and weak arguments. In that regard, one way to enhance the value of your San Antonio pedestrian accident case is to put it in the hands of an experienced attorney from Dolman Law Group who has handled and won similar cases for injured pedestrians like you.
• The money available to pay you damages. To secure payment for a pedestrian accident, someone needs to have the ability to pay you. In many cases, the funds paid to the victim come from insurance policies carried by motorists and other parties at fault. The more insurance a party carries, or (in some cases) the greater the value of that party's assets, the higher the potential value of a pedestrian accident claim.

The dedicated attorneys at Dolman Law Group work hand-in-hand with their clients to evaluate the full scope of harm done to them in a San Antonio pedestrian accident. Our aim in every matter is to construct a strong case that secures the maximum compensation available under Texas law from parties who can pay.

Since we work for an agreed-on percentage of your financial recovery, you can feel confident that our lawyers have the same goals as you do. We want to hold those responsible legally accountable and recover the most money possible based on the facts of your pedestrian accident, injuries, bills, and other financial losses.

I Got Hurt As a Pedestrian in a San Antonio Traffic Accident, But I Think It Might have been Partially My Fault. Can I Still Sue?

In many cases, you could still sue. We strongly encourage you to speak with a San Antonio pedestrian accident lawyer at Dolman Law Group today to learn about your rights. Like many other states, Texas law has shared fault statutes that allow many victims to pursue and recover compensation despite playing a role in causing their own injuries.

In Texas, you can sue for your pedestrian injuries so long as you were not more responsible than anyone else for what happened. You should never just assume you bear most of the fault for a pedestrian accident. Accident victims often unfairly blame themselves for their injuries, even when they bear little, if any, of the blame for the collision.

Instead of blaming yourself, talk to a lawyer who has years of experience representing pedestrian accident victims like you. More often than not, the lawyer can spot reasons why you should not take the blame for your pedestrian accident injuries and can identify parties who may owe you compensation for what happened. Because the law requires a duty of care for drivers to protect pedestrians and prevent crashes when possible, an injured pedestrian rarely bears sole responsibility for their accident and injuries.

I Fell and Got Hurt While Crossing the Street, But a Car never Actually Hit Me. Do I Have Rights?

Pedestrian accidents do not always involve a pedestrian getting hit by a motor vehicle. Sometimes, they simply involve an injury to a pedestrian while crossing or walking along a public road.

If you fell and suffered injuries because of an unreasonably dangerous road condition, then you may have rights to compensation. For example, you may have the ability to claim damages from a local government agency if the road surface or a temporary manhole cover gave way under your feet, leading to a fall and traumatic injuries.

Talk to an attorney at Dolman Law Group in San Antonio today about any injuries you suffered as a pedestrian, even if it did not involve a motor vehicle striking you. We may be able to build a case and recover compensation on your behalf. However, act quickly, as these accident cases sometimes have extremely short deadlines.

A Bicyclist Struck Me As I Was Crossing the Street. What Van I Do?

Bicyclists in San Antonio must follow the rules of the road. Their failure to do so, in a manner that leads to a collision with a pedestrian, can earn them legal liability for damages in the same way a motorist might after striking a pedestrian with a car.

If you stepped off a curb in San Antonio and a cyclist struck you, then you may have the right to seek compensation by taking legal action against the cyclist and, perhaps, other parties answerable for the cyclist's actions. Talk to our team at Dolman Law Group today to find out how we can help.

This rule could also apply when bicyclists, electronic scooter users, and others illegally ride on the sidewalks or crosswalks, moving with pedestrian traffic instead of wheeled traffic.

The Driver Who Hit Me Offered to Pay Me Cash Because They do Not Want to Get Their Insurance Company Involved. Should I Take It?

Accepting money from the driver in exchange for not involving an insurance company could land you in legal hot water. At a bare minimum, it would put your right to receive full and fair compensation for your injuries in jeopardy. It could amount to a settlement that waives your rights.

As a general rule, you should not accept any compensation offered to you directly after a San Antonio pedestrian accident—not from a driver, and not from the driver's insurance company—without first speaking with an attorney who can explain your rights and evaluate the amount of money you deserve to receive. The amount offered to you directly may fall far short of the damages a lawyer could secure for you by taking legal action on your behalf. In fact, that is why parties who have liability to you may make offers directly. They might hope you will “take the money” and give up your valuable legal rights before you realize how much you should really get.

After any pedestrian accident in San Antonio, leave the negotiation of any settlement payment to a lawyer with experience in pedestrian accident cases. That is the only reliable way to make sure that you obtain the maximum compensation available in your case.

Will I Have to Go to Court to Get Paid for My Pedestrian Accident Injuries?

Most San Antonio pedestrian accident cases get resolved through an out-of-court settlement. That is an agreement between you and the party at fault for the accident (and, usually, that party's insurance carrier), in which you agree to give up your right to sue for damages in exchange for payment of an agreed amount of money. The nature of our justice system is that most of the time, parties decide it makes more sense to reach a settlement agreement than to try their luck in a San Antonio courtroom. For that reason, chances are higher that you will not have to sit in a witness box and testify at a trial in your case.

But this is not always the case. Some cases do not settle, and your lawyer may instead advise taking your case to court to ask a judge or jury to award you the money you deserve. In that scenario, you want to have a lawyer representing you who feels as at home inside the courtroom as outside it. Picking a law firm with a track record of winning cases in trials, as well as settling cases for top-dollar, helps to ensure that no matter what course your case takes, your lawyer knows how to deliver results. Dolman Law Group is that kind of law firm.

How Much does It Cost to Hire Dolman Law Group?

You will pay us nothing for attorney's fees unless we get you results. This payment structure is known in the legal world as a “contingency fee.” Our attorney's fees are contingent on our ability to build a strong case and recover compensation for you.

Our firm offers a free consultation to anyone who wants to learn about their rights after suffering injuries in a San Antonio pedestrian accident. In a consultation, a legal professional from our firm will talk to you about your accident and give you a sense of whether we believe we can help you secure compensation for your injuries and losses.

When we and an injured pedestrian accident victim agree to work together on a claim, our team virtually always takes the case on a contingent fee basis. That agreement between our client and us allows Dolman Law Group to work without requiring an upfront payment and without billing our client by the hour for our services. Instead, we get paid a percentage of any money we recover for our client through a settlement, judgment, or jury award.

By working on contingency, we make it possible for anyone who needs our services to hire us. Our clients do not have to worry about not having the money to pay us. We only get paid if our clients get paid.

What Can I Do to Help My San Antonio Pedestrian Accident Case?

First and most importantly, you can seek medical attention for your injuries and follow your doctor's advice. That step alone can usually benefit your case (and your health and wellbeing) more than anything else you can do. Seeking and following medical care helps ensure that you put yourself on the path to healing as soon as possible. It also helps create medical records your lawyers can use to prove your claim for damages and helps protect you from accusations that you should bear the blame for your injuries.

Next, if you can, hold on to any evidence you have from your pedestrian accident and its aftermath. That includes the clothes you were wearing when you got hurt, any property damaged in your accident, and all documentation of your injuries, insurance coverage, and expenses or financial losses related to the accident. A lawyer will want a chance to review all of that evidence when you meet.

Finally, you can contact a San Antonio pedestrian accident lawyer right away. You have no time to lose in protecting your legal rights. Hiring a lawyer immediately gives you maximum protection by giving the lawyer the best opportunity to collect evidence, interview witnesses, meet deadlines, and pursue your full range of options for obtaining compensation.

About Our Pedestrian Accident Injury Law Practice

Dolman Law Group is a nationally recognized personal injury law firm serving clients in San Antonio and throughout the country. Our award-winning lawyers have secured millions of dollars for their clients through settlements, judgments, and jury verdicts, including in pedestrian accident injury cases. 

Injured accident victims who hire us to represent them get a team of legal professionals who are committed to providing personalized legal services tailored to each client's individual needs. We fight to secure every last dollar our clients deserve for the injuries wrongfully inflicted on them.

Call Our San Antonio Pedestrian Accident Lawyers Now

You never should have suffered injuries in a pedestrian accident. The party or parties at fault should pay you the damages you deserve. A personal injury lawyer with experience in pedestrian accident cases can help.

If you or a loved one sustained injuries in a San Antonio pedestrian accident, contact Dolman Law Group online or call us for your free consultation with a dedicated legal professional who can answer your questions and explain your rights. Because we're paid via a contingency fee, we won't take any payment unless we recover compensation for you—whether through a settlement or verdict. You have nothing to lose when you partner with us.

San Antonio Office
921 S St Mary's St #2
San Antonio, TX 78205
Phone: (210) 361-2039