Pedestrian Accident Lawyer in Pomona

How Common Are Pedestrian Accidents?

One of the first things we learn as children is to look both ways before crossing the street. It’s an essential piece of safety advice we use unthinkingly every day. No matter how safe we may attempt to be, though, there’s nothing a pedestrian can do against a speeding driver.

Although the first thing to come to mind when most people think of a car accident is two or more vehicles colliding, pedestrian accidents account for almost 20% of car crash fatalities. Recently, the rate of pedestrian accidents has only climbed, with the national average going up 78% in the last fifteen years.

California is particularly dangerous for pedestrians, partly due to the large number of cars on the road. As of 2025, California‘s pedestrian accident rate was 25% higher than the national average, often due to driver negligence.

Because they involve a large vehicle traveling at high speeds striking an unprotected person, pedestrian accident cases often involve serious, severe, life-threatening, and long-term injuries. In many instances, pedestrian accident cases also involve wrongful death suits. This aspect can make pedestrian accident cases particularly emotionally challenging.

If you or a loved one were hurt or killed in a pedestrian accident, you must contact our firm’s experienced personal injury claim and wrongful death attorney. A personal injury lawyer may determine whether you and your loved ones receive just compensation.

What Kind of Injuries Are Most Common in a Pedestrian Accident?

Injuries in car crashes are common. However, safety devices such as airbags, seat belts, crumple zones, and more serve to minimize the impact of these injuries. In a pedestrian accident, there is nothing to protect an individual from the effects of an oncoming automobile.

Even seemingly minor pedestrian accidents can result in serious injuries. Depending on the size of the vehicle and how fast it was traveling, injuries resulting from a pedestrian accident may include, but are not necessarily limited to:

Studies have shown that a pedestrian struck by a vehicle going about 40mph has a 75% chance of suffering serious injuries. Even someone hit by a car going as low as 23mph has a ¼ chance of experiencing a severe injury. Additionally, someone struck by a vehicle going ~40mph has about a 50% chance of dying from their injuries.

The severity of your injuries and the chances you might die from them go up as the speed of the vehicle increases. For example, a pedestrian struck by a vehicle going around 60mph has a 90% chance of death. This is why if you or a loved one were involved in a pedestrian accident, contact our experienced personal injury attorney.

What Are Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents?

Pedestrians have the right of way. This means drivers are expected to slow down, stop, or move over for pedestrians. If you were a pedestrian who was struck by a driver, they are responsible for the accident. Although drivers are at fault regardless of the circumstances, establishing the reason for the accident can help build a narrative that will be beneficial in court. Common causes of pedestrian accidents might include, but are not necessarily limited to:

Distracted Drivers

Distracted drivers are dangerous drivers. When a person is operating a motor vehicle and not focusing on the road and their surroundings, horrific accidents can occur. Distracted driving may include, but isn’t necessarily limited to, using a cell phone while driving, adjusting GPS, music, or other controls, and more. In these cases, drivers tend to think that distracted driving at a slower speed is less dangerous than distracted driving on a freeway – but with pedestrians involved, this is not true. If you were injured due to a distracted driver, your pedestrian or crosswalk accident attorney will put together a solid, well-crafted case and help you seek compensation.

Speeding

Speeding is the cause of countless car accidents of all types and severity. If a driver is speeding and hits a pedestrian, the outcome can be tragic. You must hold the responsible party accountable if you were harmed in a pedestrian accident and a speeding driver was at fault. Your pedestrian or crosswalk accident lawyer will be able to help you prove that the at-fault driver was speeding and using their vehicle recklessly and dangerously.

Failure to Check the Surroundings

When you’re operating a vehicle, you must be constantly aware of your surroundings. If you look away from the road or make a turn without checking to see if pedestrians are crossing the road, an awful accident can occur. If you were involved in an accident involving a driver who failed to check their surroundings, your personal injury lawyer will be there to help you pick up the pieces and form a case that proves just how negligent the at-fault driver truly was.

Vehicle Malfunctions or Defects

In some instances, pedestrian accidents can be caused by mechanical issues with the at-fault driver’s vehicle. If the driver’s brakes malfunction, a design defect caused an accident, the driver was not warned about a specific feature that caused an accident, or another problem exists with the vehicle, a pedestrian accident can occur. These cases will typically involve a Product Liability Lawsuit. Contact The Wolf Law Firm today if you were involved in an accident in which the driver claimed a malfunction was to blame or if you were the driver of a vehicle with a mechanical defect that led to a pedestrian accident.

How Much Can I Sue For If I Was in a Pedestrian Accident?

The average insurance company payout for people who accept settlements following a car crash is only about $26,000, which often does not cover medical bills. For some individuals involved in “traditional” fender benders or wrecks, this amount may be enough to cover their expenses. However, for most people involved in a pedestrian accident, their costs will be much higher.

Following a pedestrian accident, you can sue for economic and non-economic damages to recover compensation. Economic damages compensate you for actual monetary expenses: hospital bills, doctor’s visits, medicines, physical therapy, lost income, property damage, and more. Non-economic damages compensate you for non-material losses, such as experiencing ongoing pain and suffering, post-traumatic stress, and other intangible traumas.

Depending on the severity of your accident, your economic damages alone, especially medical expenses, could be hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. For instance, the average cost of medical care for people in pedestrian accidents is around $135,000. For people with severe injuries, the price can reach nearly $800,000. In instances in which someone is killed in a pedestrian accident, survivors can expect expenses of almost $3 million. This is why if you or a loved one were injured in a pedestrian accident in Pomona, it’s important you contact our personal injury and wrongful death attorney.

Can I Sue if Someone Dies as a Result of a Pedestrian Accident?

Because of their severe nature, pedestrian accidents often result in death. When this happens, the accident victim’s family can still pursue a lawsuit against the responsible party to establish legal responsibility. In this instance, the suit would become a wrongful death suit.

A wrongful death lawsuit is a type of personal injury suit. The key difference is that in a personal injury suit, the victim files a lawsuit to collect compensation for their injuries. In a wrongful death suit, the accident victim’s surviving family members of the victim sue to collect compensation for the loss of their loved one.

In a wrongful death suit, the surviving family members will need to establish not only the immediate economic loss resulting from the victim’s death, such as hospital and funeral expenses, but also the value of their potential future earnings and other economic and non-economic losses.

Determining the amount to sue for in a wrongful death case is challenging and involves not only difficult emotional elements but also complex mathematical formulas. An experienced wrongful death attorney can determine the appropriate dollar amount to ask for and allow you to focus on the grieving process. That’s why if you or a loved one were seriously hurt or killed in a pedestrian accident, contact our experienced personal injury attorney.

What Should I Do if I Was Involved in a Pedestrian Accident?

Pedestrian accidents are some of the most traumatic car crashes a person can experience. Most people who experience a pedestrian accident will require long-term, expensive medical care. In some cases, survivors may need lifelong medical attention. Many people who are involved in pedestrian accidents don’t survive their injuries. This is why if you or a loved one has been involved in a pedestrian accident, you must contact T.J. Juneja at Wolf Law Firm.

T.J. Juneja and the legal team at Wolf Law Firm bring with us decades of experience in handling personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. We’ve seen firsthand the physical and emotional trauma that results from a pedestrian accident. No injury is too severe for us to handle, and no case is too difficult for us to take on. T.J. Juneja can focus on going after the responsible parties, so you can focus on healing and moving forward.

If you or a loved one were hurt in a pedestrian accident in Pomona, San Bernardino, or Riverside County, don’t hesitate to call Wolf Law Firm today at (833) 388-8888 for your free, no-obligation consultation. Your road to recovery can begin today — and start with us.