Pedestrian accidents in the U.S. kill some 4,000 people and injure another 60,000 each year.
Fort Collins Trial Attorney Steve Shanahan, an experienced pedestrian accident attorney, knows that when a person on foot is struck by a moving vehicle, there is a great chance of serious injury or worse.
Adult Pedestrian Accidents in Fort Collins
These days, more and more people – about 108 million nationally – are choosing to walk as a regular mode of transportation. According to the National Household Travel Survey, walking trips account for roughly 11 percent of all the trips we take in this country each year. People might choose to walk as opposed to drive for a number of reasons, including:
- Health and Exercise
- Recreation
- Personal Errands
- To visit with relatives or friends
- To get to school or work
- To walk to the dog
- To get to and from home
But this increase in the number of walkers means that there is an increased risk of a pedestrian accident in Fort Collins and across the country. If a person is fortunate enough to survive such an accident, he or she could be looking at months of recovery time, expensive medical bills and a limited ability to work. Students may be forced to miss or drop classes. And lost wages can quickly snowball, leaving the victim mired in debt.
Of those adults who were injured in pedestrian accidents throughout the country:
Almost 70 percent are men.
About three-quarters of those who died happen in urban areas.
Almost half of all pedestrian deaths happen on the weekend, and about 70 percent happen between 4 p.m. and 4 a.m.
Child Pedestrian Injuries in Fort Collins
Adults aren’t the only ones who suffer in Fort Collins pedestrian accidents. Safe Kids Colorado reports the following:
In a recent five-year span, more than 400 children in Colorado had to be treated in the hospital for pedestrian-related injuries. That breaks down to about 82 child pedestrian injuries every year.
About 87 percent of pedestrian injuries that required hospitalization happened on a highway or street, while about 11 percent happened in a driveway, parking lot or sidewalk.
More than 60 percent of pedestrian accident victims were boys.
For nearly 40 percent of the children who had to be hospitalized following a pedestrian accident, they had suffered a traumatic brain injury, such as an intracranial bleed, concussion or skull fracture.
Denver County had the highest rate of pedestrian hospitalizations in the state. The rate of pedestrians injured there was about 21 for every 100,000 residents, versus almost 10 per 100,000 throughout the rest of the state.
The total cost of pedestrian injuries and deaths for children under age 14 was more than $5 billion nationwide.
Most of the pedestrian accidents involving children in Colorado happen in the fall and spring, coinciding with the beginning and end of the school year
If you or a loved one has been injured in a Fort Collins pedestrian accident, you need the experience and dedication of Fort Collins injury attorney Steve Shanahan. Consultations are free, and Shanahan isn’t paid unless you win. Justice shouldn’t be left to chance.
Fort Collins Accident Attorney – 970-204-9999 – Free Consultation