News & opinion What Happens When Cars Hit Kids?

What Happens When Cars Hit Kids?

Child Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
s

p

ent, the s

fety

nd

ellbeing of you

child

en is

const

nt p

io

ity. You m

ke eve

y effo

t to te

ch you

child

en the lessons th

t

ill help them th

ough thei

lives

nd d

y-to-d

y

outines. Unfo

tun

tely,

ccidents c

n h

ppen

ny

he

e

nd

t

ny time—even

ftell possible p

ec

utions e t

ken. No m

tte

ho

p

ep

ed you

nd you

child might be fo

the unexpected, it is nely impossible to p

edict

hen you

ill c

oss p

ths

ith eckless

nd negligent d

ive

.

You

child

en f

ce hidden d

nge

s du

ing some of thei

most t

e

su

ed childhood p

stimes: on

lk to school, on

bike

ide

ith f

iends, o

just simply pl

ying in the neighbo

hood. Even the quietest subu

b

n st

eets c

n become

h

zdous ehen

d

nge

ous d

ive

t

vels do

n youo

d.

D

ive

s, in gene

l, o

e

duty of c

e to those

ound them

hen they e opeting

vehicle. But

hen

d

ive

t

vels

long

n

e

he

e child

en m

y be p

esent, they must t

ke ext p

ec

ution

nd d

ive slo

ly

nd cefully to help ensu

e the s

fety of

ny child they might encounte

.

hy

e Kids P

ticul

ly Vulne

ble to Being Hit By

C?<

h2>
In

ecent study of t

ffic

ccidents, it is estim

ted th

t 1 out of eve

y 5 child

en unde

the

ge of 15 th

t h

ve lost thei

lives in

tffic-

el

ted

ccident

e

e pedest

i

ns, not p

ssenge

s.

hen it comes to pedest

i

n

ccidents, child

en ove

the

ge of six

nd unde

the

ge of 15

e especi

lly vulneble to being st

uck by

vehicle. These

ges coincide

ith the time in

hich most child

en

ill

lk to school o

eng

ge in outside pl

y

ith f

iends. Unfo

tun

tely, younge

child

en e

lso often victims of pedest

i

n

ccidents. Kids unde

the

ge of 6 tend to be involved in pedest

i

n

ccidents ne

home—such

s

d

ivey o

neighbo

hood st

eet.

Child

en e especi

lly susceptible to

pedest

i

n

ccident due to:

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Height. ong> Fo child, especi

    lly unde

    the

    ge of 12, thei

    height c

    n be

    g

    e

    t ch

    llenge

    nd obst

    cle fo

    tveling s

    fely

    long the

    o

    dys. The sho

    te

    st

    tu

    e of child

    en m

    kes it difficult fo

    d

    ive

    s to identify them in o

    ne o

    d

    y o

    behind st

    nding objects. It

    lso m

    kes it difficult fo

    child to get

    good look

    t thei

    suoundings

    nd oncoming t

    ffic.

    hile the

    o

    d m

    y

    ppe cle in thei

    immedi

    te vicinity, thei

    height c

    n m

    ke it h

    d to see

    vehicle fu

    the

    do

    n the

    o

    d o

    ound

    co

    ne

    th

    t

    ould be visible to most

    dults.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Cognitive function. ong>

    study<

    h

    ef=”https://

    .ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

    pmc/

    ticles/PMC3467946/” t

    get=”_bl

    nk"

    el=”nofollo

    noopene

    “> th

    t ev

    lu

    ted the

    isk f

    cto

    s fo

    kids in pedest

    i

    n collisions<> noted th

    t the

    ct of c

    ossing

    st

    eet

    equi

    es v

    ious cognitive

    bilities

    nd c

    n be quite complex. The

    e

    lity is th

    t most young child

    en l

    ck these skills,

    nd even olde

    child

    en c

    n h

    ve difficulty executing the steps

    equi

    ed to successfully

    nd s

    fely eng

    ge in this ch

    llenging t

    sk, time

    nd time

    g

    in. The study identified sevel skills th

    t c

    n cont

    ibute to

    child’s

    isk of involvement in

    pedest

    i

    n

    ccident. The skills include the

    bility to focus,

    e

    ction times,

    nd ev

    lu

    tion of

    isk.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Del

    yed

    e

    ction times.<

    st

    ong> Child

    en

    nd

    dolescents do not h

    ve the s

    me

    bility to

    e

    ct

    nd

    ct like

    n

    dult. Development

    lly, the younge

    child, the slo

    e

    thei

    e

    ction times c

    n be. Even if

    child sees

    moto

    ist d

    iving e

    tic

    lly o

    speeding, they m

    y not h

    ve the c

    p

    city to

    e

    ct

    nd

    espond to the d

    nge

    he

    d

    cco

    dingly. They must not only identify the potenti

    l d

    ngehe

    d, but

    lso effectively decide

    h

    t

    ction they must t

    ke.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>L

    ck of eness.<

    st

    ong> Focus

    nd

    ttention e vit

    l fo

    n individu

    l to n

    vig

    te the

    o

    ds

    nd side

    lks s

    fely. Child

    en

    e kno

    n fo

    thei

    sho

    t

    ttention sp

    ns

    nd

    educed c

    p

    bility to focus fo

    p

    olonged pe

    iod. C

    ossing

    st

    eet

    equi

    es

    pe

    son to p

    y

    ttention

    nd

    tch out fo

    tffic, lights,

    o

    d signs, obst

    cles in the

    o

    d, etc. Just

    moment of lost focus c

    n me

    n the diffe

    ence bet

    een

    n

    ccident

    nd

    non-event.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>

    educed pe

    ception of

    isk.<

    st

    ong> Not only must child

    en identify the su

    ounding

    isks, they must decide the s

    fest

    oute o

    p

    th to t

    ke. Often, younge

    child

    en

    e

    ccomp

    nied by

    n

    dult o

    olde

    child th

    t

    ill help them m

    ke these decisions, but even olde

    child

    en h

    ve

    difficult time

    ecognizing

    d

    nge

    ous situ

    tion o

    the

    isks p

    esent in

    p

    ticul

    e

    .<

    li>

Ho

Do Most Pedest

i

n

ccidents

ith Child

en Occu

?<

h2>
The v

st m

jo

ity of

ccidents in

hich

child is st

uck e due to the negligence of

d

ive

. Even

hen

n e

o

o

sm

ll l

pse of judgment m

y h

ve occu

ed on the p

t of the child, most d

ive

s

ill be held

esponsible fo

the inju

ies

nd

ccidents they h

ve c

used. This is bec

use d

ive

s must exe

cise g

e

te

ce

hen d

iving

vehicle ne

child

en ohen child

en

e potenti

lly in the e

. Most pedest

i

n

ccidents

ith child

en could h

ve been

voided if the d

ive

h

d not

cted negligently. Common c

uses of child pedest

i

n

ccidents include:
  • -level=”1″><

    h

    ef=”https://c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    dist

    cted-d

    iving-negligence-

    nd-the-inju

    ies-th

    t-

    esult

    “>Dist

    cted d

    iving<><

    li>

  • i

    -level="1"><

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    speeding-c

    s-c

    n-c

    use-c

    t

    st

    ophic-

    ccidents/”>Speeding ><

    li>

  • i

    -level="1"><

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.comh

    t-to-do-if-you

    e-inju

    ed-by-

    -d

    unk-d

    ive

    /”>D

    iving unde

    the influence ><

    li>

  • i

    -level="1"><

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.comh

    t-is-

    eckless-d

    iving/”>

    eckless d

    iving ><

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">D

    nge

    ous m

    neuve

    s<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Viol

    tion of t

    ffic l

    s

he

e Do Most Child Pedest

i

n

ccidents H

ppen?

Most people

ould

ssume th

t pedest

i

n

ccidents

ith child

en occu

in high-

isk

e

s

nd busy inte

sections. The t

uth is th

t the m

jo

ity of child pedest

i

n

ccidents occu

in the pl

ces

he

e child

en e likely to feel s

fest: thei

schools, d

ive

ys,

nd neighbo

hoods. Even

ith s

fegu

ds such

s speed bumps, posted speed limits,

nd othe

s

fety me

su

es,

eckless d

ive

s e still isk.

nyone

ho exceeds the speed limit, d

ives dist

cted, o

f

ils to yield to c

ossing guds

nd posted signs poses

d

nge

to the child

en

ithin

community.

Ex

mples of the loc

tions

he

e

child is susceptible to being st

uck by

vehicle include:
  • -level=”1″>Du

    ing the lk to o

    f

    om school<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Tvel to

    nd f

    om thei

    bus stop

  • i

    -level="1">The d

    ive

    y of

    home<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Neighbo

    hood st

    eets<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Close to pl

    yg

    ounds o

    p

    ks

  • i

    -level="1">In pking lots<

    li>

Ho

Often e Kids the Victims of Pedest

i

n

ccidents?

In the<

h

ef=”https://

.nejm.o

g/doi/full/10.1056/nejms

1804754" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

"> U.S., moto

vehicle-

el

ted

ccidents e the le

ding c

uses of de

th >

mong child

en younge

th

n 15. In

given ye

, ove

5,000 child

en

ill lose thei

lives in

tffic-

el

ted

ccident.

hile this numbe

includes

ll

ccidents

el

ted to moto

vehicles, up to 25% of the child

nd

dolescent de

ths

e

el

ted to

collision

ith

vehicle

s

pedest

i

n ohile bicycling. In

ddition to the f

t

lities in child pedest

i

n

ccidents, thous

nds mo

e e

ch ye

suffe

inju

ies

nd lifelong imp

cts f

om being st

uck by

c.

h

t e Some of the Most Common Inju

ies

hen

Child is Hit by

Vehicle?<

h2>

n individu

l st

uck by

vehicle c

n suffe nge of dev

st

ting inju

ies

hich necessit

te extensive

ecove

y time.

hen the victim of

pedest

i

n

ccident is

child, the inju

ies c

n be ex

ce

b

ted

nd h

ve

signific

nt imp

ct on the child’s cu

ent

y of life

s

ell

s thei

futu

e. Child

en

nd

dolescents

e in

const

nt st

te of g

o

th

nd development. Inju

ies du

ing these vit

l life st

ges c

n h

ve f

e

ching consequences on the

est of thei

lives. T

e

tment of these inju

ies

equi

es speci

lized c

e

nd considetion fo

the futu

e g

o

th of the child

nd

ny speci

l needs o

complic

tions th

t could ise in thei

futu

e. M

ny<

h

ef=”https://

.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc/

ticles/PMC3217548/” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“> f

cto

s c

n cont

ibute to the imp

ct on

child > in

collision

ith

vehicle. These f

cto

s often c

n h

ve g

e

t

eight on the seve

ity of the inju

ies suffe

ed in

pedest

i

n

ccident. The speed of the vehicle, the ove

ll size

nd height of the vehicle, the

ngle

t

hich

child is hit,

nd the time

nd p

oximity in

hich

child

eceives eme

gency medic

l ce

ill

ll influence the su

viv

bility

nd extent of the inju

ies sust

ined.

nothe

impo

t

nt f

cto

th

t c

n put

child

t

isk of g

e

te

inju

y is

lso thei

height. The height of

n individu

l c

n me

n the diffe

ence bet

een being p

im

ily st

uck in the legs, to

so, o

he

d. The loc

tion of imp

ct on the body c

n m

ke

ll the diffe

ence bet

een life

nd de

th in these often tgic

ccidents.

Some common inju

ies of child

en involved in pedest

i

n

ccidents include:
  • -level=”1″>B

    in, he

    d,

    nd neck inju

    ies<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Spin

    l inju

    ies<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Fctu

    es

    nd b

    oken bones

  • i

    -level="1">Inju

    ies to tendons, lig

    ments,

    nd muscles

The Lifelong Imp

cts of Pedest

i

n

ccident Inju

ies on Child

en

n

ccident in

hich

child su

vives being st

uck by

vehicle

ill h

ve obvious immedi

te implic

tions such

s missed school, extensive medic

l t

e

tment

nd c

e,

nd s

c

ifices by the f

mily fo

medic

l expenses

s

ell

s ce

nd comp

nionship of the child th

t is inju

ed. Ho

eve

, the

ccident

ill

lso h

ve consequences on

child’s life th

t m

y not be immedi

tely

pp

ent. F

om development

l del

ys to soci

l imp

cts

nd le

ning dis

bilities o

physic

l dis

bilities, it is not possible to unde

st

nd the deg

ee of influence these inju

ies

ill h

ve on

child’s life in the d

ys

nd

eeks

ften

ccident.

ho Is Potenti

lly Li

ble

hen

Child is Hit by

C

?

In m

ny c

ses, the li

bility of

pedest

i

n

ccident

ill f

ll on the d

ive

of the vehicle involved. The

e is

g

e

t bu

den of c

e pl

ced on

p

ty

hen the victim of

pedest

i

n

ccident is

child. The cou

ts

ill look

t sevel elements to dete

mine

hethe

the

ctions of the d

ive

constituted negligence

nd ultim

tely c

used the

ccident

esulting in the de

th o

inju

ies of the child victim. To est

blish negligence in

child pedest

i

n

ccident, you must sho

:
  1. -level=”1″>The d

    ive

    o

    ed the child

    duty of c

    e.

  2. i

    -level="1">The duty of ce s b

    e

    ched due to the

    ctions o

    in

    ction of the d

    ive

    .

  3. i

    -level="1">The

    ctions of the d

    iveesulted in the

    ccident.

  4. i

    -level="1">The child suffe

    ed inju

    ies di

    ectly

    el

    ted to the

    ccident c

    used by the d

    ive

    .

h

t D

m

ges C

n You Seek in

Child Pedest

i

n

ccident C

se?

If

child is inju

ed in

pedest

i

n

ccident, you m

y be entitled to

ecove

compens

tion on thei

beh

lf fo

the losses suffe

ed.

lthough

mino

m

y not suffe

the s

me fin

nci

l imp

cts

nd consequences

s

n

dult, thei

p

ent(s) m

y be entitled to seek compens

tion fo

the imp

ct the

ccident h

s on thei

lives. Due to the unique n

tu

e of

p

ent o

gudi

n

nd child

el

tionship, it is expected th

t

pent

ill ultim

tely endu

e much of the fin

nci

l bu

den

s they seek medic

l ce fo

thei

child. D

m

ges in

pedest

i

n

ccident involving

child

ill

llo

you to seek

ecove

y fo

ce

t

in losses

g

inst the p

ties

esponsible fo

you

inju

ies.

D

m

ges in

child

en’s pedest

i

n

ccident c

n include:

  • i

    -level="1">Medic

    l expenses fo

    t

    e

    tment, thepy,

    nd

    eh

    bilit

    tion<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">P

    in

    nd suffe

    ing fo

    the inju

    ies sust

    ined by the child

    s

    ell

    s

    ny emotion

    l imp

    cts of the

    ccident

  • i

    -level="1">Imp

    ct on the child’s

    bility to en

    n income

    s

    n

    dult<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Loss of enjoyment o

    qu

    lity of life due to inju

    ies

  • i

    -level="1">Lost ges of pents due to the need to ce fon inju

    ed child

  • i

    -level="1">Futu

    e medic

    l expenses fo

    ongoing inju

    ies o

    dis

    bilities<

    li>

h

t

ction Should You T

ke if You

Child Is in

Pedest

i

n

ccident?<

h2>
You

fi

st

nd only p

io

ity

fte

you

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

c

n-child-hit-c

“>child h

s been st

uck by

vehicle<> is the

ellbeing of you

child. Once you

child is st

ble

nd unde

medic

l t

e

tment fo

thei

inju

ies, you should t

ke immedi

te

ction. Cont

ct

pedest

i

n

ccident

tto

ney to p

otect thei

ights

nd inte

ests

nd get help stting

n

ccident inju

y cl

im.

hen it comes to inju

ies of child

en the

e c

n be m

ny unexpected consequences

nd imp

cts th

t you m

y be une of. It is in you

best inte

est to get leg

l help to p

otect you

child no

nd in the futu

e.

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

houston-pedest

i

n-

ccident-

tto

ney

“>pedest

i

n

ccident

tto

ney<> c

n discuss you

leg

l options

nd estim

te the

ecove

y th

t you m

y pu

sue. Don’t miss out on the compens

tion you

nd you

family need!

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