Pedestrians/Bicyclists Hit By Motor Vehicles

Welcome to the Rodgers Law Firm

When a pedestrian or bicyclist suffers a debilitating injury when struck by a motor vehicle, the lives of the victim and the victim’s family and close friends change beyond description.

The pain and suffering caused by the injury may be further increased by intense feeling of anger, frustration, and resentment because the accident could have been easily avoided if the person at fault, the wrongdoer, had only been more careful.

We at the Rodgers Law Firm in Fort Worth, Texas understand the devastation and losses caused by pedestrian and bicyclist accidents. Victims who survive often have no transportation, are unable to work due to the injury, have no health insurance or large savings to pay for medical care, may not know how to find health care providers that will wait for payment until the case settles, and do not have the energy or know how to deal with the insurance company for the wrongdoer.

That's why we are here – to do everything we can to help our clients get the answers, the assistance, and the compensation that they are entitled to under the law.

We handle pedestrian and bicyclist injury cases all throughout the Metroplex, including Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Denton, Burleson, Cleburne, Decatur, Weatherford, Haltom City, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Azle, Mineral Wells, Sherman, and Denison.
If you or someone close to you has been harmed by another person’s carelessness, contact us for a free, no obligation consultation. We will meet with you at our office or any location convenient to you.

In a free, no obligation consultation with us you may evaluate our capabilities to help you and other family members work through the legal, economic and emotional hurdles faced when a serious injury is suffered in a pedestrian or bicycle accident.

The following pages of detailed legal information will give you insights into the depth of our capabilities in these kinds of cases.

Example of Actual Pedestrian Injury Cases Handled By Our Law Firm

Grocery Store Customer Struck By Car While Walking In Grocery Store Parking Lot
Bedford, Texas

Our client parked her car in the parking lot of her local grocery store. While walking in the parking lot toward the grocery store entrance doors, a driver who had completed shopping at the grocery store suddenly backed her car out of a parking space and into the client, with the bumper striking our client on the right thigh, knocking her down and causing serious injuries that ultimately required the surgical removal of her coccyx, or tailbone.

The driver then left the parking lot without rendering any aid to our client. Our client, while lying on the ground and watching the driver leave the scene, was able to see and memorize the car’s license plate.

She called the police as soon as she could and reported the accident as a hit and run. The police, after determining the address from the license plate number, went to the driver’s house, interviewed the driver, and completed a police report of the accident.

The driver, based on the answers she gave at her deposition and based on the deposition testimony of the investigating police officer, was an elderly female with poor vision and seemingly in an early stage of dementia. Many of her answers were not responsive to the questions or were not comprehensible.

The case settled before trial (K41P).

Airport Rental Car Agency Employee
Struck by Rental Car Driver While Checking-In Rental Car
DFW Airport, Texas

Our client was employed by a nationally known rental car agency at DFW Airport. As she was checking in a returned rental car, she walked around the passenger side of the car to the rear of the car to check for any property damage there.

While she was scanning the rear of the car for damage, suddenly the driver of the rental vehicle put the car in reverse and backed into her, knocking her down and injuring her right leg and ankle. Her knee ultimately required surgery.

Two witnesses saw the accident. The most likely explanation for the car backing up suddenly was that the driver, in a hurry to catch his plane, put the car in reverse, not park, and then took his foot off the brake.

The case settled before trial (C33L).

Overview of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Accidents in Texas

Bicycle Injury Facts
The first automobile crash in the United States occurred in New York City in 1896, when a motor vehicle collided with a bicyclist.

A federal agency study has noted that cyclist fatalities occurred more frequently in urban areas (66%), at non-intersection locations (67%), between the hours of 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. (30%), and during the months of June, July, and August (36%). (National Highway Safety Transportation Administration study in 2004)

Four states (California, Florida, New York, and Texas) accounted for 43% of bicycle deaths in 1999.

In 1999, 750 bicyclists were killed in traffic-related crashes, and approximately 51,000 were injured. About 26 percent of the fatalities were children age 14 and younger, making this one of the most frequent causes of injury-related deaths for young children.

Bicycle helmets are about 85-percent effective in mitigating head and brain injuries, and so, the use of a helmet is the single most effective way to reduce head injuries and fatalities resulting from bicycle crashes. (U.S. Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration 2001).

Cyclists killed annually: 725 in 2004, 629 in 2003, 665 in 2002, 732 in 2001, and 693 in the year 2000. Of these, 89 percent were male. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety data)

Pedestrian Injury Facts
In September 1899, Henry H. Bliss became the first pedestrian killed in an automobile crash when he stepped off a street corner in New York and was struck by a horseless carriage.

Crossing the street is the most dangerous aspect of being a pedestrian.

For all age groups, 4,808 pedestrians were reported killed in motor vehicle accidents in the United States in 2002, accounting for 11.2 percent of the 42,815 motor vehicle deaths nationwide. That same year, approximately 76,000 pedestrians were injured or killed in motor vehicle collisions. These numbers average out to a pedestrian being killed or injured about every six minutes, a death toll that exceeds air, rail and marine transport deaths by more than three times. Roughly ninety percent of these accidents involve a pedestrian who is crossing a suburban or urban roadway.

Most pedestrian accidents occur in cities, at night, away from intersections. In nearly half of the vehicle accidents involving pedestrians, alcohol is a factor. Perhaps surprisingly, in 31 percent of those cases, it's the pedestrian who is legally drunk. (U.S. Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration 2001).

A pedestrian facing a green traffic signal may proceed across a roadway within a marked or unmarked crosswalk unless the sole green signal is a turn arrow (Tex. Transp. Code § 552.001).

A pedestrian has the right of way when facing a "Walk" signal and is proceeding across a roadway in the direction of the signal (Tex. Transp. Code § 552.002).

A pedestrian crossing a roadway in a crosswalk has the right of way if (1) no traffic control signal is in place or in operation; and (2) the pedestrian is either on the half of the roadway in which the vehicle is traveling; or is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger. Despite this rule, a pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and proceed into a crosswalk in the path of a vehicle so close that it is impossible for the vehicle operator to yield (Tex. Transp. Code § 552.003).

The operator of a vehicle approaching from the rear of a vehicle that is stopped at a crosswalk to permit a pedestrian to cross a roadway may not pass the stopped vehicle (Tex. Transp. Code § 552.003).

A pedestrian also has the right of way when crossing a roadway at an intersection (1) in a marked crosswalk or (2) in an unmarked crosswalk, if the pedestrian is crossing in obedience to the traffic control device controlling traffic at the intersection, but a pedestrian may cross only in a marked crosswalk if he is walking between adjacent intersections at which traffic control signals are in operation (Tex. Transp. Code § 552.005).

Most pedestrian crashes involve a forward moving car. In such a crash, a standing or walking pedestrian is struck, is then accelerated to the speed of the car, and then continues forward while the driver of the car brakes to a stop. Though the pedestrian is hit twice - first by the car and then by the ground, most of the fatal injuries occur due to being hit by the car.

Losing the Right to Make the Claim
You must file your Texas accident suit within a certain time period or else you will lose your right to pursue your claim. In many cases, the suit must be filed within two years from the date of the accident.

Simply contacting the business responsible for the accident or contacting the businesses’ insurance company about the accident is not enough to stop the running of the two year period.

If the vehicle causing the accident is owned or operated by a federal, state, city or other governmental entity, the injury claim is governed by different limitations procedures and periods. Claims against federal government entities are controlled by the Federal Tort Claims Act, which provides:

“A tort claim against the United States shall be forever barred unless it is presented in writing to the appropriate Federal agency within two years after such claim accrues or unless action is begun six months after the date of mailing, by certified or registered mail, of notice of final denial of the claim by the agency to which it was presented.”

Claims against cities and other Texas governmental entities are controlled by the Texas Tort Claims Act. The claim procedures in this Act must be followed. It requires that written notice, often using mandatory forms supplied by the agency involved, be given to the agency against whom the claim is being made within time periods much shorter than a year after the accident. Certain exceptions do exist in unique circumstances, but they require the analysis of a qualified attorney to determine if they are applicable.

There are other reasons to act quickly. Key witnesses may disappear, witnesses’ memories may fade, and vital documents may be lost. Sometimes it takes months of investigation to determine who the true defendants are that are legally responsible for the accident. It is crucially important that you do not delay in consulting with an attorney.

Contact us for a free no-obligation consultation as soon as possible to ensure that you retain your right to pursue your claim.

Ask Us for a Second Opinion If Another Attorney Has Declined To Represent You
Attorneys regularly decide whether the case that they are reviewing does or does not meet all the requirements to be a viable, sound accident case. Making this determination is not an exact science. Based on different experiences and analytic abilities, one attorney may turn down the opportunity to represent a client and another attorney may decide to take the case.

The second reviewing attorney saw something the first reviewing attorney may have overlooked. The first attorney may have decided that liability was not clear, that the damages were not large enough, there was not available insurance coverage or other sources to pay the money damages, or that there were other problems in seeking a recovery.

We would welcome the opportunity to review your claim even if another attorney has turned the case down. There is no charge or obligation for our review.

You may contact us at the following phone numbers at any time:

Office: toll free: 1-866-560-1075

local: 817-717-4080


Copyright 1994 - 2007 Clifford B. Rodgers.

Last Modified July 6, 2007.