Crosswalk Accident Lawyers 

Walking can be a healthy, economical means of transportation, particularly in large urban centers where the infrastructure makes it easier and safer to get around on foot.  The most important pedestrian-friendly feature in any city is the crosswalk, which is a marked path indicating where a pedestrian is supposed to cross a street.  Indiana drivers have a duty to permit individuals who are traveling within designated crosswalks to pass without incident, but far too many ignore this duty, often with tragic results.  There were 114 pedestrian traffic deaths throughout the state in 2022, and even non-fatal pedestrian accidents could inflict devastating injuries that few could afford on their own. 

Fortunately, you may be eligible to pursue a personal injury case if you have been harmed by a reckless driver in an Indiana crosswalk, and you could increase your chances of success by reaching out to a skilled Indiana car accident lawyer at Hensley Legal Group.  Our firm has been fiercely advocating for the wrongfully injured for over a quarter century, and we would be honored to provide you and your loved ones with the attentive service that you deserve. 

Just call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form for a complimentary case review with a knowledgeable Indiana crosswalk accident attorney now. 

Why Do Indiana Crosswalk Accidents Occur?  

The vast majority of crosswalk accidents occur because of the failure to yield the right of way, which is also the top factor in any kind of motor vehicle accident in Indiana, according to the Indiana University Public Policy Institute.  

Under Title 9 of the Indiana Code, “vehicular traffic shall yield the right of way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to other traffic lawfully using the intersection” when it is guarded by a traffic control signal.  Drivers may be similarly required to stop when a signal is missing or broken, and drivers behind those stopped vehicles are not allowed to pass or overtake them, yet Indiana pedestrians are regularly struck in crosswalks by drivers who neglect to yield. 

The reasons for a failure to yield the right of way can vary.  Sometimes external elements can play a role, such as poor weather or road conditions that hinder traction or a mechanical malfunction that prohibits a vehicle from braking.  Generally, though, an Indiana crosswalk accident is attributable to driver error, examples of which may include: 

• Excessive speed – Driving too fast is responsible for more than 15,000 Indiana auto accidents per year.  Exceeding the speed limit could make a crosswalk accident more likely to happen and more destructive when it does. 

• Distraction – A driver who is distracted may not notice pedestrians or the signals warning of their presence until it is too late.  Distraction behind the wheel has long been a concern, but it has gotten considerably worse with the emergence of smartphones, which are currently associated with around 12 percent of crashes in the United States. 

• Drowsiness – Fatigue can be as detrimental to driving as drinking, with one study concluding that going more than twenty hours without sleep can produce the same impairment as a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent.  Drowsiness has been linked to an estimated 100,000 collisions, 50,000 injuries, and 800 casualties across the United States each year, and pedestrians are frequently included on the list of drowsy driving victims. 

• Driving under the influence – Of course, as bad as drowsy driving can be, it may pale in comparison to the threat that automotive intoxication continues to pose despite stiffer legal penalties and decades of public awareness campaigns. Driving under the influence is especially pernicious when it comes to the well-being of pedestrians, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finding that alcohol was at the heart of about 49 percent of deadly American pedestrian accidents in 2021.

Regardless of why an Indiana crosswalk accident ultimately occurs, the consequences can be dire, but you can rely on Hensley Legal Group to hold everyone who is liable for your injuries to account. 

Who Is Liable for an Indiana Crosswalk Accident? 

But exactly who is liable for an Indiana crosswalk accident?  The answer may depend upon the circumstances leading up to it. 

For instance, drivers in Indiana are obligated to yield the right of way to pedestrians who are making lawful use of crosswalks and may be liable for crosswalk accidents that take place when they don’t, but pedestrians have obligations too, like the obligation to obey traffic control signals.   

As such, a pedestrian facing a green signal may usually “proceed across the roadway within a marked or unmarked crosswalk.”  However, “pedestrians facing a steady circular red or red arrow signal may not enter the roadway” and might therefore be liable for any subsequent crosswalk accidents if they do. 

While liability might be clear in an Indiana crosswalk accident arising out of a traffic control signal violation, there may be other situations in which both a driver and a pedestrian could share some blame.  At that point, whether an injured pedestrian could be compensated will be a function of Indiana’s comparative fault laws, under which a claimant “is barred from recovery if the claimant’s contributory fault is greater than the fault of all persons whose fault proximately contributed to the claimant’s damages.”

Basically, a pedestrian whose share of fault for an Indiana crosswalk accident is not more than 50 percent may still have grounds for a claim, but the funds awarded may be reduced by an amount equal to the pedestrian’s level of fault. 

Alternatively, a pedestrian who is more than 50 percent at fault may not be awarded anything, which is why it is critical to partner with Hensley’s tenacious Indiana crosswalk accident lawyers, who will leave stone unturned in order to unearth proof of wrongdoing if it exists. 

How Our Indiana Crosswalk Accident Attorneys Can Make a Difference  

A crosswalk accident can knock you off your feet while knocking your world off its axis, overwhelming you with mounting medical bills while robbing you of the ability to earn the money necessary to pay them.  Merely making ends meet could quickly become a challenge, to say nothing of staving off ruin, but the Indiana crosswalk accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group can make a difference for you and your family. 

If you hire Hensley, we will begin by launching a thorough investigation to identify the root causes of your Indiana crosswalk accident and the defendants who may be culpable for it, then establish valid claims against them and potentially file a lawsuit as well if warranted.   

Additionally, we will amass the evidentiary materials to back up your allegations, such as:  

• Police reports  

• Citations and dispositions  

• Eyewitness statements  

• Crash site photos 

• Streetlight, surveillance, and dash cam videos  

• Black box data  

• Phone records 

• Driving histories  

• Maintenance logs  

• Forensic analysis and accident reconstruction 

After putting together the strongest case possible, our Indiana crosswalk accident lawyers will tirelessly negotiate with the defendants’ insurance carriers for a settlement that reflects the totality of your losses, including your: 

• Medical expenses  

• Lost wages  

• Pain and suffering  

• Psychological trauma  

• Mobility restrictions 

• Scarring and disfigurement 

• Diminished quality of living  

• Loss of consortium 

And if we do not receive an offer that is worthy of your claim, we are not afraid to go to trial for a verdict that is, in stark contrast to many of our competitors, who rarely, if ever, venture into a courtroom. 

If you are reluctant to agree to more expenditures when you have spent so much already, you should be aware that our firm operates on a contingency basis, so you won’t owe us anything until our Indiana crosswalk accident attorneys win your case.  

You have enough to worry about at the moment simply recovering from your injuries.  Let Hensley worry about recovering the resources you need to do it. 

Get in Touch with Our Indiana Crosswalk Accident Lawyers 

Hensley Legal Group has been fighting on behalf of the hardworking men and women of Indiana since 1998.  If you are struggling to get back to normal after getting seriously hurt in a crosswalk in the Hoosier State, get in touch with our Indiana crosswalk accident lawyers to learn what they can do to help. 

You can schedule a free consultation with a dedicated Indiana crosswalk accident attorney by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form today.