Whether it is walking the cobblestone streets of Portland or admiring the Great Falls from Lewiston or Auburn, Maine is a very pleasant locale for people to travel by foot. Motor vehicle accidents are generally not a concern to pedestrians—until they happen to be involved in them.
Statistics on Pedestrian Accidents in Maine
While the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reported that Maine was one of only 10 states in the nation (along with the District of Columbia) to have fewer than 10 pedestrian fatalities in the first six months of 2016, the Maine State Police told the Bangor Daily News that 2015 was the deadliest year for pedestrians in more than a decade. Maine’s 0.38 rate of pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 population for the first six months of 2016, according to the GHSA, was the seventh-lowest in the nation.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 5,376 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2015 translated to an average of one crash-related pedestrian death every 1.6 hours. The CDC also claims that pedestrians are 1.5 times more likely than passenger vehicle occupants to be killed in a car crash on each trip.
Types of Pedestrian Accident Injuries
It is also important to note that the CDC says that 129,000 pedestrians were treated in emergency departments in 2015 for non-fatal crash-related injuries. Pedestrians are not afforded the same level of protection inherent to the occupants of motor vehicles, so the nature of the injuries they suffer in crashes is often quite severe.
Even when a victim does not sustain fatal injuries in a pedestrian crash, he or she can still suffer extremely catastrophic injuries that require extensive hospitalization and rehabilitation. Some of the most common kinds of injuries that result from pedestrian accidents include, but are not limited to:
- Amputations
- Disfigurement
- Fractures (broken bones)
- Internal organ damage.
- Neck injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
In addition to substantial medical bills, victims in these cases are often unable to return to work. Some people will require full-time assistance with everyday duties.
You are not alone.
Many pedestrian accidents stem from some kind of motorist negligence. Insurance companies representing negligent drivers, however, often imply that pedestrians are somehow to blame for their injuries.
You do not have to deal with insurers on your own though. Need an Injury Attorney Maine assists injured pedestrians in communities all over the Pine Tree State, from Augusta to Portland to Lewiston to Bangor. Our personal injury lawyers can represent you in dealings with insurance companies and fight to get you all of the compensation that you are entitled to.
Contact our firm today.
You can call Need an Injury Attorney Maine 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our lawyers will immediately begin an investigation and preserve evidence important to your case.
Whether a driver was distracted, speeding, or operating while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, our firm will work to hold the negligent party accountable. We will provide a free consultation that will allow our personal injury attorneys to provide a complete evaluation of your case so you can be fully aware of all of your legal options.