Los Angeles is the 2nd deadliest city for Pedestrians
In the first six months of 2022, over 20,000 people were killed in traffic accidents in the United States. These numbers are at a 16-year-high, according to research conducted by the NHTSA.
These figures follow more alarming statistics from last year. In 2021, more pedestrians were killed in this country than at any time since 1981. Almost 1,000 bicyclists were among the 43,000 killed on our roads last year.
And the news is even worse for Angelenos. Los Angeles was rated the 2nd deadliest city for pedestrians for the last decade. According to the LA Times, over 1,100 pedestrians were killed in Los Angeles between 2011 and 2021. This year alone, 135 pedestrians have been killed on Los Angeles streets.
As the Rabbi Lawyer, I hate being the bearer of bad news. And I don’t have easy answers or explanations to these very serious statistics.
What I can tell you is that I have experience dealing with pedestrian collisions. I don’t like to call them “accidents”, because this very term implies the absence of fault. In all of my Los Angeles pedestrian collision cases that I’ve handled, the driver was distracted or failed to yield to the pedestrian who had the right-of-way.
My very first client involved a pedestrian who got hit in a crosswalk in the Beverlywood area of Los Angeles. My client—a schoolteacher—was crossing the street to walk to a nearby house where he was scheduled to tutor one of his students. A woman approaching the crosswalk in her car was texting and not paying attention to the road ahead of her. She came to a stop too far into the intersection—and my client ended up on the hood of her car. When she got out of the car to investigate, she callously told my client that he looked fine and probably didn’t need medical attention.
Suffice to say, my client was not fine. Thankfully, he survived being hit by this inattentive driver. So many people aren’t as fortunate. We got him a substantial settlement for his injuries, pain, and suffering.
Be safe when you’re walking around Los Angeles or crossing the street. Whether it’s in Beverlywood, Hancock Park, PicFair Village, Carthay Circle, or any other Los Angeles or Beverly Hills neighborhood, if you were involved in a car or pedestrian accident, my office is ready to assist, 24/6.
