Around 7 a.m. on March 13, a Colorado man was seriously injured when a car struck him at an intersection, presumably while he was attempting to cross the intersection on foot. The man suffered serious injuries and possible head trauma and was taken Denver Health for treatment. The Denver Police Department did not release his age. The driver of the car remained at the scene to speak to investigators, but no information as to the possible causes of the accident were released.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Long delays resulted from both directions of traffic being closed, and cars were backed up all the way to Interstate 70. Both roads reopened at 9 a.m.
A pedestrian accident almost always results in serious injury or possibly even death to the pedestrian involved. In most circumstances, pedestrians are considered to have the right-of-way. Cars are expected to show caution when driving near pedestrians or at intersections where pedestrian crossing are common, and a car should yield to a pedestrian in all circumstances, even when the pedestrian is technically in the wrong, such as jay-walking or crossing an intersection without a walk signal. The protective nature of the law in regards to pedestrians means that in most cases involving the injury of a pedestrian by a vehicle, the driver of the vehicle will be considered primarily at fault for the accident.
The injured pedestrian can thus file a personal injury lawsuit against the driver. This lawsuit can recover money in the form of economic damages for medical expenses, lost work income and other direct expenses related to accident. The injured person may also file for non-economic damages such as the pain and suffering caused by the accident. An attorney may be able to assist an injured person with presenting the evidence needed to recover the maximum possible damages.
Source: FOX31 Denver, “Pedestrian seriously hurt after being struck by vehicle on Colorado Boulevard at MLK,” Chuck Hickey, March 17, 2015