Pedestrian accident

Pedestrians often assume they’re safe from sudden or preventable accidents. However, there are many different ways you can be harmed during your commutes, or when you’re simply enjoying time in the public sphere. There are even some incredibly dangerous injuries that pedestrians sustain every single day. There are five injuries, in particular, that are commonly associated with pedestrian-involved accidents: 

1. Broken Bones

Some of the most common pedestrian accident-related injuries deal with broken bones and fractures. Even minor falls can lead to these breaks and cracks, as the human body is much more fragile than we’d like to admit. For this reason, you must stay hyper-aware during your daily commute, especially if you need to cross traffic intersections (and make sure to never jaywalk). Pedestrians most commonly fracture their arms, hands, wrists, shoulders, legs, and backs when involved in pedestrian accidents. These injuries can be incredibly painful and often take a long time to heal properly (and that’s if they don’t lead to further complications). If you’re injured in a pedestrian accident through no fault of your own, you should seek the counsel of a pedestrian accident lawyer to see if you qualify for compensation. 

2. Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries are always traumatic and incredibly painful. These injuries not only take an incredibly long time to heal properly, but they often lead to long-term and even life-long complications. Paralysis can even occur if you suffer a particularly harsh spinal cord injury. Car accidents remain the most common cause of spinal cord injuries, but more pedestrian-focused accidents can cause them as well. If you’re a pedestrian who is hit by a car, the chances of sustaining a spinal cord injury skyrocket. In the worst cases, spinal cord injuries can even cause immediate death. Being aware of your surroundings, and avoiding slippery areas, can help you prevent accidents that could lead to you sustaining a spinal cord injury, however. 

3. Soft Tissue Damage

Soft tissue damage and injuries typically involve contusions, lacerations, strains, sprains, tears, and dislocations. While many people assume that soft tissue damage is no big deal, this could not be further from the truth. These injuries can cause long-term, and even life-long effects, especially when dealing with torn ligaments and similarly intensive soft tissue damage. The severe pain, scarring, and other damages soft tissue injuries can cause make them that much more frustrating to deal with. Physical therapy can often be a necessity for these damages as well, which is incredibly expensive in most cases. Pedestrian injuries dealing with tripping hazards, or bike accidents, are often associated with soft tissue damage, but other types of pedestrian accidents can lead to these injuries as well. Staying safe in school zones is especially important for all pedestrians. 

4. Traumatic Brain Injuries

When you hit your head against something, you tend to suffer painful medical consequences. Traumatic brain injuries are no joke, and they can seriously affect your cognitive abilities for the rest of your life. Concussions, comas, brain damage, and other serious afflictions fall under the umbrella of traumatic brain injuries. Slip and fall accidents, pedestrian collisions with vehicles, and falling debris can often lead to traumatic brain injuries. If you’re walking by a construction site or another busy work site, you need to stay vigilant and avoid any areas that are sectioned off from the general flow of public traffic. If you fail to do so, you greatly increase your chances of experiencing a devastating traumatic brain injury as you commute. 

5. Whiplash

Whiplash is not an auto or bike accident-specific injury. That being said, if a pedestrian is hit by a car or bike while commuting, they have a serious chance of sustaining a painful case of whiplash. Slip and fall accidents and other sudden accidents can cause whiplash to occur as well. Whiplash is not as serious as the other injuries we’ve covered, but it is extremely painful and can take a while to fully heal. Thankfully, this is also the injury that’s most easy to avoid if you simply go about your pedestrian activities in a way that’s thoughtful, aware, and cautious. The more effort you put into staying safe, the safer everyone else around you becomes as well. 

Pedestrian Accidents are Commonplace

Even with the many safety precautions society has enacted, pedestrian-involved accidents remain commonplace. In addition to the five injury types we’ve discussed above, pedestrian-involved accidents can lead to a huge slate of other devastating issues. For this reason, you must do your best to keep public spaces safe and secure.