Temecula Pedestrian Accident Lawyers & Personal Injury Attorneys Serving Riverside County

Experienced Legal Representation

Pedestrians struck by vehicles often suffer devastating injuries with life-changing consequences. At The Baum Law Firm, we aggressively pursue compensation for pedestrian accident victims, holding negligent drivers and other responsible parties accountable.

Pedestrian Accidents in Temecula and Murrieta

Motor vehicles driven by negligent drivers frequently collide with pedestrians in retail districts, busy intersections, and suburban neighborhoods in Temecula, Murrieta and surrounding cities.

Old Town Temecula's historic district attracts thousands of pedestrians weekly who navigate brick crosswalks, diagonal parking areas, and congested intersections along Front Street and Main Street. The Promenade Mall corridor on Winchester Road sees heavy foot traffic crossing multi-lane roads connecting shopping centers, restaurants, and movie theaters. Pedestrians crossing at marked crosswalks possess right-of-way under California Vehicle Code Section 21950, yet drivers routinely fail to yield, striking pedestrians in crosswalks at Winchester Road and Ynez Road, Rancho California Road near retail centers, and throughout the Temecula Parkway commercial corridor. Distracted driving—texting, phone conversations, navigation system manipulation—causes drivers to plow into pedestrians who had clear right-of-way.

Temecula's suburban neighborhoods feature roads designed primarily for vehicle traffic with inadequate sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to walk in streets or cross dangerous arterials without marked crosswalks. Children walking to schools including Temecula Valley High School, Great Oak High School, and numerous elementary schools throughout the valley navigate routes with limited crossing guards and sparse pedestrian infrastructure. Elderly residents of retirement communities and senior living facilities face particular vulnerability when crossing Winchester Road, Rancho California Road, or navigating parking lots at medical facilities including Temecula Valley Hospital. Even low-speed collisions in parking lots can cause catastrophic injuries when multi-ton vehicles strike unprotected pedestrians.

Founded in 1959, The Baum Law Firm has represented numerous pedestrian accident victims throughout Temecula and Riverside County, and we have obtained substantial settlements on behalf of our injured clients. Our office at 43537 Ridge Park Drive places us at the heart of Temecula's most dangerous pedestrian corridors, and our decades of local presence mean we understand which intersections, crosswalks, and commercial areas generate the highest accident rates. Our deep knowledge of Temecula traffic patterns, local ordinances, and Riverside County court procedures enables us to build powerful cases holding negligent drivers accountable.

Why Pedestrian Accidents Cause Catastrophic Injuries

Pedestrians struck by vehicles suffer injuries far more severe than those experienced in car-on-car collisions at similar speeds. The human body possesses no protective structure—no metal frame, airbags, or crumple zones to absorb impact forces. When a 4,000-pound SUV traveling 25 mph strikes a 150-pound pedestrian, the physics are brutally one-sided. The initial vehicle impact often fractures legs, pelvis, and hips, followed by the pedestrian being thrown onto the hood and windshield causing torso and head trauma, then thrown to the pavement where secondary impact causes additional head, spine, and extremity injuries. This three-phase injury mechanism—vehicle strike, hood/windshield impact, ground strike—produces multiple trauma to nearly every body region.

Traumatic brain injuries dominate pedestrian accident cases, occurring in approximately 60% of pedestrian-vehicle collisions. When pedestrians' heads strike vehicle hoods, windshields, or pavement, the brain impacts the interior skull at high velocity, causing contusions, hemorrhaging, and diffuse axonal injury. Unlike helmeted motorcyclists or airbag-protected drivers, pedestrians absorb full impact forces directly to the skull. TBIs from pedestrian accidents range from concussions requiring weeks of recovery to severe brain damage causing permanent cognitive deficits, personality changes, seizure disorders, and vegetative states. Emergency transport to Temecula Valley Hospital or regional trauma centers for immediate CT scans and neurosurgical intervention proves critical to preventing secondary brain injury from swelling and bleeding.

Lower extremity fractures appear in nearly 75% of pedestrian strike cases, with pelvic fractures, femur fractures, and tibial fractures being most common. The vehicle's bumper height typically strikes pedestrians at knee or thigh level, with devastating force. Complex pelvic fractures require multiple surgeries, external fixation devices, and months of non-weight-bearing recovery. These injuries often cause permanent gait abnormalities, chronic pain, and increased arthritis risk. Spinal cord injuries from being thrown onto vehicle hoods or pavement can cause partial or complete paralysis. Internal organ damage including ruptured spleens, liver lacerations, and internal bleeding require emergency surgery and extended hospitalization. Even pedestrians struck at 15-20 mph can suffer catastrophic and life changing injuries.

California Pedestrian Right-of-Way Laws and Driver Duties

California law provides strong protections for pedestrians, imposing clear duties on drivers to yield and exercise extreme caution around people on foot.

Vehicle Code Section 21950 establishes that drivers must yield right-of-way to pedestrians crossing in marked or unmarked crosswalks. An unmarked crosswalk exists at every intersection where sidewalks approach the roadway, whether or not painted lines exist.

Vehicle Code Section 21954 requires drivers to exercise due care for pedestrian safety at all times, even when pedestrians are not in crosswalks or when pedestrians cross against signals. Drivers must reduce speed and sound horns when necessary to avoid striking pedestrians.

Special protections exist for vulnerable road users including children under 14, elderly pedestrians, and disabled individuals. Drivers owe heightened duty of care in school zones, senior centers, and areas where pedestrian traffic is heavy or expected. Vehicle Code Section 21352 prohibits drivers from passing vehicles stopped for pedestrians at crosswalks—a common scenario where the driver in lane #1 stops for a pedestrian, but the driver in lane #2 speeds around the stopped vehicle, striking the pedestrian.

Critical Evidence Collection in Pedestrian Accident Cases

Pedestrian accident scenes must be documented immediately before evidence disappears. Photograph the exact crosswalk or crossing location where the strike occurred, capturing marked crosswalk lines or the absence of crosswalks, pedestrian signals and their timing, traffic control devices, and sight lines from the driver's approach. Document skid marks if the driver attempted braking, vehicle debris, pedestrian belongings scattered at impact, and any blood or impact marks on the vehicle. Measure distances from the impact point to the crosswalk, to the driver's stopping position, and across the lanes the pedestrian was crossing. These measurements help accident reconstructionists calculate vehicle speed, braking distance, and how long the pedestrian was visible before impact.

Grocery stores, retail shops, gas stations, banks, restaurants, other commercial establishments and even homes sometimes maintain security cameras with surveillance video that may depict a pedestrian/motor vehicle collision.

Evidence from law enforcement often proves critical in pedestrian accident cases, including investigative reports, video, photographs, officer notes, police communications, and 911 calls and body cam video, which can often include statements and admissions made to police by the driver who struck the pedestrian. It is also critical to determine whether a driver who collided with a pedestrian was texting or using his cell phone, by expert examination of the phone and the driver's cell phone records.

Emergency and Long-term Medical Treatment for Pedestrian Strike Injuries

Pedestrian accident victims require immediate trauma care followed by extensive rehabilitation to address multiple severe injuries affecting nearly every body system.

Emergency response and transport to Temecula Valley Hospital or regional trauma centers like Inland Valley Medical Center or Riverside University Health System initiates critical care. Pedestrians struck by vehicles often arrive unconscious, in shock, or with life-threatening internal bleeding. Emergency physicians conduct rapid trauma assessments checking for brain injuries, spinal damage, internal bleeding, and fractures. CT scans of the head, chest, abdomen, and pelvis identify injuries requiring immediate surgical intervention. Many pedestrian accident victims require emergency surgery for internal bleeding, skull fractures with brain hemorrhage, or complex fractures within hours of the accident.

Orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, and reconstructive procedures often follow initial stabilization. Pelvic fractures may require external fixation devices drilled into hip bones to maintain alignment during healing. Femur and tibia fractures need surgical hardware placement—plates, rods, and screws—to stabilize bones. Many pedestrians require multiple surgeries over 6-24 months to address complications, remove hardware, or repair injuries missed initially. Traumatic brain injury treatment involves neurologist supervision, cognitive rehabilitation therapy, medications to prevent seizures, and in severe cases, ongoing nursing care for permanently disabled victims. Facial fracture reconstruction and scar revision surgeries address aesthetic impacts of striking windshields or pavement. Physical therapy extending 12-24 months helps restore mobility after severe lower extremity injuries, though many pedestrian accident victims never regain pre-injury function.

Psychological trauma treatment proves essential for pedestrians who've experienced the terror of being struck by a vehicle. Post-traumatic stress disorder manifests as fear of crossing streets, anxiety in parking lots, hypervigilance around traffic, nightmares of the accident, and in severe cases, agoraphobia preventing victims from leaving home. Children struck while walking to school may develop school refusal, separation anxiety, and developmental regression. Trauma-specialized psychologists provide cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, and family counseling to help victims process the traumatic event and rebuild confidence. Many pedestrian accident victims require ongoing mental health treatment for years, with total psychological treatment costs of $25,000 to $150,000. Insurance companies routinely challenge these claims as exaggerated, requiring expert testimony about PTSD causation and the legitimacy of ongoing treatment needs.

Compensation for Pedestrian Accident Victims

The experienced Attorneys at The Baum Law Firm seek to maximize compensation for all injuries and damages sustained by a pedestrian as a result of a collision with a motor vehicle driven by a negligent driver. This includes recovery of economic damages, loss of earnings, loss of earning capacity, and medical expenses, past, present and future. We also pursue recovery of general damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and permanency of injury. Each case is different, and the compensation depends upon the specific circumstances of the case and the nature and severity of injuries.

Why Choose The Baum Law Firm for Your Temecula Pedestrian Accident Case

Founded in 1959, The Baum Law Firm has recovered substantial compensation for innocent pedestrians who have been injured by negligent motor vehicle drivers in the Temecula area and throughout Riverside County. We also have excellent long term relationships with numerous local physicians and health providers who can diagnose and treat the complex injuries that often result from pedestrian collisions. Our experienced Temecula Personal Injury Attorneys strive to maximize each client's recovery, by pursuing all claims against the negligent driver and the driver's employer, if any, and against every available insurance policy.

All cases are handled on a contingent fee basis, and you pay no fees or costs unless we recover money in your pedestrian accident case. Contact The Baum Law Firm today for a free initial phone consultation with an experienced Temecula Pedestrian Accident Attorney. We look forward to speaking with you.