California student injured by car while crossing street

The most important aspect of many San Francisco residents’ lives is their children. Parents expect their children will be safe when they send them off to school, and it can be devastating when that is not the case.

Recently, for example, a California student was injured after a motor vehicle accident occurred outside the student’s high school. The student was crossing a street at the time, when a car struck the student. As a result, the student suffered a leg injury that required the student to be taken to the hospital, although it was unclear what the extent of the student’s injuries were after the incident.

Typically, when individuals are injured by a car while the person is crossing the street, the person may have a cause of action to assert against the driver of the car. If the injured person can show the injuries were caused by the driver’s failure to follow the standard of care, the injured person can obtain compensation for his or her injuries.

One issue that often comes up in these types of cases is whether the pedestrian was exercising his or her duty of care at the time. Many states follow what are known as contributory or comparative negligence rules, which means the injured person’s fault in the accident can reduce the amount of damages the person recovers in the accident.

There are special rules in this arena when it comes to children, however, and even with adults these determinations are always very fact-dependent. Accordingly, individuals who are injured should work with a personal injury attorney to determine what issues may arise in their case and how to best present their case in court.

Source: NBC Los Angeles, “Student struck, injured by car in South Los Angeles,” Nyree Arabian & Andrew Lopez, Feb. 24, 2014