Niagara Falls Pedestrian Accident Lawyers
Pedestrian accidents in Niagara Falls can cause serious and permanent permanent injuries. A person walking across a street, through a parking lot, near a hotel, or along a busy road has no protection when they are hit by a vehicle.
Foster Injury Law is able to represent pedestrians injured in Niagara Falls and across Ontario. We help with accident benefits, insurance disputes, lawsuits against at-fault drivers, and serious injury claims involving fractures, brain injuries, spinal injuries, chronic pain, psychological trauma, and long-term disability.
Niagara Falls Has Heavy Pedestrian Traffic
Niagara Falls is one of the most pedestrian-heavy cities in Ontario. It is a local community, but it is also a major tourist destination with hotels, casinos, restaurants, attractions, parking lots, taxis, rideshare vehicles, tour buses, delivery vehicles, and visitors moving through the same streets.
That creates a different pedestrian risks than other Ontario cities. In Niagara Falls, pedestrians are not only walking near schools, plazas, bus stops, medical offices, and residential streets. They are also walking through dense tourist areas where drivers are unfamiliar with the roads, looking for parking, watching for signs, turning into hotel entrances, or moving through crowded entertainment areas.
Pedestrian accidents in Niagara Falls are more likely to occurnear Clifton Hill, Fallsview Boulevard, Victoria Avenue, Ferry Street, Stanley Avenue, Lundy’s Lane, Falls Avenue, Murray Street, the Niagara Parkway area, casino and hotel zones, commercial plazas, crosswalks, intersections, and parking lots near major attractions.
The touristy nature of Niagara Falls does not excuse careless driving. Drivers in busy pedestrian areas need to adjust to the conditions around them. That means watching for people crossing, slowing down where needed, yielding when required, and taking extra care around hotels, attractions, restaurants, intersections, and parking areas.
Pedestrian Accident Claims in Niagara Falls
A pedestrian injured by a vehicle in Ontario may have two claims.
The first is an accident benefits claim. Accident benefits are available through Ontario’s no-fault insurance system. Fault does not prevent an injured pedestrian from applying. The claim may go through the pedestrian’s own auto insurer, a household policy, the insurer for the vehicle that struck them, or another insurer under Ontario’s priority rules.
Accident benefits can help pay for medical treatment, rehabilitation, income replacement benefits, attendant care, psychological treatment, assistive devices, and other support after the collision.
The second is a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. This claim is about negligence and damages. A lawsuit seeks compensation for pain and suffering, income loss, loss of future earning capacity, future care costs, out-of-pocket expenses, housekeeping losses, and Family Law Act claims for close family members.
Accident benefits provide insurance coverage after the collision. The lawsuit is the claim against the driver who caused or contributed to the pedestrian accident.
Why Pedestrian Accident Cases Are Often Disputed
Pedestrian accident cases can be aggressively defended by insurance companies. They often like to argue that the pedestrian crossed outside a crosswalk, entered the road suddenly, failed to watch for traffic, wore dark clothing, crossed against a signal, or was partly responsible.
However, drivers are required to keep a proper lookout, drive at a safe speed, obey traffic controls, yield when required, and take reasonable care around pedestrians.
In Niagara Falls, the pedestrian environment can be especially important. A driver travelling through a hotel district, casino area, tourist corridor, restaurant area, parking lot, or busy crosswalk should expect pedestrians nearby. A driver who is unfamiliar with Niagara Falls streets still has to drive safely.
Evidence can commonly include
traffic signal timing
crosswalk location
turning movement
dash camera footage
nearby surveillance footage
witness statements
police evidence
vehicle damage
scene photographs
medical records
The earlier evidence is preserved, the better. Video footage from hotels, restaurants, casinos, parking lots, and businesses can disappear quickly.
Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries
Pedestrian injuries are frequently severe since the force of the impact is only absorbed by the person’s body. A pedestrian could be thrown onto the road, into another vehicle, onto a curb, or against the vehicle itself.
Common injuries include:
fractures to the legs, hips, pelvis, arms, ribs, or spine
traumatic brain injuries and concussions
disc injuries and nerve injuries
shoulder, knee, ankle, and wrist injuries
internal injuries
facial injuries, scarring, and dental injuries
chronic pain
post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disruption
Some pedestrians will need to undergo surgery, inpatient rehabilitation, mobility devices, home modifications, attendant care, psychological treatment, occupational therapy, or long-term help with daily activities.
In the most serious cases, the injuries will qualify as a catastrophic impairment under Ontario’s accident benefits system. That can significantly increase the medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits available to the injured person.
What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident in Niagara Falls
Get medical attention right away. Some injuries are obvious at the scene. Others become clearer over the next several days, especially concussion symptoms, back and neck pain, psychological symptoms, sleep problems, and pain that worsens after the initial shock wears off.
Report the incident and obtain the driver’s insurance information. Keep photographs of the scene, vehicle, injuries, clothing, traffic lights, crosswalk, road layout, and anything else that may become important.
If the collision happened near a hotel, casino, restaurant, plaza, parking lot, or tourist attraction, video footage may exist. That footage should be requested before it is deleted.
The accident benefits process should also be started quickly. In Ontario, injured people are expected to notify the insurer within 7 days and submit the completed accident benefits application within 30 days after receiving the forms. Missing a deadline does not always destroy the claim, but it can create problems that should have been avoided.
Hospitals, Police, and Emergency Response in Niagara Falls
Injured pedestrians in Niagara Falls may be taken to Niagara Falls Hospital, part of Niagara Health. More serious trauma cases might be transferred to another hospital for specialized care.
Police investigations are generally handled by the Niagara Regional Police Service. Serious pedestrian collisions may involve witness statements, scene photographs, vehicle evidence, video footage, driver statements, and collision reconstruction.
The police investigation is important, but it is only one part of the civil claim. A serious injury case also depends on medical records, rehabilitation evidence, income loss documents, expert reports, future care evidence, and proof of how the injury has changed the person’s life.
Accident Benefits for Injured Pedestrians
A pedestrian injured by a motor vehicle is entitled to accident benefits even if they do not own a vehicle and or partly at fault.
Accident benefits pay for treatment and support while the injury claim is ongoing. Depending on the case, benefits may include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychological treatment, medication expenses, assistive devices, income replacement benefits, attendant care, and other reasonable expenses.
In serious cases, catastrophic impairment should be considered. A catastrophic designation can increase the amount of available medical, rehabilitation, and attendant care benefits. This can be important in cases involving severe brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, blindness, severe psychological injury, or a combination of serious impairments.
Lawsuits Against At-Fault Drivers
A pedestrian may also have a personal injury lawsuit against the driver who caused the collision. These claims often focus on speeding, distracted driving, failure to yield, unsafe turns, poor lookout, traffic signal violations, unsafe parking lot movements, or driving too fast for the conditions.
In Niagara Falls, some claims involve fact patterns that are common in tourist-heavy areas. These include drivers turning into hotel driveways, taxis or rideshare vehicles stopping or pulling away, tour bus traffic, visitors searching for parking, vehicles moving through crowded commercial areas, and pedestrians crossing between attractions.
A lawsuit can claim damages for pain and suffering, income loss, reduced earning capacity, treatment expenses, future care, housekeeping losses, home maintenance losses, and family claims.
Ontario motor vehicle accident lawsuits also have special rules. Pain and suffering claims are subject to the statutory threshold and deductible unless an exception applies. Income loss claims and health care claims also need to be calculated under Ontario’s motor vehicle claim rules.
How Foster Injury Law Helps
The personal injury lawyers at Foster Injury Law helps pedestrians and families with the accident benefits claim and the lawsuit against the at-fault driver. We help with:
identifying the correct accident benefits insurer
preparing accident benefits forms
dealing with treatment denials
reviewing police and collision evidence
requesting video footage
obtaining medical records
working with medical and rehabilitation experts
proving income loss
assessing catastrophic impairment
negotiating with insurers
starting a lawsuit
preparing the case for settlement, mediation, or trial
Speak With a Niagara Falls Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
If you or a family member was injured as a pedestrian in Niagara Falls, Foster Injury Law can help you understand the insurance process, the accident benefits claim, and the lawsuit against the at-fault driver.
We represent pedestrians injured in Niagara Falls and throughout Ontario. Contact Foster Injury Law for a free consultation.
Related Pages
Ontario Pedestrian Accident Lawyers