Advocating And Protecting Your Rights For Over 45 Years

Experienced Michigan Pedestrian Accident Attorneys

If you or someone you love was struck and harmed by a vehicle while walking, you need a legal team that understands Michigan pedestrian laws and will challenge police reports that wrongfully blame victims.

Bahrie Law, PLLC, has recovered millions for pedestrian accident victims, including a settlements exceeding $1 million after the police initially placed fault on the pedestrian.

Our personal injury lawyers recognize that police reports are not infallible. We conduct thorough investigations to uncover the truth and hold negligent drivers accountable. With offices in Livonia and Lansing, we serve clients in Detroit and throughout the state of Michigan.

Understanding Pedestrian Rights In Michigan

In Michigan, a pedestrian is defined as any person traveling on foot. This also includes individuals using skis, skates, rollerblades, wheelchairs, or those riding horses or using horse-drawn vehicles.

What Constitutes A Crosswalk In Michigan?

Many pedestrian accidents occur at intersections where motorists fail to recognize pedestrian rights. Under Michigan law, a crosswalk exists at every intersection – whether marked or unmarked – unless specifically prohibited by signage. This critical legal definition often contradicts what investigating officers document in accident reports.

Main Causes Of Pedestrian Accidents

Many pedestrian accidents occur because drivers fail to pay proper attention or disregard traffic safety laws, leading to severe consequences.

Driver Negligence: Failing to pay attention or disregarding traffic laws, often leading to severe consequences.
Speeding: Particularly in urban areas with dense pedestrian activity, increasing the risk of collisions.
Ignoring Traffic Signals: Rushing through intersections or ignoring stop signs can result in pedestrian accidents.
Distracted Driving: Using cell phones or texting while driving diverts focus from the road.
Impaired Driving: Alcohol or drug impairment reduces reflexes and decision-making abilities.
Poor Weather Conditions: Rain, snow, or fog can decrease visibility and make roads slippery.
Low Visibility: Pedestrians wearing dark clothing at night are harder for drivers to see.
Improper Turns: Drivers making left turns at intersections may overlook pedestrians.
Road Construction: Can reroute pedestrians into unexpected areas, catching drivers off guard.

Understanding these factors is crucial for developing strategies to enhance road safety for both pedestrians and drivers.

Motorist Responsibilities When Pedestrians Are Present

Michigan law imposes specific duties on drivers when pedestrians are present:

Yield right-of-way to all pedestrians in crosswalks
Stop completely before reaching the crosswalk at intersections
Maintain appropriate speeds for conditions and stopping distances
Adjust speed when pedestrians are nearby
Follow all traffic signals, signs and road markings

When motorists violate these responsibilities and cause injuries, Bahrie Law, PLLC, works diligently to establish liability and secure maximum compensation for victims.

Why Police Reports Often Misplace Blame

In many pedestrian accidents, initial police reports incorrectly assign fault to the pedestrian. This happens for various reasons, including:

Incomplete witness statements
Misunderstanding of Michigan crosswalk laws
Bias favoring driver accounts
Insufficient investigation at the scene

Our injury lawyers thoroughly examine these reports and gather additional evidence to build stronger cases that reflect what truly happened.

How Do I Get A Copy Of The Police Report After A Pedestrian Accident?

The precise form that you need is called a UD-10 Traffic Crash Report. Generally, there are two ways that you can request this:

The first way is to contact your local police department. The records clerk should be able to inform you about Freedom of Information Act policies and the steps you need to take to obtain a crash report.
The second is to go online and purchase a traffic crash report through the Michigan State Police website. You’ll need to register for this service and pay a $15 administration fee.

A lawyer from Bahrie Law, PLLC in Michigan can help you with these processes.

Get Help After A Pedestrian Accident

At Bahrie Law, PLLC, we stand firmly with pedestrian accident victims. Call 888-473-1289 for a free consultation with our experienced Livonia and Lansing-based injury attorneys or use our online contact form.

Pedestrian Accident Case Result

$1 Million Settlement For Policy Limits Auto-Pedestrian Case On The Eve Of Trial, After Best Offer Of $50,000 Pre-Suit

First, they deny, then they delay, and then they depose.

We are all familiar with this response from the insurance industry where they are willing to pay their attorneys hundreds of thousands of dollars to litigate claims and use the interest they saved to reimburse themselves for the cost of litigation.

On a sunny Sunday summer afternoon when Covid was raging, a pedestrian who is a nuclear engineer, married to a world-famous physician, was three houses from his home about to complete his usual 4 mile walk, when he was struck while he was crossing the street.

A retired doctor living in his upscale neighborhood with wide winding streets that allowed access to cross the street by use of driveway aprons directly across from cut outs in the sidewalk that would allow pedestrians and bicycles to cross the street. The driver informed the police officer that the pedestrian walked out in front of her vehicle and she had no chance to avoid the collision. The pedestrian informed the police officer that he looked, but did not see the oncoming vehicle.

The crash report claimed that the incident did not occur in a crosswalk, that it was not at an intersection, the pedestrian was issued a hazardous action for being at fault and the injuries were minor, even though the officer observed the ambulance take him away to the hospital.

The pedestrian spent weeks in the hospital and in rehabilitation. He was given extensive physical therapy, cognitive therapy and speech therapy. He was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a medial collateral ligament tear, a skull fracture with subarachnoid hemorrhage, extensive bruising, fractured vertebrae, and a traumatic brain injury. He had no memory of the crash.

We presented the defense attorney with a 135-page summary, more than 1,000 pages of medical records and a report from Daniel Lee PhD a crash reconstruction expert with more than 50 years of experience.

The defense attorney suggested we could resolve this case with facilitation to which we agreed. However, after a six month wait for the facilitation it was over within 15 minutes with the last offer of $50,000.

After filing the complaint, it was a four month wait before the defense attorney would produce the driver for a deposition. That required a court order and a second order to show cause for their failure to agree to follow the court order. While walking out of the courtroom, the defense attorney claimed the witness would not be available because she would be out of state. The defense attorney was not able to say where or why and after many emails claimed she had a long-standing medical appointment in Ann Arbor, so we agreed to start the deposition later in the day.

The driver was confronted with a 911 recording where she was recorded saying “I am so sorry, I thought you saw me coming and thought you would stop walking” she testified that she saw the pedestrian walking on the sidewalk, saw him turn down the driveway apron while walking, that he glanced in her direction and continued walking. She admitted that they made no eye contact and that the pedestrian showed no sign that he saw her as he kept walking. So, she continued driving 25 mph and took her eyes off the walking pedestrian to look at the road ahead that had no traffic. She then testified that he suddenly “blossom” in front of her vehicle. That was later changed by the defense attorney, claiming that the pedestrian walked into the side of her vehicle. When she finally realized she was about to strike the pedestrian, she swerved and braked, but it was too late. She threw the pedestrian backwards onto the street.

After the driver testified to her medical conditions with a list of the prescriptions, she was asked “are there any other conditions that would’ve affected your ability to drive on that occasion?” She refused to answer.

Finally, after three tries the defense attorney, instructed her not to answer
because it was irrelevant and an invasion of her privacy. We are not successful in our motion to request a copy of all of her medical records.

She went on to testify that there was damage to her vehicle and would allow us to view the vehicle after the deposition. However, the defense attorney and driver disappeared after the deposition before we could view the vehicle. It was six months more before court orders required production of the vehicle and required a driving test performed by our expert. We found cracks in the front grill, consistent with the crash.

The driver claimed she had no memory of where she was coming from before the crash. Her daughter who lived with her could not remember where her mother was coming from or where her mother spent the night. Her daughter could not even remember where she had spent the night before the crash. Her best friend of more than 50 years a close confidant claimed she had no notice of the crash until she received the deposition notice years later. She testified that she could not remember making the call or what they discussed. She cannot explain why her personal number had made the call on the day of the crash.

The driver admitted that her daughter was a co-owner of the vehicle. It was four months before we finally obtained the correct address for the out-of-state daughter. It was another four months and more motions and court orders before we could obtain her deposition. She testified that she had no memory of where her mother was coming from, but that her mother was very distraught, and uncharacteristically was unable to talk through the issues.

After more motions and court orders, the driver was required to appear for a driving test with our expert sitting in the front seat. A course was set up and she was required to drive 25 mph then suddenly brake and swerve on command. Dr. Lee had given many driving tests when asked by the Secretary of State to determine if licenses should be revoked. To our surprise, she passed with flying colors.

The defense attorney requested 130 medical authorizations and scheduled more than 30 depositions of all witnesses, medical providers, and every friend that was mentioned by the plaintiffs. All of their friends were highly educated. A stellar group of friends who had attained great success in their occupations. The defense attorney commented after the depositions of the plaintiff that they were two of the most educated pleasant people should ever deposed.

Defense medical exams were scheduled and for four months the defense attorney claimed that she could not produce the report because it had not yet been written. After more motions, the report was produced as we were walking to the courtroom asking for sanctions. The report was even more favorable than some of our treating doctors.
Another complicating factor was the fact that we had three different judges and would have to educate each new judge to the issues and the case. Finally, after more months we obtained a court order requiring the driver to allow us to download her cell phone.

Prior to filing suit, we sent the carrier a letter requiring the driver to preserve the cell phone and avoid any spoilation. However, the defense attorney claimed they did not inform their insured because he had no legal duty to do so. Our cell phone expert found that the phone produced had been purchased weeks after the crash and a notice to preserve that phone was sent to the carrier.

After many more months and motions and court orders were able to obtain the daughter‘s cell phone. But it too was a new phone obtained shortly after the crash. We are now on our fourth year of litigation with more than 30 depositions, 30 motions, and hundreds of emails, telephone calls and letters. We have now had eight trial adjournments and we were informed that we had the biggest file in the clerk’s office. They would grimace when they saw us appear with reams of motions.

Then came the Christmas miracle. The daughter informed us that she had “found” her original phone, and turned it in for an evaluation. The texts five days after the crash showed the driver was having terrible side effects from a medical condition. She had been back to the University of Michigan to determine why her side effects were so severe. After four years of thinking about this every day and why someone would not know where they were coming from we now had our answer.

After four years of litigation, three judges, 25 depositions, 30 motions and court appearances and hundreds of emails, telephone calls, and correspondence, facilitation occurs with their initial offer going from $50,000 to $100,000. We partnered with a trial specialist Jon Marko and on the eve of trial, the case settled for policy limits of $1,000,000.

What time for Jon Marko to work his magic. After a facilitation that was off and on for 30 days. The carrier finally agreed to pay the policy limits of $1 million.

The outcome of this case underscores the resilience and tenacity required in the face of insurance companies’ reluctance to fairly compensate victims. It serves as a reminder that the path to justice can often be long and arduous, demanding unwavering commitment and expertise.

In this instance, the collaborative efforts with trial specialist Jon Marko were pivotal in achieving a settlement that truly reflected the extent of the injuries and the impact on the plaintiff’s life. This case not only highlights the importance of thorough investigation and advocacy but also sets a precedent for future pedestrian accident claims in Michigan.

Furthermore, this victory is a testament to the power of holding negligent parties accountable, ensuring that victims receive the restitution they deserve. It illustrates the importance of comprehensive legal representation and the role it plays in navigating the complexities of personal injury law. Our firm remains dedicated to advocating for pedestrian accident victims, tirelessly working to dismantle the barriers insurance companies often erect, and striving to secure justice and rightful compensation for those affected.

“Thank you, Ron, for the opportunity to work with you and your son. It was a GREAT result and a GREAT time!!!!!” – Attorney Jon Marko