Texas residents may assume that, if a car strikes a person on foot, the law will protect the victim and ensure that the driver at fault faces consequences for his or her actions. While this is not an unreasonable assumption, it is not always the case. When it comes to pedestrian accidents, criminal courts may not be able to help a victim and his or her family in the quest for justice.
Several months ago, a Texas mother and her two children were part of a crowd of pedestrians making their way toward the local elementary school. Suddenly, a male driver, whom police later described as "disoriented," hit the gas instead of the brake. He plowed into the mother and children.
The children suffered serious injury as a result, but sadly, and perhaps more traumatic, they watched their mother suffer an injury so severe that she was killed as a result. The woman's husband was shocked when police informed him no criminal charges would be levied against the driver at fault because they could produce no evidence that he intended to cause harm and wasn't merely confused. Now, the man and his children must somehow overcome the loss of a loving wife and mother while the driver who killed her faces no legal consequences.
In cases such as this, survivors are forced to seek justice on their own in civil court. Many choose to seek the aid of an experienced attorney. An attorney can help the family of the deceased explain how the careless actions of a driver cost them a family member and left them to face medical bills, funeral expenses and other costs that may occur as the result of pedestrian accidents.
