Child Pedestrian Accidents Near Schools And Crosswalks
Children who walk to school, cross neighborhood streets, or use crosswalks are at greater risk if drivers do not slow down, yield, or pay attention. While a crash between two cars might only cause minor damage, it can lead to serious injuries when a child is involved. These injuries often have long-term effects on a child’s development, education, mobility, and overall quality of life, going far beyond just medical bills.
Michigan law protects pedestrians, especially children, and sets clear rules for drivers near crosswalks, intersections, school crossings, and places where children are likely to be. If a driver breaks these rules and a child is hurt, we can seek compensation through Michigan’s no-fault insurance system and, if the law allows, by making a claim against the driver who caused the accident in Detroit.
Why Child Pedestrian Accidents Near Schools Are So Serious
Children often have trouble judging speed, distance, or traffic the way adults do. Drivers near schools, playgrounds, bus stops, or crosswalks should expect children to be present and adjust their driving. Parked cars, school buses, landscaping, weather, or other vehicles can also make it harder to see children.
Michigan’s basic speed law says drivers must go at a safe speed for the current traffic, road, and weather conditions. Drivers also need to be able to stop safely within the distance they can see ahead, as stated in MCL 257.627. Driving too fast near schools or where there are many pedestrians makes accidents more likely and can make injuries to children much worse.
Michigan Law Protects Children Using Crosswalks And Pedestrian Signals
Michigan traffic laws establish specific rules governing pedestrian movement at controlled intersections. Under MCL 257.613, pedestrians facing a green signal may cross within a marked or unmarked crosswalk. Michigan law also provides that vehicles making permitted movements through an intersection must yield to pedestrians and bicyclists who are lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk under MCL 257.612.
Michigan law separately recognizes designated school crossings and crossing guards. MCL 257.613a addresses the establishment of school crossings, while related provisions govern school crossing guards and require motorists to obey their directions. These rules can become important evidence when a driver strikes a child near a school entrance or designated crossing.
Getting a traffic ticket does not automatically decide who is responsible in a civil injury case. However, breaking traffic laws can be important evidence when we look into who was at fault.
Common Causes Of Child Pedestrian Accidents
Many accidents involving child pedestrians can be prevented. We often check if the driver was speeding, distracted, turned without looking at the crosswalk, failed to stop, or was not paying attention to children.
Other accidents happen when a driver goes around stopped traffic near a school, checks their phone, ignores a crossing guard, or backs out of a parking spot without looking carefully. School pickup and drop-off times are especially risky because cars, buses, parents, and children are all moving in different directions.
What Evidence Can Prove A Driver Was At Fault?
Child pedestrian claims often require quick evidence preservation. Video from schools, nearby homes, businesses, buses, traffic cameras, or dashboard cameras may show exactly where the child was walking and what the driver was doing before impact.
We also look at photos, skid marks, vehicle damage, police reports, witness statements, electronic data from the car, cell phone records, traffic signals, and where school-zone signs or crosswalks are located. In serious cases, experts may recreate the crash to figure out the speed, how far the driver could see, braking, and whether the driver had enough time to avoid the accident.
Prompt investigation matters because surveillance footage can be erased and witness memories can fade.
Michigan No-Fault Benefits May Cover An Injured Child Pedestrian
Michigan’s no-fault system can provide benefits to pedestrians injured by motor vehicles. Under MCL 500.3115, a person who suffers accidental bodily injury while not occupying a motor vehicle may pursue Personal Protection Insurance benefits through the applicable no-fault framework, including the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan in circumstances covered by the statute.
Depending on the applicable coverage and circumstances, PIP benefits may help pay for accident-related medical care, rehabilitation, attendant care, and other allowable expenses.
For a child with serious injuries, these benefits can become especially important because treatment may continue for months or years. We examine all available insurance sources so the family understands which benefits may apply.
When A Child Can Bring A Claim Against The At-Fault Driver
Michigan’s No-Fault Act also permits claims against negligent drivers for certain damages when the statutory threshold is met.
Under MCL 500.3135, a person may pursue noneconomic damages when the accident causes death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of body function. Michigan law defines and regulates these third-party claims through that statute.
For a child, serious injuries may include traumatic brain injuries, fractures, spinal injuries, internal organ damage, permanent scarring, nerve injuries, or lasting mobility limitations. The effect on normal life is especially important because a severe injury can interfere with school, sports, friendships, independence, and normal childhood activities.
Damages In A Serious Child Pedestrian Injury Case
A serious pedestrian claim should consider both current losses and what the child may face in the future. Immediate treatment can involve emergency transportation, hospitalization, surgery, orthopedic care, neurological treatment, physical therapy, and rehabilitation.
Long-term damages may involve future medical procedures, ongoing therapy, permanent disability, scarring, pain and suffering, psychological harm, educational limitations, and reduced earning capacity later in life.
We work to identify the full impact of the injury before settlement discussions become final. Settling a serious childhood injury too early can create problems if future treatment or permanent limitations have not yet been fully understood.
What If The Driver Blames The Child?
Insurance companies sometimes argue that a child suddenly entered the roadway or failed to use a crossing properly. Those allegations should not simply be accepted.
The circumstances surrounding the crash matter, including the child’s age, the driver’s speed, visibility, traffic controls, school-zone warnings, crossing guards, and whether the motorist should reasonably have anticipated children in the area. Michigan’s comparative-fault principles can affect personal injury claims, but cases involving children require close analysis of the child’s conduct and legal capacity in light of the facts.
We investigate those issues carefully before allowing an insurer to shift responsibility away from a negligent driver.
Frequently Asked Questions About Child Pedestrian Accidents Near Schools And Crosswalks
What Should We Do If Our Child Was Hit By A Car Near A School?
We recommend obtaining immediate medical care even if the injuries do not initially appear severe. Some head, orthopedic, and internal injuries may not be obvious at the scene. Families should also obtain the police report, photograph the location, identify witnesses, preserve clothing or damaged belongings, and avoid giving detailed recorded statements to the driver’s insurance company before understanding their rights. We can also move quickly to request surveillance footage from the school, nearby businesses, homes, buses, or other sources before it is deleted.
Can We Bring A Claim If Our Child Was Hit Inside A Crosswalk?
Potentially, yes. Michigan law requires vehicles to yield to pedestrians lawfully within certain crosswalks and regulates pedestrian movement through traffic signals under MCL 257.612 and MCL 257.613. Whether a driver is legally responsible depends on the specific facts, including the traffic signal, the child’s location, the driver’s movement, visibility, speed, and other evidence. A marked crosswalk can be powerful evidence, but we still investigate the entire collision.
What If Our Child Was Hit Outside A Marked Crosswalk?
Being outside a marked crosswalk does not automatically prevent a claim. Liability depends on how the collision happened and whether the driver exercised reasonable care under the circumstances. A motorist may still have been speeding, distracted, impaired, or driving too fast for conditions. We examine sight lines, vehicle speed, where the child entered the roadway, and whether the driver had time to respond before determining how fault may be allocated.
Can Michigan No-Fault Insurance Pay For Our Child’s Medical Treatment?
Michigan’s no-fault system may provide PIP benefits to pedestrians injured by motor vehicles. MCL 500.3115 addresses benefits for individuals injured while not occupants of vehicles and directs certain claims through the Assigned Claims Plan. The proper source of benefits depends on the facts and available insurance. Because serious childhood injuries may involve extensive rehabilitation and future care, we review available coverage carefully.
Can We Recover Compensation For Permanent Scarring Or Disability?
Yes, depending on the facts and severity of the injury. Under MCL 500.3135, Michigan permits certain third-party claims when an accident causes death, permanent serious disfigurement, or serious impairment of body function. A child who suffers permanent scars, neurological damage, mobility problems, or another significant lasting injury may have a claim for pain and suffering and other legally recoverable losses. Future medical needs and the effect on the child’s development should also be considered.
Talk To Ravid & Associates, P.C. About A Child Pedestrian Injury Claim
When a child is struck by a vehicle, the consequences may affect the entire family for years. We investigate how the collision occurred, preserve evidence, identify available insurance coverage, and evaluate both immediate and long-term damages. Our goal is to hold negligent drivers accountable while protecting the child’s right to compensation for the full effect of the injuries.
If your child was struck by a car near a school, crosswalk, intersection, parking lot, or neighborhood street, contact our Detroit pedestrian injury attorneys at Ravid & Associates, P.C. by calling (248) 948-9696 to receive your free consultation. We represent injured children and their families in Detroit and throughout the entire state of Michigan from our office location in Southfield, Michigan. We can review what happened, explain the insurance and liability issues, and determine what legal options may be available.
