According to a recent study conducted by the Tri State Transportation Campaign, Nassau County in Long Island, NY was found to be one of the most unsafe places in the country for senior pedestrians aged 60 and older. For this reason, those who belong to the older population of Long Island need a personal injury lawyer who can explain and defend their rights in court when the need arises.
The study conducted by the Tri State Transportation Campaign found that 45 percent of the over 80 pedestrians reported to have been killed in Nassau County from 2007 to 2009 were aged 60 and older. Furthermore, researchers revealed that five pedestrians out of every 100,000 individuals in the area aged 60 and above will get hit by a car and die. This statistic is more than twice the national average for the senior citizen population. On Sunrise Highway and Hempstead Turnpike, which are two of the major six-lane roads in Long Island, the odds are even worse.
To reduce the number of automobile and pedestrian-related accidents among senior citizens in Nassau County, safety advocates have started calling for the New York Department of Transportation to push through with its plan to expand its Safe Seniors program, which aims to make walking to common destinations easier and safer for the older population of Long Island.
Motorists and pedestrians have been also called to observe traffic rules and make the roadways safer for all users, including bicyclists and public transport commuters in Long Island. With a personal injury lawyer, victims of car and pedestrian-related accidents can get help in filing their claims and gathering the evidence needed to support their cases.
Senior citizens who have been involved in a car accident in Long Island must give their personal injury attorneys the necessary documents needed to prove that their case has enough merit, and receive proper compensation for it. These include damages for medical bills, emotional trauma, and lost wages. Aside from these, the lawyers can also gather and examine photographs from the scene of the accident, police reports, eyewitness statements, medical records and photographs of the victim's injuries, and possibly an expert witness statement from an accident reconstruction expert.
Driving and getting around on foot can be made safer for senior citizens in Long Island through personal injury attorneys from a law firm ready to provide legal help for those who have been involved in pedestrian and automobile accidents.
Source by Jack M Patterson