Hamilton Wrongful Death Lawyer: Fatal Pedestrian Accidents

Hamilton Wrongful Death Lawyers – Fighting for Families Who’ve Lost Loved Ones Since 2003. No Fees Unless We Win.

Free Consultations Provincewide. Call 905-333-8888 or Send us a Message Today.

If your loved one has died after getting hit by a Truck or Car – We can help. We’ve Recovered Millions of Families all across Ontario since 2003.

There’s no doubt that the unexpected death of a loved one, be it a child or adult, is a devastating scenario that nobody prepares for.  The emotional suffering is often unbearable. Surviving family members often feel overwhelmed with disbelief, anger and sadness – emotions which can be brutally painful for surviving family members to deal with.

However, losing a loved one because someone else is negligent or careless with their vehicle makes matters much, much worse.  Not only are family members suffering from a roller coaster of extreme emotions after the loss of a loved one, but now, loved ones are suffering from the unexpected loss of their loved one in a pedestrian accident that could have been prevented. There will be many, many questions, and your family will want answers – and justice. They will want to know why this pedestrian accident happened, why their loved one was taken from them and how they are expected to move on without the love and support of their deceased family member.

If you have lost a loved one who was hit by a car or truck, you must contact our Hamilton pedestrian accident fatalities lawyer to learn your rights. We are experts in wrongful death law –  an area of law that can be extremely complex.

What is a pedestrian wrongful death case in Ontario?

The term “wrongful death” is an American term. In Ontario, wrongful death law is governed by the Family Law Act. The Family Law Act provides the right of the dependence of the deceased to sue in tort, or in other words, file a lawsuit against the person that caused the death of your loved one. In Ontario, a spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters of the deceased are entitled to recover losses resulting from the death of their loved one. Compensation can be economic and non-economic.

Unlike when somebody is charged criminally for causing the death of someone, a civil lawsuit leads solely to an award of compensation – or money – for family members. If you and your family are successful in your wrongful death lawsuit, a judge or jury will award the responsible party’s insurance company to pay a sum of money to you and your family.

As discussed in detail below, compensation can be for the loss of care guidance and companionship suffered by loved ones, damages for medical bills, funeral costs, economic loss, loss of income for both the deceased and the spouse, housekeeping losses, and damages for the estate.

As your Hamilton wrongful death lawyers serving Ontario, we would gather the evidence and engage in fact-finding, identify the parties responsible for the death of your loved one, file suit for negligence caused by a car accident, truck accident, bicycle accident, or motorcycle accident, complete an investigation, challenge the other side’s defences, try to negotiate a favourable settlement for family members and if that does not work, represent you at a trial by judge or jury.

Pedestrian accidents in Ontario are alarmingly high.

Pedestrian fatalities are alarmingly high and have been on the rise consistently over the past several years. CBC News reported last year that the numbers were becoming “intolerable” and that more pedestrians have been killed in tragic, preventable accidents year over year. In Ontario, pedestrians account for more than half of all the deaths on city-controlled roads.

A pedestrian in Ontario can be classified as someone walking or not in or upon a motorized vehicle or otherwise propelled. A pedestrian can also be classified as a person in a non-motorized wheelchair or a cyclist. The Ontario H.T.A.’s definition of “bicycle” includes a tricycle, a unicycle, and a power-assisted bicycle but does not include a motor-assisted bicycle (“bicyclette”).

The Ontario Road Safety Research Office reported that in 2018, 65,580 vehicles in Ontario were involved in fatal and serious injury collisions. 578 people were killed, 117 (20.2% of total fatalities) being pedestrians.  Consider the following statistics, which were reported a few years ago:

• 75% of pedestrian deaths happened on urban roads;
• 60% of pedestrians who died were trying to cross the road;
• 35% of pedestrians who died were over 65 years old;
• 63% of pedestrians killed at intersections were 65 or older;
• 6% of pedestrians who died were under 16 years old;
• 20% of pedestrians who died ran out into the street;
• 33% of fatally injured pedestrians contributed to the accident that killed them
• 33% of pedestrians that were killed were struck by a driver who had committed a traffic violation before the accident
• 60% of pedestrians died at night, and
• 22% of fatally injured pedestrians had been drinking
• Pedestrian deaths were slightly more predominant in males (55%) than females (45%)

Some Major Causes of Pedestrian Wrongful Death Fatalities in Ontario

Although pedestrian accident deaths are on the rise in Ontario, the vast majority of fatal pedestrian accidents are caused by a handful of contributing factors. Common causes of pedestrian accidents can normally be linked to some sort of negligence or distraction, such as:

Distracted Driving – Distracted drivers are extremely dangerous to pedestrians and are the cause of many pedestrian deaths in Hamilton and across Ontario. They tend to ignore traffic control devices (traffic lights and stop signs), ignore posted speed limits, and fail to yield the right of way appropriately.  Distracted driving is not just illegal -it is negligent. In Ontario, if distracted driving or texting was a contributing factor in the death of a loved one, you may be entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

Speeding – speeding is often a factor in pedestrian death cases.  In Ontario, 67% of the deaths occurred on roads with posted speeds beyond 50 km/hr and only 5% on roads below 50 km/hr. Speeding is illegal and can be considered careless driving when it leads to a pedestrian accident. Such accidents are preventable. Families who have lost loved ones who were pedestrians killed in car accidents caused by speeding or a driver’s failure to control their speed deserve compensation for their losses.

Failure to yield – was identified as a factor in approximately 21% of all deaths in Ontario in 2016. This occurred when vehicles were turning right (7%), left (7%), going straight through intersections (4%), and at pedestrian crosswalks (3%). Almost all failure-to-yield pedestrian accidents can be attributed to the vehicle’s driver.

Left Turns – Left-turning collisions between cars and people on foot are common because motorists typically focus on oncoming vehicles prior to making the maneuver. Drivers typically look right.

Impaired Driving – When a drunk driver causes an unnecessary death, Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers drunk driving auto accident lawyers are available to prosecute your case and obtain compensatory and punitive damages for your losses. If you’ve lost a family member because another person was impaired, please call us to discuss your family’s legal rights with an experienced Hamilton wrongful death lawyer.

Bicycle accidents – cyclists are highly vulnerable and at a high risk of crush injuries, orthopedic injuries and broken bones, brain injury, spinal cord damage and death when there is an auto accident.

Investigating Fault in an Ontario Pedestrian Wrongful Death Case

Before your family can receive the financial compensation it deserves, our wrongful death lawyers will need to investigate the issue of fault and liability fully. Proving liability requires clear and convincing evidence that the defendant was negligent or careless on a balance of probabilities. In Ontario, drivers must exercise prudent care and act as reasonable drivers, as they have a duty of care to other motorists and pedestrians on the road. We must prove that the driver breached his or her duty of care (i.e. was negligent) and that breach caused the accident.

Once you retain a Lalande Personal Injury lawyer to prosecute your loved one’s wrongful death case, several steps need to be taken to determine the extent of the negligent driver’s liability. For example, we need to secure any video footage of the accident, either taken by dashcam or local surveillance cameras. Our wrongful death lawyers would then contact local police authorities to obtain disclosure of the complete motor vehicle report.

In addition, our investigators would interview the appropriate witnesses who may have witnessed the accident. If the defendant was charged, and once those charges have been dealt with accordingly by our Courts, we would then ask a local Superior Court Judge to release the complete police file (including officer’s notes, investigation notes, drawings, communication, interviews, statements, photos and videos in their possession).

Recovering Compensation in Pedestrian Wrongful Death Cases in Ontario

A wrongful death lawsuit in Ontario is intended to help a family that has lost a loved one recover compensation for their losses and to help protect them into the future. The most common types of accidents that lead to wrongful death lawsuits in Hamilton and Ontario are car accidents, such as fatal traffic accidents with pedestrians caused by negligent or drunk drivers.

In Ontario, family members are entitled to claim compensation for the loss of care, guidance and companionship of their loved ones. There is also a dependency loss, which is a loss that the survivors experience as a result of the loss of the deceased contribution to the net family income over their lives. The dependency loss can be complicated, especially if there are surviving children. Future lost income must be projected by proper economists or actuaries. The economic loss of children in relation to dependency on a lost parent can be assumed until the age of 18.

A spouse’s pecuniary loss must also be considered in several ways. For example, there may be a negative impact on the surviving spouse’s earning capacity due to their own emotional difficulties and a reduced earning capacity due to increased family responsibilities. When surviving spouses suffer psychological injury due to the loss of their loved one, it is not always easy to get back to work. There may also be a loss of future care if a child dies, a loss of inheritance, and punitive or aggravated damages to consider.

Where wrongful death is caused by a fatal accident, family Law Act claimants in Ontario are also entitled to be reimbursed for reasonable funeral expenses by the negligent party.

Also, suppose your loved one suffered pain before his or her death. In that case, the TRUSTEE ACT R.S.O. 1990 provides that the executor of any deceased person may maintain an action for all torts or injuries to the person in the same manner and with the same rights and remedies as the deceased would if living.

The loss of household and handyman services the deceased provides can also be evaluated. The value of the lost handyman or housekeeping services that a deceased spouse contributed to surviving family members before his or her death is a compensable loss.

Family compensation and wrongful death cases are very complex. You should seek the counsel of experienced wrongful death lawyers in relation to non-economic and economic compensation for surviving spouses, children and family members in pedestrian fatality cases.

If you have lost a loved one in a pedestrian accident, we can help. We serve families in wrongful death cases all over Ontario.

Our Hamilton Wrongful Death Lawyers understand that if you have lost a loved one in a pedestrian car accident, it can be tremendously difficult for family members to focus on legal matters or hire a wrongful death lawyer.

We also understand that while compensation will certainly not reduce the pain, suffering and loss caused by a wrongful death, it can help your family recover from the financial hardship and difficulties that a sudden, unexpected death can cause. A wrongful death lawsuit can also help your family members find some measure of closure by holding the person or driver responsible for the death of their loved one accountable. 

At Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers, we take pride in being trusted Hamilton personal injury lawyers since 2003. Over the years, we’ve helped our clients recover more than $45 Million in settlements and verdicts in personal injury, disability, and employment law cases. Whether you’re dealing with a life-changing injury, a denied disability claim, wrongful death, a hurt child or employment termination, we are here to provide compassionate and experienced legal representation. If you believe you have a case, call us today—we’re ready to help you secure the compensation you deserve.

Call Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers today, no matter where you are in Ontario at 905-333-8888 for your free consultation. Alternatively, you can contact us online, confidentially, by filling out a contact form.

Pedestrian Wrongful Death FAQ