Pedestrian accidents occur when a motor vehicle strikes a pedestrian at an intersection, crosswalk, or another location. Since most pedestrians do not have a thick outer covering or shell that surrounds them in an accident scenario, they are very likely to suffer severe injuries – especially if they hit the pavement following their accident. In some situations, injured pedestrians may experience intense pain, suffering, and inconvenience for the rest of their lives.
Pedestrian accidents usually happen when drivers are negligent in some way. If you suffered injuries in a recent pedestrian accident, seek legal representation as quickly as possible. A skilled pedestrian accident lawyer can review your pedestrian accident and determine your legal options. Your lawyer can also file a personal injury claim with the at-fault driver's insurance company or pursue litigation in the court system on your behalf.
Throughout the case, your attorney can answer all of your questions, advocate for your legal rights, and take on the insurance company to pursue the maximum monetary compensation you deserve to recover.
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Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
In most situations, pedestrian accidents happen when drivers are careless, negligent, or reckless in some way. One common cause of local pedestrian accidents is a driver’s failure to follow everyday, well-known traffic laws and regulations.
Some of the most common road rules violations that lead to pedestrian accidents include:
- Speeding through parking lots and parking garages and near traffic intersections
- Failing to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians who are lawfully present at an intersection crosswalk
- Failing to use rear view mirrors, side view mirrors, and backup cameras (where equipped) when backing out of a parking space at a parking lot or parking garage
In addition to common road rules violations, pedestrian accidents may happen when people drive in a distracted, inattentive, or careless manner. Distracted driving may take various forms, but it always involves a driver ignoring the road.
Instead of watching the road, a driver might look at a GPS navigation system, cell phone, or another smart device. Alternatively, they might be programming their stereo or adjusting the volume. When drivers turn their eyes away from the road, they might fail to notice a pedestrian, such someone entering an intersection crosswalk.
If they negligently cause their vehicle to strike a pedestrian and the pedestrian hits the ground, they may suffer severe physical injuries.
Finally, some pedestrian accidents happen when drivers are illegally under the influence of alcohol or drugs while behind the wheel. Alcohol intoxication may cause significant impairments, including blurred vision and dizziness, preventing a driver from noticing a pedestrian.
Alcohol intoxication can also limit (and significantly delay) a driver's reaction time. As a result, even if a driver sees a pedestrian, they might not braks in time to avoid a collision.
If you suffered injuries in a pedestrian accident resulting from one or more types of driver negligence, you must obtain legal guidance immediately.
A qualified pedestrian accident attorney can explore all of your legal options and select the best course of action, considering the facts and circumstances of your case. Your lawyer can then file a claim or lawsuit and pursue the favorable settlement compensation you deserve for all your accident-related losses and injuries.
Where Do Pedestrian Accidents Usually Occur?
Pedestrian accidents can happen anywhere that motor vehicles and pedestrians are present together.
Some of the most common sites for local pedestrian accidents include:
- Parking garages
- Sidewalks
- Parking lots
- Driveways
- Alleyways
- Intersection crosswalks
If you suffered injuries in a pedestrian collision, you are not alone. In addition to completing your medical treatment, you should immediately contact an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer for representation. Your attorney can take legal action and pursue the total monetary damages you deserve for your injuries.
Common Injuries that Victims of a Pedestrian Accident Might Suffer
When a car, truck, motorcycle, or bicycle hits a pedestrian, the pedestrian will typically suffer the more severe injuries in the crash. This is because, unlike motor vehicle occupants, pedestrians do not have a thick metal shell or outer covering that protects their bodies from the surrounding environment. Instead, pedestrians often have no protection from their surrounding environment, including the ground. If they strike the ground with significant force, they will likely suffer severe injuries and damages in their accident.
The physical injuries that a pedestrian accident victim sustains will depend upon the force of the collision, the number of vehicles involved, the speeds of the vehicles, and how the accident happens. How they fall may also influence the nature and extent of the injuries they ultimately suffer.
Some of the most common injuries that pedestrian accident victims might sustain include:
- Soft tissue injuries (especially to the neck, back, or shoulders)
- Broken bones
- Rib fractures
- Traumatic brain damage
- Mouth and teeth injuries
- Eye injuries
- Road rash
- Spinal cord injuries
- Full and partial paralysis injuries
- Death
Upon suffering injuries in a pedestrian accident, you need to follow through with all of your medical provider's treatment recommendations. Specifically, you might need to undergo surgery or other serious medical procedures and consult with your doctor regularly. Additionally, you might need to complete physical therapy for several weeks or months after undergoing a medical procedure.
By treating continuously for your injuries and following through with your medical treatment regimen, you increase your chances of making a full recovery after your pedestrian accident. You also show the insurance company that your injuries are severe and warrant appropriate monetary compensation.
One of the worst things you can do after an accident is stop treatment and prematurely discharge yourself from medical care. If the insurance company sees that you discharge yourself from treatment, they may assume that your injuries are not severe and that you do not deserve to recover favorable monetary compensation in your case.
While you heal from your accident-related injuries, a pedestrian accident attorney can begin preparing your personal injury claim for settlement negotiations. Your lawyer can gather necessary documents, including medical treatment records and bills, on your behalf.
Once you complete your medical care, your lawyer can submit a settlement demand package and a formal demand letter to the insurance company adjuster for review. If the insurance company accepts fault for your pedestrian accident, your lawyer may begin settlement negotiations and pursue a favorable monetary settlement.
Legally Proving a Pedestrian Accident Case
You'll need to satisfy several legal elements in your case to recover a favorable monetary settlement from the at-fault driver's insurance company or a favorable litigation result in court.
Drivers must drive carefully and safely at all times. Part of this duty of care involves yielding the right-of-way to pedestrians at the proper times and driving in accordance with all traffic laws.
To prove your pedestrian accident claim, you must first show that the driver deviated from this legal standard of care in some way. For example, they might have run a red light or stop sign at a traffic intersection or failed to use their mirrors when backing out of a parking space.
Next, you will need to establish that as a result of the driver's negligence, both the pedestrian accident and your injuries occurred. To prove medical causation, your lawyer can appoint a medical expert to physically examine you and draft a report that causally relates your claimed injuries to the pedestrian accident.
A qualified medical provider can also establish that you suffered one or more permanent injuries in your accident. Unlike most injuries that recover over time, a permanent injury will likely affect the accident victim for the rest of their life. A pedestrian accident victim who suffers a permanent injury might also need medical treatment well into the future.
Filing a Pedestrian Accident Claim
A skilled pedestrian accident lawyer in your area can file a claim with the responsible driver's insurance company. After submitting important claim documents, including witness statements, police reports, medical treatment records, medical bills, photographs of the accident scene, and injury photographs, your lawyer can begin settlement negotiations on your behalf.
During these negotiations, your attorney will start off with a settlement demand for compensation they believe covers your damages. In almost all situations, initial offers from insurance companies are far below the actual value of a pedestrian accident case. Adjusters take this approach because they want to try and settle accident cases for as little money as possible.
Your attorney can aggressively negotiate on your behalf and highlight the strengths of your pedestrian accident case, including the severity of your injuries, as noted in the available medical records. If the insurance company adjuster still refuses to offer you fair compensation, your attorney can begin the litigation process by filing a lawsuit in the state court system on your behalf.
Your attorney can determine the appropriate settlement value of your case and advise whether you should accept or reject a pending settlement offer from the insurance company adjuster.
Pedestrian Accident Lawsuits
If the responsible driver's insurance company will not compensate you fairly, you can litigate your case through the state court system. Your attorney can handle every step of the litigation process and represent you in all legal proceedings.
During litigation, the parties will typically answer written Interrogatories and submit to depositions. They will also likely need to attend one or more settlement conferences with the court.
If the case does not reach a resolution by the end of the litigation, the parties have two options:
- Take their case to a civil jury trial and allow a jury to decide the amount of monetary compensation to award the accident victim.
- Attend one or more alternative dispute resolution (ADR) proceedings, such as mediation or binding arbitration.
Your attorney can decide on the best legal option for your case that will offer you the best chances of maximizing your total monetary recovery.
Recoverable Monetary Compensation for Pedestrian Accident Injuries
If you sustained injuries in a pedestrian accident that resulted from driver negligence, you may be eligible to recover various types and amounts of monetary damages.
The total damage award you receive through a personal injury settlement or litigation result will depend upon many factors, such as the circumstances surrounding your pedestrian accident, the nature and severity of your injuries, the medical treatment you experience, and the total cost of that treatment.
Injured pedestrian accident victims can receive monetary compensation for:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Mental anguish and distress
- Loss of the ability to use a body part
- Lost quality of life
- Loss of spousal consortium
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
- Past and anticipated pain and suffering
- Lifetime care costs
Call a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Near You Today
If you recently sustained injuries in a pedestrian accident, you should consult with a knowledgeable pedestrian accident attorney in your area as soon as possible. The last thing you want to worry about is your mounting bills and how you will pay them. You need to be focusing on recovering from your injuries.
Affording a pedestrian injury lawyer should not be a concern when you need to seek justice. Reputable injury attorneys often work on a contingency fee basis. This means they only collect fees if they win the case, taking a percentage of the awarded compensation. There are no upfront costs or out-of-pocket expenses for you or your family. This ensures access to quality legal representation regardless of financial means.
Additionally, initial consultations are typically free, allowing you to discuss your case without any financial obligation. With this structure in place, everyone has the opportunity to pursue their rightful compensation and hold wrongdoers accountable. You can know your rights and options at no cost.
Accident victims have only two years to file a personal injury lawsuit in court, starting on their accident date. Otherwise, they will jeopardize their right to recover any monetary damages for their injuries.
A knowledgeable personal injury attorney can take over every stage of your case and maximize the overall monetary award you receive for your pedestrian accident injuries.
Gary Annes
Partner
Personal Injury Lawyer With Over Twenty Years Of Experience
Gary Annes, a partner at Abels & Annes, P.C., has dedicated over two decades to practicing personal injury law, specializing in auto accidents, premises liability, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and sexual abuse. Since earning his law degree in 1995, Gary has led numerous jury trials, and adeptly resolved cases through arbitration and mediation, securing millions in compensation for his clients.
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