Sarguzasht February 2024

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In 2020, around 104,000 people visited emergency rooms to receive treatment after being involved in a pedestrian accident. Sadly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reported there were more than 7,000 deaths due to pedestrian accidents over the same year.

Pedestrian accidents can cause serious injuries with lifelong and sometimes even fatal consequences. If you or a loved one was struck by a vehicle while walking, it is important to understand the legal options available to a pedestrian hit by a car.

This guide will explain what those options are so you can decide how best to move forward.

Pedestrians who are hit by a car may experience actual financial losses including medical bills and lost wages if their injuries prevent them from working. They could also experience mental damage and pain as a result of the accident and their injuries.

If you are involved in a pedestrian accident and experience any of these damages, you have options to recover compensation both for the economic and the non-economic loss you have endured.

You may be able to obtain monetary compensation from your own insurer, or from others involved in the accident. You can obtain this compensation in one of several ways including:

  • Filing a civil lawsuit against the parties responsible for harming you
  • Negotiating an out-of-court settlement in which you receive a lump sum of money and give up all further legal rights to sue
  • Making an insurance claim with your own insurer or a third party claim with the other party’s insurer

You should consider working with an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer to determine which of these options is the right one for you. Often, you will end up pursuing multiple options. For example, you might file a lawsuit and then accept a settlement offer before your case goes to court.

Your attorney can help you not only to explore the alternatives available for getting compensation but can also work with you to identify who can be held responsible for compensating you.

Recovering Compensation From Your Own Insurer

In some cases, you will recover compensation through your own insurance company.

Your health insurance may pay for your medical bills following a pedestrian accident. But, relying on your health insurer alone means you won’t be paid for things like lost wages. You may also have copays and coinsurance costs.

If your health insurer does pay the bills and you then recover compensation from an at-fault driver, you may have to repay the money the health insurance company spent on your care.

You could also pursue a claim through your auto insurer. For example:

  • You could get payment for your medical bills if you have Medical Payments Coverage
  • If the driver who harmed you had no insurance or too little insurance, you could recover under your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Your own insurer would cover the damages the other driver’s insurance should have paid if that driver had been properly insured
  • If you live in a no-fault state and have personal injury protection (PIP) coverage, you may recover compensation for medical bills and lost wages from your PIP coverage if your injuries are minor.

In no-fault states, drivers are generally required to buy PIP coverage. This pays for some of their own losses in collisions when injuries aren’t very serious. However, pedestrians might not have this coverage if, for example, they do not drive personally or live with someone who has an insured vehicle.

If a pedestrian lives in a no-fault state and has no PIP coverage available because neither they nor a family member has a policy, they may be able to make a claim for compensation from a government fund in some states. Or, they may be able to recover from the at-fault driver’s PIP coverage in others.

You also may be able to make a claim against your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance for damage to personal property (clothing, phone, jewelry) you were wearing or carrying at the time of the accident.

Making a Claim Against the Driver Involved in the Accident

If a driver of a vehicle caused the pedestrian accident, that driver can typically be held accountable for resulting losses. The key question in determining if a motorist was to blame for the accident is whether the driver was negligent or not.

If you were hurt in a pedestrian accident and want to make a claim against the driver involved, here’s what you would need to prove to show negligence:

  • The driver had a duty to exercise care on the roads
  • The driver behaved less carefully than a reasonable person would have under the same circumstances
  • This failure to live up to the standard of care was the direct cause of the pedestrian accident
  • You were harmed in the pedestrian crash

If you make a claim against another driver, typically that motorist’s liability insurance coverage would kick in. The insurer would cover losses the policyholder is held accountable for, up to policy limits.

The insurer might offer you a settlement to resolve the case outside of court, or could pay for the damages you were awarded in court up to the maximum liability limits on the insurance policy.

Making a Claim Against the At-Fault Driver’s Employer

If a person caused your pedestrian accident while they were on-the-job, you might be able to make a claim against their employer. That’s because employers are held vicariously liable for actions their workers take in the course of employment.

If you make a claim against an employer of a driver who caused a pedestrian crash, you do not have to show the company was negligent in any way. As long as the on-duty staff member was careless in causing your accident while performing their work duties, the company can be held accountable.

If a street or highway is poorly laid out or if traffic control signals are broken, this can result in a pedestrian accident as well. A pedestrian hit by a car as a result of issues may want to sue the local, city, or state government.

Suing government entities can be more complicated than suing individuals because of sovereign immunity rules. These rules may affect the process of filing a claim, the time limit for doing so and the compensation you can receive.

If you suspect a government agency’s negligence was a contributing cause of your pedestrian accident, working with an experienced lawyer is very important.

What to Do After Being Hit By a Car

If you are a pedestrian hit by a car, it’s important to take the right steps in the immediate aftermath of the accident. You’ll want to do everything you can to protect against more serious injuries and to preserve your legal options.

Some of the key steps you should take include:

  • Report the accident to the police. You can call 911 if anyone was hurt or the police non-emergency number if there were no serious injuries
  • Obtain contact information from the driver(s) involved.
  • Exchange insurance information from the driver(s) involved. Be sure to get details on what insurance company represents the driver who hit you.
  • Take pictures and video at the scene of the accident. Get as many pictures as possible showing the area where the accident happened, any traffic signals or traffic control signs in the area and any damage to the vehicle
  • Obtain witness contact information.
  • Report the accident to your own insurance company

Taking these steps can help you to gather the evidence you will need to make a successful claim for compensation. For example, witnesses and photos from the scene can help you to prove the driver was negligent in causing the pedestrian accident.

Why Getting Medical Treatment Is so Important for a Pedestrian Hit by a Car

If you are hit by a car as a pedestrian, you should be sure to visit a doctor immediately for a thorough assessment — even if you don’t think you are badly hurt.

Some injuries can worsen over time or may not have immediate outward symptoms but can still have a profound impact on your health over the long-term. You want proof these injuries were accident-related so you can be compensated for them.

A doctor can assess your overall physical condition and conduct any necessary tests to identify all of the potential damage to your body. When you are in a pedestrian accident and you have no vehicle to protect you, the impact your body absorbs can be substantial.

Statute of Limitations for Pedestrian Accident Claims

When you are hurt in a pedestrian accident, you have a limited period of time to pursue a legal case against the at-fault driver or other responsible parties. The time limit is called the statute of limitations. If you don’t act within the allowable time, you will not be allowed to pursue your claim in court.

The statute of limitations varies by state. Typically, you’ll have between two years and four years to pursue a case. Don’t delay, though, as the more time that passes, the more difficult it can be to gather evidence.

Compensation for Pedestrians Hit by a Car

If you are injured in a pedestrian accident, you should be entitled to compensation for:

  • Medical bills
  • Lost wages
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress

In the event the accident is fatal, a wrongful death claim can also enable surviving loved ones to be compensated for losses.

A pedestrian accident lawyer will work with you to understand the money you are entitled to and to devise a sound legal strategy for getting the full payment you deserve when a pedestrian accident occurs.

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