Pedestrian Injury FAQs
I was crossing the street on foot and was hit by a car. If I plan to
pursue legal action, what can I do right away to protect my rights?
What if the accident was partly my fault?
Drivers have a duty to obey traffic laws; do pedestrians owe any duty to
drivers?
What kind of damages can I expect to recover in a pedestrian accident
claim?
Why do I need an attorney?
I was crossing the street on foot and was hit by a car. If I plan to pursue legal action, what can I do right away to protect my rights?
After obtaining urgent medical attention, the most important thing you can
do is to document as much information as possible about your
pedestrian accident - this
means writing down the details you remember about the accident, obtaining
contact information for anyone involved or who witnessed the accident, taking
photographs of your injuries and making copies of all medical bills, reports,
police reports, etc. pertaining to your accident. As a pedestrian involved in an
accident with a vehicle, you may have been too incapacitated at the accident
scene to do anything but wait for an ambulance, but you can request a copy of
your police report and ask the responding officers about any witnesses.
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What if the accident was partly my fault?
California law includes the principle known as comparative negligence,
which means that if liability for an accident lies with both you and the car
that hit you, the court will consider your share of the blame in determining
damages. So if the court finds that you were 50% responsible for the accident,
your damages will be reduced by 50%.
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Drivers have a duty to obey traffic laws; do pedestrians owe any duty to drivers?
Yes, just like drivers, pedestrians have a duty to obey all traffic laws.
So you have a duty to pay attention to "walk" signals or other traffic
lights when crossing, and to watch for oncoming vehicles.
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What kind of damages can I expect to recover in a pedestrian accident claim?
If you have been seriously hurt as a pedestrian due to someone else's
negligence, you may be eligible to file for medical expenses (both past and
future), lost wages and/or earning ability, and pain and suffering. If the
driver who hit you was drunk, he or she may also be required to pay punitive
damages. If you are the surviving relative of someone who was killed in a
pedestrian accident, you would file a
wrongful death claim, and you could also
recover damages for loss of companionship and burial costs.
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Why do I need an attorney?
If you are injured in a
pedestrian accident, you may be approached by the
insurance company of the driver with a settlement offer that doesn't
adequately compensate you for your injuries. Or, the driver may claim you were
at fault. Either way,
contact a pedestrian injury attorney to represent your interests and make
sure that you are appropriately compensated for the injuries you sustained.
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