When a pedestrian is injured during a car accident, they might be able to recover damages to cover pain and suffering, lost wages, medical expenses, and several other damages. This is important to know because there are tends of thousands of pedestrians injured every year in car accidents. Unfortunately, over 5,000 of them die.
Car Accidents And Negligence
In order to recover damages, you need to prove some sort of negligence. This can be tricky so it is always a good idea to do this with the help of an experienced personal injury attorney, like https://www.rhllaw.com/. What should be remembered is that negligence is basically an omission or an act that a reasonable person would not have done in a similar situation.
Proving negligence in car accident cases and in all other injury cases relies on proving that the party at fault:
- Had some sort of duty in connection to the injured party.
- Breached that duty.
- Caused some sort of injury to the victim.
- The plaintiff suffered some sort of harm or quantifiable damages because of the actions of the defendant.
In pedestrian-vehicle accidents, the defendant had the duty of driving safely, so this is an easy thing to prove. However, it is not that uncommon to have several liable parties involved in the incident. Based on case facts, there might be other drivers and even government agencies that are at fault for what happened.
Pedestrian-Vehicle Accidents
Drivers need to act in a reasonable matter when motor vehicles are operated. If this not happens, a negligence claim is possible. For instance, if the driver does not respect speed limits, it is considered to be negligence.
Another thing to know is that special care is necessary when it comes to children. If there are children present or there is a roadway that this is the case, greater care is mandatory.
Obviously, pedestrians also have to exercise this reasonable care. This can quickly become relevant in personal injury claims since there are several jurisdictions where comparative fault is used. This practically means that if the pedestrian did something that is considered to be negligent, the claim might not be successful or the compensation received will be lower.
Several Other Pedestrian Accidents Exist
Cars do not necessarily need to be involved in order for injury claims to be possible. For instance, the property owner has to maintain safe conditions and warn all pedestrians if dangerous conditions exist. When this duty is breached and an injury is caused, lawsuits are possible.
In such a situation, the plaintiff has to prove that dangerous conditions existed on the property, that they were not obvious, and that the property owner was aware of the problems. This can be constructive or actual.
As you surely imagine, it is not that easy to prove negligence when injuries happen on the property of someone else. However, it is possible in several circumstances, especially with the help of a highly experienced personal injury attorney. There are several laws you most likely know nothing about. This means that when you are injured, you lose nothing from asking to see if you have a case.