Pedestrian accidents present an incredibly high risk of injury to victims, whose lives might be altered forever because of a negligent driver’s mistake or carelessness. Most pedestrian accident compensation claims are worth pursuing because of the potential recovery, which our attorneys can help you obtain
You may file a pedestrian accident lawsuit as long as all four elements of a personal injury claim are present in your case: the defendant owed you a duty of care, the defendant breached their duty of care, you were injured because of the breach, and you incurred damages. Victims may bring claims for many serious injuries, including paralysis, traumatic brain injuries, and disfiguring injuries. Pedestrian accident claims have a 2-year statute of limitations, and we can ensure you meet it.
The Reiff Law Firm’s pedestrian accident lawyers can evaluate your case for free when you call us today at (215) 709-6940.
When Can You File a Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit in Drexel Hill?
If a driver’s negligent or reckless conduct caused you serious injuries as a pedestrian, you can most likely file a lawsuit for damages.
You Were Owed a Duty of Care
If you were injured as a pedestrian, you may be able to sue if the party that injured you owed you a duty of care at the time. Drivers, motorcycle riders, and bicyclists all owe pedestrians a duty of care to heed traffic laws.
Someone driving on a public road and operating a car may be enough to establish that they owed you, a pedestrian, a duty of care.
Duty of Care Was Breached
Pedestrian accident lawsuits arise from a breach of the duty of care. Any negligent action or inaction could be a breach of duty. Car drivers are often at fault for pedestrian accidents for breaching their duty of care by speeding, driving without headlights at night, failing to yield the right of way, or driving while impaired or distracted.
Breach in Duty Caused the Injury
In your pedestrian accident case, you must show that the defendant’s negligent act directly caused the injuries you sustained. A driver’s breach of their duty of care near a pedestrian is not enough for that pedestrian to receive compensation; the pedestrian must establish a clear causal link between the breach of duty and the victim’s injuries.
Eyewitness testimony is often helpful in establishing causation in a pedestrian accident case.
You Incurred Damages
You can most likely file a lawsuit for a pedestrian accident due to negligence if you incurred damages. Damages can be economic losses, such as medical bills and missed wages, as well as non-economic damages, such as physical pain, emotional anguish, and mental suffering.
What Are the Most Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries Victims Sue for in Drexel Hill?
Pedestrians often have no protection from cars during accidents, often leaving them with painful and challenging injuries.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries can happen when pedestrians hit their heads during car accidents, whether on a vehicle, the sidewalk, or the road. Concussions are among the most common TBIs sustained during pedestrian accidents, although skull fractures and brain bleeds can also happen and frequently do.
Fractures
Even when pedestrian accidents happen at relatively slow speeds, victims might still sustain painful and hard-to-heal fractures. Facial fractures are common, as are displaced fractures throughout the body that may require multiple surgeries and lots of rest to heal.
Internal Injuries
The impact from a moving vehicle can cause serious and invisible internal injuries in pedestrians. Sometimes, bruises will form in the area of an internal injury, but not always. Internal injuries may require a specialist’s attention and several surgeries, which can get costly quickly, convincing many victims who sustain these injuries to file lawsuits.
Road Rash
Road rash can be an especially distressing injury for pedestrians. In addition to the severe pain and lengthy recovery associated with road rash, these injuries could leave permanently disfiguring scars that cause greater pain and suffering. Treatment for severe road rash can also be mentally and physically draining and may even require skin grafting.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are among the most debilitating for pedestrians and the most common. Victims can sustain spinal injuries upon contact with a moving vehicle or when they come in contact with the ground after a collision. Spinal cord injuries can be permanent and might involve some degree of paralysis or loss of function.
What Should You Do if You Want to Sue for a Pedestrian Accident?
If you want to pursue compensation for a recent pedestrian accident in Drexel Hill, we can help you take all of the necessary steps toward a fair and fast recovery.
Document Your Injuries
If you want to sue for a pedestrian accident in Drexel Hill, you should prioritize documenting and treating your injuries. Pennsylvania’s no-fault rules for car accidents extend to pedestrian accidents. To receive additional compensation than what first-party benefits provide, you may need to show that you sustained a “serious” injury.
Pennsylvania defines a serious injury as one that results in death, serious impairment of a body function, or permanent serious disfigurement. This broad definition allows pedestrians to seek non-economic damages for many injuries after accidents.
Consult with Our Lawyers
You should also consult with our pedestrian accident lawyers to confirm whether you have a case. The sooner you do this, the better we can preserve evidence supporting our claims of the defendant’s negligence.
We can also anticipate and undermine the defendant’s use of comparative fault rules. Pedestrians can contribute to accidents in certain situations, so do not think this rule cannot affect your case just because you were injured as a pedestrian.
File within the Statute of Limitations
If you want to sue for a pedestrian accident, make sure you do so within 2 years of the incident. Otherwise, you might miss the statute of limitations and your chance at compensation.
Let Us Handle Your Drexel Hill Pedestrian Accident Case
For a free case analysis from The Reiff Law Firm, you can call our pedestrian accident lawyers can now at (215) 709-6940.
