Vallejo Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

pedestrian

As a pedestrian, you have no physical protection from injury in a car or other vehicle collision. Even bicyclists, who are also largely unprotected, wear helmets that can protect their skulls from impact and reduce their chance of suffering from traumatic brain injuries. When you are walking down the sidewalk, on the shoulder of the roadway, or through a crosswalk, the only protection you have from an accident involving a motorist are the rules that govern the road and your trust that the motorists will follow these rules.

If you are involved in a pedestrian accident, you can suffer severe, even life-threatening, injuries. These injuries can significantly impact your financial life, requiring you to miss weeks of work or even stop working altogether, receive expensive medical treatment, and potentially need disability aids or hired in-home help. If your accident was caused by another party's negligence, you should not have to shoulder these financial burdens alone. Consider filing and pursuing a personal injury claim to recover monetary compensation for these damages. As a personal injury attorney, I can discuss the elements of a personal injury claim with you, how each of these elements relates to your specific case, and how applicable California laws can play into your claim as well to give you a better understanding of what you can expect from the personal injury claim process.

How You Can Be Hurt in a Pedestrian Accident

There are many ways you can be hurt in a pedestrian accident. As discussed above, you do not have the protection of a metal chassis, a seat belt, or even a helmet when you are a pedestrian involved in an accident with a motorist. In 2013 and 2014, California led the nation in accidental pedestrian deaths.

Examples of injuries you can suffer as a result of a pedestrian accident include:

These injuries can have complications that can cause severe pain or disability. A few examples of these complications include paralysis, paresis, scarring, and brain damage. Mental health complications can also arise following a pedestrian accident, such as depression and anxiety.

Seek Immediate Medical Attention for your Pedestrian Injuries

After you are involved in a pedestrian accident, immediately seek medical attention for your injury. Not only will prompt medical care improve your chance of making a complete, timely recovery, but the record of receiving prompt medical care is essential to support your personal injury claim.

Watch the YouTube video below for pedestrian safety tips.

Elements of your Injury Claim

There are four elements to a personal injury claim:

  • The duty is to protect the victim. In a pedestrian accident, this is often the duty of a motorist to obey traffic laws and be aware of his or her surroundings;
  • A breach of this duty. This is the moment that the motorist's negligence caused the accident to occur;
  • The damages. These are the financial losses experienced by the victim as a direct result of the accident; and
  • Proving the monetary value of the damages. As a victim, this means working with your lawyer to demonstrate your need for specific financial compensation with the evidence you provide.

In California, a victim can recover damages even if he or she is partially at fault for the accident. This is known as pure comparative negligence. There is no limit to recovering damages in a case like this – even if you are deemed 90 percent at fault for your accident, you can still recover a portion of the compensation considered appropriate for your damages.

Vallejo Pedestrian Accident FAQ

Why do I need to work with an experienced pedestrian injury attorney?

Your lawyer is your advocate. When recovering from a significant injury, it can be difficult to adeptly move through each step of the personal injury claim process. In fact, it can be quite easy to settle for a lower compensation amount than you actually need when you attempt to navigate the process on your own because, unlike an experienced personal pedestrian injury attorney, you do not have the negotiation skills or leverage to reach a fair, appropriate settlement with the insurance provider involved in your claim.


What kind of evidence do I need to support my claim for damages?

The types of evidence you can use to support your claim include the bills for your follow-up treatment, pay stubs demonstrating the work you had to miss to recover, testimonies from witnesses who saw the accident, photographs of the accident and your injury, and the official police report for the accident. In some cases, it can also be beneficial to involve an outside professional, known as an expert witness, to provide testimony to support a personal injury claim. One example is having an accident reconstruction specialist create an animated replay of the accident.


Experienced Pedestrian Injury Lawyers in Vallejo, CA

If you or someone you love has suffered an injury due to negligence, call our experienced Vallejo pedestrian accident attorneys at (707) 564-1900 or (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly advice. See our past verdicts/settlements.

Editor's Note: updated [cha 8.22.23] Photo by Pixabay [cs 871]

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