Traffic laws protect more than just drivers. Pedestrians have rights and must be protected from negligent drivers. When pedestrians are injured in accidents, they can sue the drivers for damages.
Your first step after your accident should be to hire a qualified attorney. Your lawyer can help you prepare your lawsuit, assess your damages, and fight for fair and full compensation. Claiming damages can be tricky. You might have experienced serious financial setbacks and severe emotional distress or trauma because of the accident. Your lawyer should help you determine what these losses and injuries are worth in court. Before you can get compensation, you must find evidence backing up your claims. Much evidence will come from the location of your accident, but evidence may be found in some surprising places. Although how long your case takes depends on your circumstances, many cases take a few months or longer.
Schedule a free case review with our pedestrian accident lawyers by calling Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
How an Attorney Can Help You After a Pedestrian Accident in Harrison, GA
Our pedestrian accident attorneys will begin your case by preparing the lawsuit. While most people are used to seeing lawsuits play out in courtrooms, most work happens before the case ever gets to court. We must draft your formal legal complaint, which contains detailed information about the parties, the accident, your injuries, damages, and why we believe the defendant is responsible. The complaint must show that your claims are valid and based on real evidence. A bad complaint might be rejected, and you would have to start over.
Another major part of preparing your case involves evaluating damages. Your damages represent everything you lost (i.e., money) and experienced because of your accident and injuries. While many damages are connected with a dollar value, others are more subjective and might not involve money at all. As such, figuring out the overall worth of your damages is challenging, and a lawyer can give you the guidance you need.
Finally, your attorney will fight for fair and adequate compensation. Even if you show up to court with all the evidence you need, you still must present everything to a jury and convince them of your claims. Jurors are free to accept or reject any evidence, and your attorney should have the litigation skills to persuade the jury that you were wronged and deserve compensation.
Claiming Damages in a Pedestrian Accident in Harrison, GA
Before filing your case with the court, we must determine what damages you want to claim and how much they should be worth. This is an extremely important step because only the damage we claim in the complaint can be compensated. If damages are overlooked and mistakenly omitted from your initial complaint, they are unlikely to be compensated.
Compensatory damages stem from two broad categories of injuries: economic and non-economic. Your economic damages are related to money and financial expenses. Medical bills, the cost to replace destroyed property, the income you lose because you are too injured to work, and other costs are part of your economic damages. We must comb through your expenses and include all your costs related to your injuries, even if they are minimal. Even small costs can add up to big compensation.
Non-economic injuries tend to be very subjective, and placing a value on them is hard. You can claim physical and psychological pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of your life, embarrassment, and other painful personal experiences. You can also claim permanent injuries as part of your non-economic injuries. For example, permanent disabilities or disfigurement are hard to deal with emotionally, and you can claim compensation for your suffering.
Proving How Your Pedestrian Accident Happened in Harrison, GA
Proving your claims is no small feat, and you need as much supporting evidence as you can gather. Many pedestrian accidents are based on negligence. Negligence is a legal concept comprised of four elements, each of which must be clearly established by the evidence for the defendant to be held liable.
The first element is the defendant’s duty to drive with reasonable safety under the circumstances while obeying the traffic code. Generally, this duty is established by the fact that the defendant was driving their vehicle on public roads. The next element is how the defendant breached their duty. Some possible breaches include running red lights, blowing stop signs, or driving while drunk. Next, we must show how the breach is the direct cause of your injuries. Finally, we must show that your injuries and damages are real, not imagined or hypothetical.
The evidence to prove these elements will vary based on your unique circumstances. Often, photos of security camera footage from the accident scene can be a big help. If we have a video of the defendant striking you, we can pinpoint exactly how they breached their legal duty to drive safely. Witness testimony is also very powerful evidence. The more witnesses, the better.
How Long Do Pedestrian Accident Cases Take in Harrison, GA?
How long your case takes depends on the details of your accident, but you should expect to put in a fair amount of time and effort before getting to your trial. Pedestrian accident cases, and many other personal injury claims, often take at least a few months to complete. More contentious cases might take even longer.
You might be able to speed up your case by working out a settlement with the defendant, having strong evidence that is hard to refute, or simply being well prepared. Your attorney can help you prepare for potential bumps in the road so your case continues as smoothly and quickly as possible.
Other factors that might slow down your case and your attorney can help you prepare and hopefully avoid them. Sometimes, scheduling conflicts slow down a case. If the defense is not ready or the judge has a schedule conflict, your case might be pushed back. Your case might progress more slowly if the facts are especially complex. For example, pedestrian cases with multiple drivers might progress slower because we need more time to sort out the details.
Call Our Harrison, GA Pedestrian Accident Lawyers About Your Case
Schedule a free case assessment with our pedestrian accident attorneys by calling Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
