People injured while walking or jogging can often hold the driver who hit them liable for the accident. In a crash, the person who broke the law is usually liable for damages the other person suffered. This often puts crashes on the driver who was speeding, who ran a stop sign, or who otherwise put you at risk by driving dangerously.
For help with an accident, it is vital that you turn to a lawyer for help. Georgia law allows victims to file claims with the insurance policy for the driver who hit them, but that does not mean that the insurance company will cooperate and reimburse you for all of your damages. Having our lawyers fight for full compensation will be important.
Call our Atlanta pedestrian lawyers at Howe Law at (844) 876-4357 today for a free case assessment.
Fault Laws for Pedestrian Accidents in Douglasville, GA
In any accident case, the law usually looks at who was “negligent” to determine who was responsible for the accident. You can sue someone for hitting you with their car intentionally, but that is harder to prove, and most car accident cases are based on a mistake or inattention rather than intentional action. As such, you will need to prove that the driver who hit you did so because they violated a traffic law or otherwise violated a legal duty by acting unreasonably behind the wheel.
Driver Negligence
In most pedestrian accident cases, negligence will involve distraction, failing to stop or yield when required to, or driving while drunk or tired.
Distractions are one of the number one causes of pedestrian accidents, as drivers who have their eyes on their phone or their mind on an argument with a passenger are simply not on the lookout for people crossing the street or walking along the side of the roadway.
Drivers are required to stop at stop signs and red lights and to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. They virtually cannot hit a pedestrian if they are following these rules, as these rules keep them from driving when pedestrians could be in their path. Failure to yield is a common violation our pedestrian accident lawyers can use as grounds for an injury lawsuit.
Lastly, drunk driving and tired driving often lead to pedestrian accidents, especially late at night, because these drivers simply cannot control themselves and their vehicles appropriately to avoid a crash.
Pedestrian Negligence
In some cases, a pedestrian can be accused of failing to follow the law, thus leading to the argument that they were actually at fault for the accident. Defense attorneys use this victim-blaming tactic in many pedestrian accident cases, usually with the accusation that the pedestrian jumped out into traffic or crossed the street when they should not have.
In some cases, this can actually lead to a court determining you shared some percentage of fault for your accident. Fortunately, Georgia law does still hold the defendant to pay for their fair share of your damages as long as you are under 50% to blame for your own accident. So even if you are accused of partial fault, it might not damage your case that badly except to reduce your overall damages.
Damages in a Pedestrian Accident Case in Douglasville, GA
Victims of pedestrian accidents and cycling accidents often face more severe injuries than people who were in cars when they were involved in an accident. This is because of the fact that there is no car around them to protect them from the force of the crash; they get hit directly. Most accidents in parking lots or on low-speed roads might not be too injurious, but that also depends on the specific victim and their overall condition, which also plays into the damages in your case. Even so, pedestrian accidents at high speeds can be incredibly dangerous or even deadly.
Common Damages
People hit by cars often face substantial medical expenses and might even face life-long disabilities after the crash. Those medical bills should be compensated in full, as should the pain and suffering related to the accident. If your injuries mean you cannot work – whether temporarily or permanently – you should be reimbursed for all lost income, past, present, and future. Even if you can still work but have to take a lower-paying position or a job with less physically demanding tasks, you should be compensated for the reduction in wages.
How Damages Vary from Case to Case
Damages are often different from person to person. For example, if you do not work for a paycheck, then you will not face lost wages. Still, if you are a homemaker, then you could be left with additional expenses to replace your household services. Similarly, a healthy, active 20-year-old might be able to recover more quickly from a broken bone than someone with preexisting disabilities or an older adult, potentially leading to higher damages for those two. On the contrary, a healthy 20-year-old on their way to a career as a professional athlete who becomes paraplegic because of a crash will be missing out on more economic opportunities than a 35-year-old office worker who suffers similar injuries.
Your health, your status, your job, your specific injuries, and the specific effects that the injuries have on your well-being and future all play an important part in calculating damages specific to your case. As such, you should always have an attorney review your case to ensure that you do not take any settlement offers that might seem good on paper but fail to account for your personal damages.
Call the Douglasville, GA Pedestrian Accident Attorneys at Howe Law Today
Call (844) 876-4357 for a free case assessment with our experienced, compassionate pedestrian accident lawyers at Howe Law.
