Accidents where a pedestrian is hit while walking or running can be incredibly serious injury cases. Unlike the occupants inside the car, the victim has no protection from a car around them to keep them from suffering the direct impact of the vehicle. Fortunately, many pedestrian accidents happen at lower speeds and in places where the driver tries to stop, but high-speed accidents can and do happen, too.
If you were hit by a car, our lawyers can help you get compensation to get your life back on track. This can include coverage for medical bills as well as compensation for lost wages and other damages. You should even be able to claim compensation for non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
Call our pedestrian accident lawyers at Howe Law at (844) 876-4357 today for a free review of your case.
Injuries to Pedestrians in Car Accidents in Brookhaven, GA
As mentioned, injured pedestrians can face substantial injuries without the protection of a vehicle around them. Even cyclists and motorcycle riders might have a helmet to help protect them, but pedestrians usually have nothing. As such, head trauma, back injuries, spinal injuries, broken bones, serious cuts and lacerations, and internal injuries are common in these accidents.
If you faced only minor injuries, you might not face too long of a recovery period. This could mean that you end up with lower medical bills and only some – if any – time off work. In those cases, you could still be able to get compensation for all of those damages plus any pain and suffering you faced. In some cases, an insurance claim might be enough to cover these damages.
With moderate injuries like broken bones, you could take a few weeks or months to heal up to full capacity. However, during that period, lost time at work and medical expenses could become expensive. Getting these damages paid will be more important, and you may need to work with a pedestrian accident attorney to get full damages, as insurance might not be willing to pay for everything without a fight.
With serious injuries like permanent internal damage, spinal cord injuries leading to paralysis, and other disabling injuries, you could be in for a legal battle. Our lawyers can represent you every step of the way and fight to get full compensation, including the cost of home adaptations to deal with disabilities, ongoing medical care costs, home nursing care, replacement services for daily tasks you cannot perform yourself, and other damages. The pain and suffering damages in these cases are also very high, as your entire life is uprooted because of the injury.
In cases where a pedestrian accident was fatal, our lawyers can help you sue for a loved one’s death.
Suing vs. Settling for Pedestrian Accidents in Brookhaven, GA
Pedestrians hit by cars might be able to get full compensation through an insurance claim against the driver’s insurance policy, but it is unlikely. Insurance companies often issue low settlement offers that will cover just enough to end the case quickly and give the victim at least something to take home. In many cases, these settlements are expected to be rejected, so you should not take the insurance company’s valuation of your case as accurate. Instead, you might need to have your attorney negotiate for a better settlement or even skip the settlement altogether and take your case to trial.
Valuing Your Case
Knowing when a settlement is worth taking is difficult, but your lawyers can help you. Your attorney can help you determine the cost of medical bills and other damages and advise you not to take a settlement offer that does not include the full value.
We can also help you understand what your pain and suffering should be worth. There are various calculation methods our lawyers can apply to come up with the cost of these and other non-economic damages. Insurance companies will often calculate these damages a bit differently to try to arrive at a lower value, so it is not necessarily accurate to trust their offers to properly capture the seriousness of the injuries you faced.
Settlement Negotiations
After negotiating with the insurance company, we may be able to come to you with an offer that seems fair and covers your damages – but it still might be low. Insurance companies might argue that, by settling now, you are saving on the cost of litigating the case in court (the cost of your lawyers’ printing exhibits, preparing for trial, and taking the extra time to go to court). But if they are offering to admit fault and skip going to court, then it is strange to include the cost of going to court as a factor in your damages. As such, some of these tactics might still make a negotiated settlement unfair, and you should work with your lawyer to understand whether the settlement is worth taking.
Going to Trial
If we cannot arrive at a reasonable settlement or the insurance company is holding out on damages, going to trial might be the best option. There, the jury decides the cost of your case, not the insurance company. However, there is always a chance that a jury could rule against you, even if you have a strong case, so trial always comes with risks. However, we can help you weigh those risks and take the best option for your case.
At trial, we will present witnesses and evidence – the most important of which will be your testimony about how the crash happened and what effects it had on your life. Trials typically only take a few days – or a few weeks in very complex cases – before the jury decides your case.
Call Our Pedestrian Injury Attorneys in Brookhaven, GA Today
Call Howe Law at (844) 876-4357 for a free case assessment with our experienced pedestrian accident lawyers.
