Pretty much everyone is a pedestrian at some point during the day as they go about their business. The last thing that goes through most people’s minds during that time is the prospect of getting hit by a car, truck, or other vehicle. Unfortunately, the reality is that many pedestrians are the victims of motor vehicle accidents every day, and those pedestrians suffer serious injuries. The cost of treating and recovering from those injuries can easily add up, and many victims of these accidents will know they want to get justice for their injuries but may not know exactly how to go about that.
Luckily, our attorneys do know how to do just that. We have represented plaintiffs injured as pedestrians in lawsuits many times. We know the legal playbook for these sorts of lawsuits and are ready to lend our legal experience to help you get the justice and financial awards you are owed when you are injured.
For a free, zero-obligation analysis of your case, call Howe Law’s Augusta, GA pedestrian accident attorneys at (844) 876-4357.
Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in Evans, GA
Pedestrian accidents do not just happen out of the blue. A lot of different causes can result in a pedestrian getting hit by a motor vehicle. While the injuries may seem like they are more important than the cause, the fact of the matter is that the causes of your accident are very important to the success of your lawsuit. You can only get damages from parties that actually caused your injuries. Therefore, if you cannot prove that someone caused your accident, you cannot get damages from them. Below, our pedestrian accident lawyers have listed some common causes of pedestrian accidents in Georgia.
Distracted Drivers
Perhaps one of the most common causes of motor vehicles hitting pedestrians is distracted drivers. Now more than ever, there are countless ways for drivers to get distracted. Talking on the phone, becoming absorbed in a GPS screen, or becoming engrossed with what a passenger is doing can all take a driver’s focus off the road at a crucial moment and result in them hitting a pedestrian. However, the poster child for distracted driving is texting while driving. It is near-impossible to multitask writing a text message and focusing on the road at the same time. Accordingly, it is prohibited by traffic laws across the country.
Aggressive Drivers
Another cause of pedestrian accidents is aggressive driving. Many drivers, in an effort to get where they need to be quickly or out of plain old frustration, will disregard many common-sense safety rules while driving and just try to get from point A to point B as fast as possible. An aggressive driver may speed, run red lights and stop signs, or drive too closely to other motorists. If suppose, an aggressive driver blasts through a crosswalk while you are trying to move across it, you can get seriously injured.
Vehicle Defects
While potentially less common than driver error, problems with a motor vehicle can result in it hitting a pedestrian. For example, if a car was built with defective brakes that were installed incorrectly, it may not be able to stop when the driver wants it to, and that car may hit and injure a pedestrian.
Legally speaking, defects can fall into two main categories. There are design defects and manufacturing defects. Design defects are problems that will arise in the ordinary use of something when it is built as intended. Essentially, even though the design was followed to the letter, something will still go wrong. A particularly infamous example of this kind of defect is the Ford Pinto’s gas tank, which was prone to igniting its contents upon being hit.
Manufacturing defects, on the other hand, are mistakes that arise when the car is built, repaired, or otherwise messed with. They are not baked into the design of the vehicle. Examples of manufacturing defects would include the previously mentioned incorrectly installed brakes, faulty lighting or transmissions, or the use of substandard materials in making the vehicle.
Damages in Evans, GA Pedestrian Accident Lawsuits
If you are successful in court, you will be awarded damages at the end of your lawsuit. Damages are the court’s way of compensating plaintiffs who are injured. The idea is to “make the plaintiff whole” again or get them back as close as possible to where they were prior to getting injured. Of course, depending on the nature of the injuries, this may not be literally possible. Thus, financial payment is used as the next best thing. Below, we will go into some of the things you can recover damages for in a pedestrian accident case.
Medical Costs
One of the primary things plaintiffs seek damages for in a personal injury lawsuit is the cost of medical treatment. Emergency room stays, surgery, long-term care, and medication can all become extremely expensive. Accordingly, with the support of medical bills and records, you can recover damages based on those expenses.
Lost Wages
Another item you can get damages for is lost wages. If you had to take time off work to recover from your injuries and did not earn income during that time, it can be factored into what you recover in court. After all, had you not been injured, you would have continued to work and earn a living.
Pain and Suffering
You can also get damages for more intangible things like physical pain or mental distress. These items are harder to quantify than missing income or medical bills, so you will have to work with our lawyers to figure out what these things are worth in your case.
Talk to Our Evans, GA Pedestrian Accident Lawyers Today
Howe Law’s pedestrian accident attorneys are here to help with your case if you dial (844) 876-4357.
