California Pedestrian Injury Attorney

Pedestrian Accident Injuries and Compensation

A person injured in a pedestrian accident may be able to recover money damages from the driver who caused the pedestrian accident. Damages are money paid to the accident victim as compensation for the victim's injuries and losses. The family of a pedestrian killed in an accident may also be able to recover money damages.

Damages provide compensation for accidents that result in physical injuries, such as broken bones, spinal cord injuries and head injuries, as well as for those that result in death. Recurring pain and suffering caused by physical injuries resulting from the pedestrian accident may also entitle a victim to recover compensation. A victim of a pedestrian accident may also seek reimbursement for medical bills related directly to the pedestrian accident, in addition to reasonable future medical bills.

In addition, a pedestrian accident victim may recover costs for rehabilitative services or accommodations, such as physical therapy or a ramp leading to the home. The pedestrian accident victim also may recover lost past and future wages for work missed as a result of the pedestrian injuries. A pedestrian accident attorney can help sort through costs associated with your pedestrian accident.

The victim of a pedestrian accident may also seek damages for mental pain and suffering, permanent impairment or disfigurement. Loss of enjoyment of life after sustaining injuries resulting from a pedestrian accident may sometime be compensable. A pedestrian accident lawyer can you understand this.

What if you are injured in pedestrian accident but were already suffering from a prior injury? In most cases, you are still entitled to recover damages for your pedestrian injury. The pedestrian accident may have aggravated or worsened your existing injury. An experienced pedestrian accident attorney can assess whether your new injury can be treated as separate from the pre-existing injury.

If you are injured in a pedestrian accident, it is a good idea to keep a daily diary. Use it to document how the injury is affecting you, both emotionally and physically. This will be helpful later on if you need to prove your injuries in a legal setting.

Spouse's Damages for Pedestrian Injury

The spouse of a pedestrian accident victim may also experience a loss as a result of the pedestrian injury. Most states recognize this as a claim for "loss of consortium." It allows a spouse to recover money to compensate for the loss of love and affection in the marital relationship.

This is the law's way of recognizing that the marital relationship carries benefits and value, such as companionship, comfort, assistance, sexual relations and affection. The loss of consortium resulting from a pedestrian accident can be temporary or permanent.

Auto Insurance may Compensate Pedestrian Accident Victims

Most of the time, the driver's insurance company provides the money to pay a pedestrian accident victim who recovers damages in court or by a settlement. If the driver who is found liable for causing the accident is uninsured or underinsured, however, the pedestrian accident victim must pursue other means of recovery.

The victim of the pedestrian accident may have uninsured-motorist or underinsured-motorist insurance that will provide at least partial payment. Other types of insurance policies, carried by the pedestrian accident victim's spouse or employer, may also provide benefits.

The amount of the benefit and whether it is available to the pedestrian accident victim or the spouse will depend on the insurance policy. A pedestrian accident lawyer can help the victim determine whether insurance is available.

Financial Recovery for Pedestrian Accident

The amount of money that can be recovered by a victim injured in a pedestrian accident sometimes depends on the division of fault for the pedestrian accident. If the injured pedestrian is partially at fault for the accident, a court may take that into account.

California courts apply a rule known as "comparative negligence." If the court decides that the pedestrian was partially at fault for the accident, it will reduce the amount of money the pedestrian can recover by a corresponding amount.

For example, assume the court decides that the pedestrian was 20 percent at fault for the pedestrian accident. In that case, the court would reduce by 20 percent the total amount of damages the victim could recover. Instead of receiving compensation equal to 100 percent of the victim's injuries and losses, the victim will receive 80 percent.

An experienced pedestrian accident lawyer will help you sort through these complicated factors, plan the case and assess the damages available after a pedestrian accident. Please call an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation at: (800) 644-8000.

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Related Blog Posts

Info Center Table of Contents

• Pedestrian Accidents
• Who is at Fault in Pedestrian Accidents
• Those Most at Risk in Pedestrian Accidents
• Compensation for Pedestrian Accident Injuries
• Avoiding Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian Accident News From Our Personal Injury Blog

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