Injuries from pedestrian accidents may be life-threatening and often require extensive medical treatment to recover from. If you or a loved one has been hurt while walking in the Ceres area or elsewhere in Stanislaus County, you must contact an experienced injury attorney to assist you with your potential personal injury claim.

Since 1982, our attorneys at AutoAccident.com have helped Ceres residents recover fair compensation from difficult insurance companies. Call our law firm to schedule a consultation for free, friendly legal advice from a pedestrian accident injury lawyer at (209) 227-1931 or (800) 404-5400.

If you were hurt in a pedestrian crash and want to obtain the best opportunity to restore your overall quality of life, health, and financial stability, you need a full and fair settlement from the insurance company representing the at-fault party. Let our pedestrian accident lawyers in Ceres recover the fair personal injury compensation you are rightfully owed for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. With our experience, skills, and resources, our legal team can persevere in the most challenging pedestrian accident injury claims.

Pedestrians are at a high risk of sustaining catastrophic injuries in car accidents, even at low speeds. They have no physical protection when hit by a car and may experience trauma in crashes at intersections, crosswalks, parking lots, roads, or driveways. Our Ceres pedestrian accident attorneys are familiar with cases involving injuries such as:

• Abdominal Damage
• Amputations
• Bone Fractures
• Chest Trauma
• Contusions and Lacerations
• Facial Scarring and Disfigurement
• Internal Trauma
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Traumatic Brain Injuries
• Wrongful Death

Watch the video below for tips on pedestrian safety in the dark.

Under California law, a pedestrian must prove four elements of negligence to bring a successful personal injury accident case, including:

• The driver owed the pedestrian a duty of care to keep them from harm’s way.
• The at-fault party acted in a way that breached their duty of care.
• The actions of the driver resulted in injuries to the pedestrian.
• The pedestrian suffered personal injury damages as a result.

To prove these elements of negligence, a personal injury claimant must collect relevant and compelling evidence to prove their case. This includes medical records, CHP traffic accident reports, video surveillance of the pedestrian crash scene, witness testimony, and more. With decades of experience in the legal field, our Ceres pedestrian accident lawyers know how to gather the evidence needed to prove your personal injury claim.

If the pedestrian is successful in proving negligence on the part of the driver, then they may be able to recover economic and non-economic damages through a personal injury claim. These types of cases may be filed with the at-fault party’s insurance company or that of the pedestrian if the negligent driver has little to no bodily injury liability coverage. The pedestrian’s uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) may pay for losses incurred under such circumstances. Some of the types of personal injury damages a claimant may recover include:

• Costs of medical care for the treatment of pedestrian accident injuries.
• Lost income for the earnings the pedestrian has lost because of recovering from their injuries or attending medical treatment appointments after a pedestrian crash.
• Loss of future earning potential for the impact the injuries from a car-pedestrian accident have had on a claimant’s ability to work.
• Out-of-pocket expenses such as in-home care or renovations to the home to accommodate the limitations from a permanent injury or disability suffered in a motor vehicle accident as a pedestrian.
• Property damage to help cover the costs of personal belongings damaged in a pedestrian-car accident (e.g., prescription glasses, clothing, etc.)
• Loss of consortium for the consequences the incident has had on a marital relationship between an injured pedestrian and their uninjured spouse.
• Pain and suffering for the emotional suffering and physical pain from being hit by a motor vehicle as a pedestrian.
• The impact accident-related injuries have had on the claimant’s quality of life.

In California, those injured in pedestrian crashes may be able to seek punitive damages. Also referred to as exemplary damages, they go beyond financial compensation for injuries and losses incurred. Punitive damages serve the purpose of punishing the negligent party and to deter others from displaying similar egregious conduct. Exemplary damages may be awarded in a pedestrian-car accident case if it can be proven that the at-fault party demonstrated oppressive, malicious, or fraudulent acts.

Many often think that uninsured/underinsured motorist protection (UM/UIM) may only apply to operating a vehicle. But this type of insurance may help compensate a pedestrian for any injuries and damages they have suffered in an accident caused by a driver who has state minimum policy limits or none at all. In hit-and-run pedestrian accidents, UM coverage may come into play to cover personal injury damages incurred, regardless of whether the at-fault party is located. This is one of the many reasons our team of Ceres pedestrian accident lawyers recommends that drivers and pedestrians carry at least $100,000 and $300,000 in bodily injury liability coverage and UM/UIM protection.

In most personal injury claims in California for pedestrian collisions, injured parties have two years from the incident date to file a lawsuit. If the lawsuit is not filed before the two-year statute of limitations expires, or a pedestrian accident injury settlement is not accepted by the insurance company, the case may be dismissed by the court. In other words, the personal injury claimant may lose the right to seek compensation for their injuries and damages from the pedestrian crash.

If a personal injury lawsuit is brought over the actions of a government entity, a notice of claim must be provided within 180 days or six months of the event that caused the pedestrian injury. Since other filing criteria and deadlines must be met for these cases, contacting an experienced and top-rated pedestrian accident lawyer in Ceres is recommended.

^{Editor’s Note: updated 11.14.23 Image Source: “Free-Photos” via Pixabay ds [cs 1077] cha}