In the United States, pedestrian accidents are a widespread occurrence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a motor vehicle somewhere in the country hits a pedestrian once every two hours. California has, on average, a large number of pedestrian injuries annually compared to its sister states. Even in the Rio Linda area, pedestrian accidents occur regularly. In general, the people most likely to be involved in pedestrian accidents are children and the elderly. People 65 or older were the most commonly killed in 2015, accounting for 20 percent of all pedestrian fatalities.

The high rate of pedestrian injuries is alarming mainly due to the danger inherent in pedestrian collisions. Unlike the drivers of motor vehicles, who are protected by sheet metal, modern airbags, and soft cloth or leather interiors, pedestrians have no protection when they are hit by a car, truck, or SUV.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a pedestrian accident, the first thing that you should do is seek medical attention. After receiving proper medical care, you should consider contacting a Rio Linda pedestrian accident lawyer to discuss whether taking legal action against the driver who hit you makes sense.

Unfortunately, pedestrians’ injuries when hit by an automobile are often severe. Common injuries include lacerations, broken bones, torn ligaments, strained muscles, partial or complete paralysis, or brain trauma. As you can tell, pedestrian injuries are severe and may require months or years of extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation to fully recover.

An injured pedestrian can file a personal injury claim to recover financial compensation for the harms and losses endured as a proximate result of the accident. These harms and losses include your medical bills (e.g., cost of surgery, ER care, ambulance transport, prescription drugs, etc.) and lost wages while you were hospitalized or recovering at home. If the accident caused you to become temporarily or permanently disabled, you could also seek future earnings you have received had it not been for the accident. You can also pursue financial restitution for your pain and suffering, which generally includes the mental and emotional damage caused by the collision.

In limited circumstances, there may be a basis for pursuing punitive damages. However, these damages are only available when there is overwhelming evidence that the accident was caused by the defendant’s recklessness and wanton conduct, whichh was genuinely shocking. For example, if you were hit by a driver who was heavily intoxicated and sped through a stop sign, there may be a basis to pursue punitive damages on top of the economic and non-economic damages described above.

Watch the YouTube video below to learn more about the factors that can affect the value of an injury claim.

As the client, you have the ultimate authority to accept a settlement offer or take your case to court. A personal injury attorney can negotiate on your behalf and offer guidance, but you are vested with the power to accept or decline a settlement offer.

Under California law, you can seek financial compensation for an accident, even if you were partially at fault for causing the accident. California embraced comparative negligence in the 1970s when the state supreme court adopted a “pure” comparative negligence standard in the litigation of tort cases. Pure comparative negligence means that even if you were mostly at fault for causing the accident, you are not precluded from pursuing compensatory damages via a personal injury claim. However, any monetary award will be reduced by the percentage of fault assessed to you by a judge or jury. For example, if you have $100,000 in damages, but a jury determines you were 50 percent at fault for the accident, your award would be limited to $50,000.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a pedestrian accident, we can help. Call our Rio Linda pedestrian accident lawyers today at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for free, friendly advice. You can also reach us online at AutoAccident.com.

See our Verdicts and Settlements.

^{Editor’s Note: updated [cha 5.18.23] Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay sd rey [cs 728]}