What's the Average Settlement for a Pedestrian Hit By a Car?

How an Accident Lawyer Can Help Determine Your Compensation Following Being Hit by a Car

It’s no secret that a car colliding with your body will result in bodily damage. According to the CDC, 137,000 pedestrians were sent to the emergency room with car crash-related injuries in 2017. 

It’s common that going out for a simple walk or jog can result in a tragic accident when a driver is not paying attention and hits you. Contacting Los Angeles pedestrian accident lawyers is essential after getting hit by a car because the bodily injuries are often severe and require surgery.

Causes of Pedestrian Accidents

Alcohol is a factor in 47% of crash-related pedestrian deaths. Both intoxicated drivers and pedestrians are at risk of being in an accident due to impaired senses and judgment. Injuries are more severe when the driver has a BAC of over .08%. Other common causes of pedestrian accidents are: 

  • Speeding 
  • Distracted Driving 
  • Failing to Stop or Yield 
  • Left-Hand Turns 
  • Backing-Up Accidents

Most cases that pedestrian accident lawyers in Los Angeles deal with involve pedestrians that are children or elderly. Most accidents occur at night and in heavily-trafficked areas.

Pedestrians are also hit by cars when walkways are poorly maintained or covered with debris, forcing them to walk on the road. Jaywalking is also a common factor in pedestrian accidents since there’s often less visibility, so it’s important to cross traffic at designated pedestrian crosswalks. Additionally, wearing bright or reflective colors or carrying a flashlight when walking at night can help protect you. 

Determining Fault 

While it may seem that compensation for all of your injuries is a given, you and your pedestrian accident attorneys Los Angeles may not always have a cut-and-dry case. Prior to contrary belief, pedestrians don’t always have the right of way. 

Pedestrians are instructed to yield to vehicles when they are crossing outside of a crosswalk. Jaywalking is seen as negligent in the eyes of the law. If this was the case when you were hit, you and your accident lawyer may have a more difficult case on your hands. Additionally, crossing at a traffic light while the signal shows the red hand is also a case where the pedestrian exhibits negligence. 

These situations give the driver little time to react. In these cases, it’s possible that the courts will find the pedestrian liable for their own injuries. The courts will look at the amount of care taken by both the pedestrian and the driver. 

Getting Compensation 

Compensation following car accidents hinges on the bodily damage, property damage, and amount of negligence exhibited by each party involved. Negligence in courts is determined by the amount of reasonable care that was taken leading up to the accident. 

While the pedestrian can be partially at fault in a pedestrian-car accident, the driver typically has to make a payout in order to compensate the walker or jogger for their injuries. California is a pure comparative negligence state, so the driver’s attorney may try to lower the percentage of the damages that they will have to pay.

Your Los Angeles personal injury lawyer will argue for the maximum compensation so that all your medical bills and wages lost will be covered by the other driver’s insurance. Since every accident is different, it’s impossible to drum up an average settlement that each pedestrian typically receives following an accident. However, a few of the damages that your injury lawyer will seek compensation for are listed below: 

  • Medical Bills 
  • Ambulance Bills 
  • Mental Anguish 
  • Property Damage 
  • Wages Lost Due to Time Off Work 
  • Attorney Fees 

Since you were hit by a car, you will likely have serious injuries that will require medical attention. If your injuries are so severe that you cannot work, then you should tally up your lost wages. Your Los Angeles pedestrian accident lawyers can use this in the lawsuit to show how the accident has caused you to suffer financially. 

Steps to Take After an Accident

Your road to compensation starts immediately after the accident occurs. You should call law enforcement and medical aid to the scene, and even if they take a long time, you should stick around until they get there. The other driver may be worried about their insurance rates going up and therefore offer you a cash payment to settle matters surrounding the accident, but you should not take it. 

Following a pedestrian-car accident, you should seek medical help, even if you feel fine at the time. Injuries like concussions and internal bleeding are not apparent right away. Also, going to the emergency room and getting checked out by a doctor will be a solid record of the bodily damage you sustained in the accident. 

After speaking to both law enforcement and medical professionals, you should set up a consultation with a personal injury lawyer. They can go over the events leading up to your case as well as all damages from the accident. With an attorney like Gutierrez Law at your side, you should receive maximum compensation for the pedestrian-car accident you endured.