While car crashes are already dangerous for all parties involved, pedestrian accidents could lead to more severe injuries for the victim. It's not the same to hit a car with another vehicle than to directly hit a person.
Traffic laws are meant to protect pedestrians from this kind of problem. If everyone followed them, there would be way fewer accidents in the country. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 497 pedestrians died in crashes between 2012 and 2014 only in NYC. Now, even if victims survive such accidents, they need to spend a lot of money on medical bills to recover from their injuries.
It's difficult to financially prepare for a pedestrian accident, but victims deserve the money to properly recover from it. Here is when personal injury claims get into the scene.
Victims can file a personal injury claim against the liable party for a pedestrian accident to get financial compensation. To do so, they need to prove they were at fault. How can they do that? This page has all the information about the matter.
Below is a guide on how to prove fault in a pedestrian accident in NY. Victims of a crash in New York can call the Law Office of Carl Maltese to schedule a free confidential consultation. They can also advise on how to prove fault in a bicycle accident in NY.
Main Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
Pedestrian accidents are a huge problem in the country, even with all the laws there are to ensure people's safety. Many things can cause them, and many of them are related to the negligent or reckless behavior of drivers.
Texting, eating, or other activities that distract people while they drive could cause a pedestrian accident. Drivers need to keep their focus on the road at all times.
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs also makes these accidents more prone to happen. Needless to say, it's also a crime.
Even if drivers are not drunk or distracted, just ignoring traffic signals could create a huge problem. Speeding, for example, makes it difficult for people to brake in case a pedestrian is in the way.
While distracted driving and adopting a reckless behavior in general are the main causes of this problem, pedestrians could also be liable for a crash. They shouldn't walk while using their phone and must keep their eyes on the road when they cross the street.
How Can Victims Prove Fault in a Pedestrian Accident?
Victims with serious injuries need to file a claim to get the money to cover medical expenses after an accident. The most difficult part of the process - and also the most important one - is proving the other party was at fault for what happened.
Below are the main steps injured pedestrians should take to prove liability after a crash:
Contact a Lawyer
A good pedestrian accident lawyer is essential for anyone trying to prove liability for a claim. Long Island pedestrian accident attorneys know the law and are experienced in these cases, so they will know what the other party may come up with.
Since New York follows a comparative negligence system, the victim's compensation will decrease depending on how liable they are for the accident. That makes it important for lawyers to always be a step ahead of what the defendant will try.
Build a Legal Strategy
When someone contacts a lawyer for a pedestrian accident case, they will most likely schedule a free consultation to discuss the details of what happened. There, both need to build a legal strategy to win the compensation to cover the medical bills and damages the victim suffered.
The injured pedestrian needs to prove that the other party caused the crash and that the accident was the reason behind the injuries they are suffering. Even if they show, for example, that another driver ignored traffic signals, it's still important to state how that made the injuries happen.
Since drivers have the legal obligation to act with care and follow traffic laws, proving the breach of that duty is a great start. Unlike criminal cases, a New York personal injury attorney only needs to prove something was more likely to happen instead of proving it beyond any reasonable doubt.
Gather Evidence
Once the victim hires an experienced personal injury attorney and starts the case, they need to gather enough evidence to file a pedestrian accident claim. People have three days from the day of the crash to file a lawsuit, so they have enough time to get proof of what happened.
Videos, pictures of the accident scene, and witness statements are excellent ways of proving the other party caused the accident. As for the injuries the victim is suffering from, medical records are often the answer.
Victims should keep in mind that using surveillance video to prove liability and recover damages could backlash. In the New York Law, someone who is partially at fault for a crash can still get compensation, but they will get less. It's everyone's duty to prevent accidents.
Try to Get to a Settlement
Similar to other personal injury matters, accidents involving pedestrians can get to a settlement through mediation. Both parties can negotiate how much compensation the victim should receive to avoid going to trial.
Here, evidence is the key to success. The victim needs to show they are ready to prove how liable the other party is if the case goes to trial. That way, the defendant will be more eager to offer a fair settlement after a pedestrian accident.
Such accidents involve a complex legal process, so victims need to stay calm and trust their lawyer. Trials and negotiations could lead to emotional distress, but it's worth it once the victim can cover the lost wages and damages they suffered due to the crash.
If the case goes to trial, it's up to the lawyer the victim hired to use the evidence they got to convince the judge that their client's version of the story is the right one. They need to keep the possibility of going to trial in mind when filing a personal injury lawsuit.
What Can Victims Get Compensation for After a Pedestrian Accident?
Proving liability for a pedestrian accident is essential when asking for compensation in a claim. However, once the victim does that, what are they going to get money for? Well, it's important to understand it because lawyers must include that in the lawsuit.
Victims can cover economic and non-economic damages after a car crash - or personal injury lawsuit in general -. The former includes quantifiable elements with a price. Hospital bills are an excellent example of that.
Someone can easily ask for all the money they need for hospital bills in a claim because they know how much money they will spend on it. Even car repair shop estimates could work. The idea of this is to let the other party know how much money the accident made them lose.
Although people often get confused over it, lost wages also count as economic damages. The victim only needs to calculate how much money they would have made if they had been working the time they were injured.
Things get trickier when talking about non-economic damages. Since they are not quantifiable, it's difficult to ask for an exact amount of money as compensation for them. Stress, loss of enjoyment of life, physical pain, and other mental health conditions are examples of it.
Judges need to use specific methods to quantify how much money the victim deserves for this type of damage. The most common ones are multiplying the total amount of economic ones to a number between one and five.
However, other people give a specific daily value to non-economic damages. With this method, victims have to multiply the daily worth they gave their pain to the days they spent suffering from it.
Final Thoughts - Get a Free Consultation for a New York Pedestrian Accident
The process of filing a personal injury suit can be stressful and overwhelming, but it's the best way for victims to get compensation after a crash. An insurance company won't help them that much in these cases, so attorneys must be skilled and passionate enough to prove the other party's liability. They can also share details on how to prove fault in a construction accident in NY.
Victims in New York don't need to keep looking for a lawyer. The Law Office of Carl Maltese can address all their needs. They only need to go to its website and contact it to schedule a free case evaluation and build a strong legal strategy.
Acting with reasonable care is important for drivers and pedestrians. It's everyone's duty to stay safe. The injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents could be deadly.
Lawyers from the Law Office of Carl Maltese can also advise pedestrians on how they can protect themselves legally in case a crash happens. Being aware of the dangers of breaking the law makes it easier to get fair compensation in a claim.
This law firm addresses a wide variety of practice areas apart from just pedestrian accidents.
Lines are open 24/7, so no one should hesitate to call the Law Office of Carl Maltese at any time.
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