Do You Have a Valid Pedestrian Accident Case?
If you suffered an injury in a pedestrian accident, you or your Chicago pedestrian accident attorney must prove several points, which are the elements of negligence, to obtain compensation. In short, the party at fault for your accident must have breached a duty, and you must have suffered damages. Without these elements, there’s no valid claim.
Breach of a Duty
All drivers have the duty to drive safely, following the rules of the road. If the driver doesn’t follow these rules and standards, they have breached their duty and are negligent. If they have broken the law, it makes it easy for your attorney to show that there was a breach of duty. For instance, if a driver ran a red light and hit you in a crosswalk, establishing their negligence should be straightforward.
Injuries and Damages
Negligence by itself doesn’t give an injury claim merit. In addition to the other party breaching a duty, the victim or person bringing the claim must suffer a physical injury. Your injuries must cause you to incur provable damages. These can be economic such as medical expenses or lost income, or non-economic, like pain and suffering or loss of consortium.
Intersections: Dangers Places for Chicago Pedestrians
Intersections are necessary but dangerous areas on Chicago area roadways. Far too many people suffer injuries or die in intersection accidents every year, especially those on foot.
Half of all car accidents happen at or near an intersection. This equates to 2.5 million intersection accidents in the United States each year, many involving unsuspecting pedestrians. Some of these accidents happen due to the nature or design of the intersection, traffic signs or signals, or even road conditions. However, the majority stem from poor driving behaviors. What makes intersections such dangerous places for pedestrians?
Ignoring Red Lights
Everyone is in a hurry these days. You won’t find sitting at a red light on many drivers’ to-do lists. Instead of slowing down and waiting until they can safely maneuver through an intersection, too many drivers throw caution to the wind and drive on through. They speed up when the traffic light turns yellow. They try to beat the lights and end up more focused on lights than the traffic around them, so they don’t see pedestrians who have stepped into a crosswalk.
Too Many Entry Points
The risk of pedestrian accidents rises with the number of driveways at an intersection. Intersections often have businesses on every side, exit and entry points, or driveways that go into the intersection. This fact adds to the already dangerous conditions.
Here there are:
- Vehicles funneling in and out of the driveways
- Pedestrians on the sidewalk, some of them not even paying attention
- Drivers looking for a store instead of paying attention to pedestrians by their side
Unfortunately, these driveways create a situation that’s ripe for pedestrian accidents. Chicago pedestrian accident attorneys know this all too well, as they represent many victims who have sustained severe injuries from them.
Illegal and Dangerous Turns
All drivers on the road must obey local and state traffic laws and use caution behind the wheel. Even still, many make illegal or unsafe turns. Pedestrians and bicyclists are at risk when drivers make illegal turns on red, don’t check nearby crosswalks, or fail to yield the right of way. Suppose your accident happened due to an illegal or dangerous turn. In that case, Chicago pedestrian accident lawyers can hold the driver liable for your injuries.
Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries
In one recent year alone, over 7,000 pedestrians lost their lives on U.S. roads in crashes involving motor vehicles. This means that about one pedestrian fatality occurred about every 75 minutes. In fact, one in six individuals who died in crashes that year were pedestrians. In addition to pedestrian accident deaths, an estimated 104,000 pedestrian emergency department visits for non-fatal crash-related injuries occurred.
Severe and even catastrophic injuries are too often the result of Chicago pedestrian accidents. Typically, pedestrian accidents cause much more than a simple, painful bruise or bump. Pedestrian accident injuries frequently lead to considerable medical expenses, months in rehabilitative therapy, and even the potential need for lifelong nursing care.
In most car accidents, passenger vehicle occupants have the protection of seatbelts, airbags, and other safety and protective device mechanisms. On the other hand, pedestrians have little to no protection in such an accident.
The pedestrian is the most vulnerable party in this situation, which causes them to potentially sustain many severe or even fatal bodily injuries, including:
Road rash
Soft tissue injuries, including whiplash
Broken bones
Severe burns
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
Spinal cord injuries (SCI)
Internal organ damage
Severe bleeding
Head and neck injuries
Herniated discs
PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)
Over half of pedestrian accident injuries happen after the initial contact with the vehicle. For instance, when the pedestrian victim suffers an injury by hitting the ground or making contact with other objects in the immediate area. Even when injuries occur in this way, the driver responsible for the accident is still liable for these secondary injuries.
Our seasoned Chicago pedestrian accident lawyers can help you establish your injuries within your accident claim, even if they did not result from the initial contact with the liable party’s vehicle.
Compensation for Pedestrian Accident Injuries
Individuals injured in pedestrian accidents have the right to seek compensation in a personal injury claim.
A settlement or an award can potentially provide compensation for your losses and expenses, including:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium
- Medical and rehabilitation expenses
- Lost income
- Future lost earnings
- Property damage
- Loss of enjoyment of life
These losses are called damages, which can be economic or non-economic. Filing a civil personal injury claim can make you financially whole again after your injuries, as best as the law reasonably allows. For some injured parties, this may include several other areas of compensation. Your Chicago pedestrian accident attorneys can provide more specific advice regarding what types of compensation you should receive.
Is There a Deadline for Filing a Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit?
Cases involving pedestrian accidents must meet filing deadlines set by the statute of limitations. Once the window expires, they generally cannot seek legal action and negligence.
Illinois has a two-year statute of limitations for most pedestrian accidents, but the deadline can shrink or grow, depending on the case. Besides, you don’t want to wait until evidence disappears to take action. After an accident contact our Chicago pedestrian accident attorneys as soon as possible. Waiting too long can disqualify you from receiving the compensation you otherwise may have deserved.
Injured in a Pedestrian Accident? How Our Chicago Pedestrian Accident Attorneys Can Help
The most common reason for seeking the help of an injury law firm in Chicago is to receive compensation for damages. When you hire us, our Chicago pedestrian accident attorneys will be a constant advocate for you and your rights. It’s our job to ensure your case goes well and is successful.
Your attorney will advise you of your legal rights.
They will go over what you need to know, such as:
- What you should say
- What you shouldn’t say
- What documents are legally necessary
- Which documents you don’t have to sign or turn over to the other party’s insurance adjuster
Sadly, what you don’t know in a personal injury claim can hurt you. For instance, you don’t have to sign a full medical release from the insurance agency. You are only required to give them your medical records for any medical treatment you receive related to your injuries in the accident. If you give them access to all of your medical records, what they find might be detrimental to your claim. Unfortunately, you can bet they will try to use it against you.
Experienced insurance adjusters will look to see if it’s possible to blame some of your accident injuries on any pre-existing conditions you might have had. If they can do this, they might have a valid reason for denying or devaluing your insurance settlement.
Paperwork for your claim will go to your attorney. Once they screen it, they will advise you whether you should sign it and comply with the insurer’s request or not.
At the same time, your attorney’s office will gather the evidence needed to prove your case, such as:
- Accident reports
- Witness statements
- Pictures
- Video surveillance footage
Once a reputable Chicago pedestrian accident attorney represents you, please don’t accept any financial settlement from either the person who caused your injuries or their insurance agency. Even if they call you to work out a settlement right away before you talk to an attorney, don’t accept anything without speaking to a lawyer at Midwest Injury Lawyers first. Keep in mind that the first offer you receive from the insurance company will likely be extremely low compared to a fair settlement for your damages.
Your attorney’s job is to fight for you and look out for your best interest. They provide you with easily-digestible answers to your pressing legal questions. They should give you an idea of what your case is worth and negotiate to get you a more significant settlement. Personal injury laws are complex. Having an attorney who is well-versed in the law is critical to your claim’s success.
Chicago Pedestrian Accident FAQs
Every case is different. The value of your claim depends on the facts and details of your case. At Midwest Injury Lawyers, our legal professionals inspect all available evidence to determine a fair settlement to compensate you for your damages and injuries.
The value of your claim will depend on these factors and possibly others:
- How the accident happened
- The types of injuries you sustained
- Future medical problems you might encounter
- Your medical expenses and lost income
- Your future medical costs and future loss of income
- The applicable insurance coverages
One of the top things injured individuals think about when hiring a personal injury attorney is the financial aspect. Unfortunately, most injured pedestrians don’t have thousands of dollars available to hire an attorney. However, at Midwest Injury Lawyers, we work on behalf of our injured clients on a contingency fee basis only. We don’t charge you unless we win your case.
We know that people involved in pedestrian accidents typically don’t have the financial ability to pay for legal help before reaching a settlement or winning their case. We don’t require any money upfront and nothing out of pocket.
You don’t even need to pay to meet with one of our knowledgeable Chicago pedestrian accident attorneys to review your claim. If you agree to hire us, you won’t pay us until you receive your settlement or court award. Once you do, we will receive a pre-arranged percentage of your compensation for our work.
Our Experienced Chicago Pedestrian Accident Attorneys are Here for You
You don’t need to determine why or how your pedestrian accident occurred. At Midwest Injury Lawyers, our experienced Chicago pedestrian accident lawyers will assess and investigate what happened so that the appropriate steps can be taken to help you recover financially from your accident-related losses. Reach out to a Chicago personal injury lawyer.We will work to negotiate a full and fair settlement, and if the insurance company fails to provide one, we aren’t afraid to litigate your claim.
We offer no-obligation case reviews. Contact us at (312) 786-5881 or online to schedule yours today.
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Midwest Injury Lawyers – Chicago Office
155 N Upper Wacker Drive, Suite 4250
Chicago, IL 60606
P: (312) 786-5881
A Word from One of Our Pedestrian Injury Attorneys
Accidents involving pedestrians often result in serious injuries. While a victim is seeking treatment and attempting to heal, we can investigate the scene, find all of the applicable insurance policies, and make sure your rights are protected. Any delay in action can give the insurance companies an advantage. As a result, it is crucial to speak with an experienced pedestrian attorney as soon as possible after an accident.
– Chester L. Cameron
Request a Free Consultation
Tell our experienced team about your accident and/or injuries. One of our personal injury attorneys will contact you to schedule a free case evaluation. Remember: you won’t pay for anything unless we secure a compensation on your behalf.
Call (312) 786-5881 or send us a message online to get started.