Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers handles pedestrian accident claims in California. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a pedestrian accident, we can help you recover financial compensation for medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain, suffering, wrongful death and more.
While sunny California can be a great place to take a walk, unfortunately, sometimes pedestrian accidents involving serious injuries occur. 7,318 Americans were killed in pedestrian accidents in 2023.
Pedestrian accident victims are often left injured and unable to work, facing huge medical bills they can’t pay because they can’t work. If you are in a situation like this, our law firm can help you, and we won’t charge you until and unless we recover financial compensation on your behalf. Our only fee to handle your pedestrian accident claim is a percentage of any financial recovery we make for you – we won’t charge any upfront or out-of-pocket fees. This means that you will owe us nothing if we do not win your case.
If you can’t afford treatment for your injuries, we’ll find doctors for you who will treat you on a lien – this means that you won’t be charged for your treatment until your case is over. We work with a network of the best doctors in the state who are willing to give our clients this deal because they know that we get great results for our clients, and quickly.
We have been handling pedestrian accident cases since 1990 and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of our clients – our vast experience in handling cases just like yours means we can recover the most compensation possible for you so you can get your life back on track.
We have an office near you, as we have locations from Los Angeles and Palm Desert to Yreka and Susanville. Call us today for a free consultation, fill out this page’s free case evaluation form or simply text us from this page if you or a loved one were injured or killed in a pedestrian accident in California.
What Can an Experienced Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Recover Compensation For?
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a pedestrian accident, our personal injury attorneys can help you recover financial compensation for many things, including:
Medical Bills
The bulk of compensation in your typical pedestrian accident case will be compensation for medical bills. This may include bills that you have already incurred. This also may include the cost of future medical treatment which you will need. We can help you recover financial compensation for all past and future medical expenses which are related to the accident you experienced as a pedestrian.
Lost Wages
Common pedestrian accident injuries like spinal cord injuries or a traumatic brain injury can lead to victims missing time from work. They might be hurt too badly to work or they might need to take time off from work in order to have their injuries treated. If you are an injured pedestrian, we can help you recover financial compensation for any wages you’re unable to earn due to your injuries.
Loss of Earning Capacity
When people are injured in accidents as pedestrians, sometimes they are left disabled by their injuries. If you have been left disabled by your accident, this represents a loss or reduction of your earning capacity which our experienced pedestrian accident lawyers can help you recover financial compensation for.
Pain and Suffering
When pedestrian accidents occur, they can lead to serious injury. The injuries sustained in these accidents can cause tremendous physical pain and mental suffering. Our pedestrian accident attorneys have over 30 years of experience in placing accurate values on our clients’ pain and suffering and making sure our clients are fairly compensated for said pain and suffering.
Wrongful Death
Unfortunately, pedestrian fatalities sometimes occur. If your loved one has suffered fatal injuries in a pedestrian accident, it is unfortunate that financial compensation won’t be able to bring your loved one back. However, we can file a wrongful death claim on your behalf seeking financial compensation which can help your family avoid having to go through financial hardship due to the loss of your loved one.
We can help you recover compensation for:
- The funeral and burial bills you incurred due to the loss of your loved one
- The medical bills your loved one incurred prior to passing
- The pain and suffering your loved one went through prior to passing
- The suffering and grieving you’ve gone through due to the loss of your loved one
- No longer having the love, companionship, income, spousal benefits and/or household services of your loved one
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages will not be available in every case involving a pedestrian accident. However, if your case involved reckless or intentional conduct such as drunk driving, we will seek punitive damages on your behalf in order to punish the wrongdoer, deter others from similar conduct in the future and maximize your financial recovery.
What Can a Pedestrian Accident Attorney Do for Me?
You may be wondering what a lawyer can do for you after your accident. The services our lawyers provide include:
Providing Victims of Pedestrian Accidents With Free Consultations
We can provide you with a free, no obligation case evaluation. During your first meeting with us, we will ask you for details regarding your accident, ask you about your injuries, and ask you for any other information which is relevant. We will ask questions which are needed to obtain a full understanding regarding your case, and we will meticulously assess your case’s details.
Investigating Cases
We will provide a thorough investigation of your case. This investigation will include:
Scene Documentation
One reason it’s vital to contact an accident attorney sooner instead of later is because accident scenes don’t stay the same very long. Damaged vehicles are removed, debris gets dealt with, and damage to guardrails, the road and additional structures is repaired.
Our legal team or our investigators will go to the site of the accident as quickly as possible in order to take pictures, record video and collect evidence. This will include:
- Vehicle damage
- Vehicles’ positions
- Damage to road surfaces like skid marks
- Intersection or road layouts
These details may end up supporting your personal injury claim. Your lawyers and additional professionals who investigate your accident will thoroughly document and gather evidence.
Witness Interviews
Your claim against an at-fault driver can be corroborated by eyewitness testimony. You might have spoken to witnesses at the accident scene. If you did, make sure you obtain their contact info. If not, our legal team will review any police report or other records in order to find people who may be witnesses.
Our legal team will ask every witness what they saw and where they stood, what the accident scene’s conditions were like, etc. Accounts from witnesses may support your injury claim and help to fight against defense arguments that the insurance company for the at-fault driver might present. For example, a witness may have seen the driver of the vehicle which hit you using their smartphone before striking you, and may be able to testify that distracted driving was the reason for your accident.
Obtaining and Reviewing Important Documents
The police report will be one of the most crucial documents in terms of building your claim. This report will contain important info like:
- The accident location
- What time the accident happened
- The contact information and names of every driver involved
- The insurance info of all drivers involved
- The damage any vehicle involved sustained
- Notes regarding scene conditions like weather and visibility
- Statements given by those involved
- Statements plus contact information from witnesses
Our legal team will also review additional documents like medical records, medical bills and auto insurance policies.
Investigating Vehicles
While police reports often include notes regarding vehicle damage, vehicle examinations can be crucial. Our legal team will thoroughly examine any vehicles involved, documenting their damage and comparing any findings with accident reports and additional documents to figure out what occurred in your accident and whose fault the accident may be.
This is important because, for example, sometimes vehicle investigations uncover evidence of defective parts or components which may play role in pedestrian accidents. If this occurs, our legal team can take legal action for you against liable parties such as part manufacturers.
Hiring Experts
Our legal team might hire expert witnesses in order to help with your claim investigation. Expert testimony can play a vital role in many aspects regarding your case, such as determining liability and causation regarding your accident, or understanding the injuries you sustained and the financial compensation you may be entitled to.
Not every pedestrian accident case will necessitate expert witnesses. However, if yours does, rest assured we have the resources, experience and knowledge to hire only the most qualified experts to help with your case.
Dealing With Insurance Companies for You
Perhaps the most important thing lawyers can do for you is to deal with insurance companies for you.
There are two reasons why it’s vital to hire lawyers to deal with insurance companies for you:
- Insurance companies won’t pay you what you’re entitled to unless you can force them to
- Insurance companies will try to trick you into saying things that allow them to pay you less money or nothing at all
You Need the Insurance Company’s Respect to Recover the Most Compensation
When drivers cause pedestrian accidents due to their negligence, California law holds them liable for any injuries sustained in those accidents. What this usually means, in effect, is that their insurance company is obligated to pay for any injuries up to the policy limits.
However, this obligation can only be enforced through the civil court system. In other words, if an insurance company offers you a low ball offer when you file a claim with them, and they almost always will with their first offer, your only legal recourse is to sue them over that offer and win if you want to recover what you’re actually entitled to.
However, insurance companies have a lot of money to throw at lawyers, so they know you can’t win in court against them if you don’t have a lawyer of your own. In other words, if you don’t have a lawyer, the insurance company won’t respect you. They won’t respect your ability to sue them and win, so they’ll never offer you anything but a low ball offer.
However, we have been successfully resolving pedestrian accident cases since 1990, and insurance companies know that. Insurance companies know that when we take pedestrian accident cases to court, we win. Almost every single case we handle gets settled out of court because of this. When insurance companies see our name on a letter of representation, they will respect you because they respect and fear us.
The best way to recover the financial compensation you deserve after your accident is by handling experienced attorneys with a reputation for success like the lawyers at our firm. Studies show that those who are injured and then hire lawyers end up recovering a lot more money than those who don’t hire lawyers, even after taking attorney fees into consideration.
Insurance Adjusters Manipulate Injury Victims
Insurance companies train their adjusters to manipulate injury victims. They train they to trick injury victims into saying the wrong thing while giving a recorded statement. They’ll try to trick you into admitting fault for your pedestrian accident. They’ll try to trick you into saying things which imply that you are not actually hurt as badly as you are claiming. If you say the wrong thing, it can cause the value of your claim to instantly plummet, and it is very easy to say the wrong thing even if you are aware they are trying to trick you.
If you hire us to handle your claim, we can handle all communications and negotiations with insurance companies for you. We can negotiate the best possible settlement for you. We can handle all talks with insurance companies for you so you don’t have to worry about incriminating yourself. We can handle every aspect of your claim so all you need to do is focus on your recovery and family.
Representing You in Court
It is rare that we need to represent pedestrian accident victims in court – almost all of our cases get settled out of court because insurance companies fear and respect us.
However, should settlement negotiations fail, rest assured that our experienced team of trial lawyers have the resources and know-how to fight for you in court and win.
Why Do I Need A Pedestrian Accident Lawyer?
The lawyers at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers are experts at obtaining their clients policy limit settlements for pedestrian accidents, having been successfully doing so since 1990. We will obtain the financial compensation you deserve by proving that your pedestrian accident was the result of somebody else’s negligence.
Juries in California are instructed to refer to CACI No. 401, which defines negligence as “the failure to use reasonable care to prevent harm to oneself or to others.” It states that acting or failing to act can be negligent, as can be doing what a reasonably careful person wouldn’t or not doing what a reasonably careful person would. Jurors are instructed to “decide how a reasonably careful person would have acted” in the same situation.
Negligence occurring is not the only thing which needs to occur for a successful negligence claim in California, though. Jurors are instructed to refer to CACI No. 400, which states that the following must be proven for a successful negligence claim:
- The defendant was negligent;
- The plaintiff was harmed;
- The defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s harm
We will prove that your accident and injuries occurred due to the negligence of somebody else. We’ve seen it all when it comes to pedestrian accidents. We know how they’re caused and why these causes are negligent.
Many pedestrian accidents are caused by drunk drivers, and distracted drivers, inattentive drivers, and drivers’ failures to obey laws such as speeding laws and road signs are also common causes of pedestrian accidents. We’ve handled countless cases involving the above and have a mountain of experience in proving these situations involve negligence.
Who Is Considered A Pedestrian in California?
You do not have to be walking when your accident occurred for your accident to be considered a pedestrian accident. Pedestrians accident victims are simply victims who were not in a motor vehicle when the accident occurred. You are technically a pedestrian when you’re injured while:
- Performing maintenance on your vehicle
- Walking
- Using a wheelchair
Distracted Pedestrians: Unexpected Hazards
Pedestrians do not have the advantage in collisions with vehicles. However, they can do things that can bring harm to themselves. Many pedestrians are too carefree and end up distracting themselves to the point where they become a hazard.
Pedestrians often become hazards when they distract themselves by:
- Reading
- Talking to friends
- Using their phones
- Texting
- Listening to music
What To Do After A Pedestrian Accident
Attending to your immediate medical needs is obviously your number one priority after a pedestrian accident, but it’s smart to do the following things if you’re physically capable:
- Call the police. An accident report can be a key piece of evidence for you;
- Get photos of the at-fault driver’s license plate, insurance information and driver’s license;
- Get pictures of the vehicle which struck you, the condition of the road, the condition of the weather, any damaged property, the scene of the accident and your injuries;
- Get information about witnesses, including names and phone numbers;
- Get immediate medical attention. This is important because the longer you wait to see a doctor the harder it is to prove that your injuries resulted from the accident;
- Do everything your doctor says and don’t miss doctor’s appointments;
- Document your injuries and recovery;
- Don’t talk about the accident or your injuries on social media;
- Contact an experienced pedestrian accident attorney;
- Don’t talk to insurance adjusters or accept settlement offers. Leave these things to your attorney.
How Long Do I Have To File A Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit in California?
You usually have two years from the date of the accident to file a pedestrian accident lawsuit in California.
How Can I Pay For My Medical Bills After A Pedestrian Accident?
There are many options available to you for paying your medical bills after a pedestrian accident. They include:
- Auto insurance: Your auto insurance policy may include optional medical payments coverage. The driver’s auto insurance policy can also cover your medical bills, but you should never negotiate with an at-fault party’s insurance company. Rather, you should have a lawyer do it for you.
- Health insurance: Your health insurance will usually cover some of your medical bills but you might need to pay the rest back. You should ask a lawyer about how any recovery in a pedestrian accident claim can be used to pay health insurance co-pays.
- Liens: Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers can get you to the best doctors who will treat you on a lien, meaning you don’t have to pay them anything until your case settles.
- Paying the bills yourself: You can always pay your bills yourself, and these medical payments will be reimbursed if your pedestrian accident claim is successful.
California Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit
We’ve been successfully obtaining pedestrian accident clients recoveries for three decades and have recovered over $750,000,000 on behalf of our clients in that time. Pedestrian accident settlements we have recovered include:
- A policy limits settlement for the family of a pedestrian who was hit and killed by a motorist in a Harbor Boulevard crosswalk in Garden Grove
- A policy limits settlement for a pedestrian struck and killed by a truck in Santa Monica on Lincoln Boulevard
Insurance companies fear us because we know the ins and outs of pedestrian accidents. Insurance companies know that we use impenetrable logic and thorough knowledge of the law to exhaustively prove that our clients’ injuries were the result of negligence, and they know if they low-ball their offer to us, we’ll take them to court and win. This is why we’re able to obtain policy limits recoveries for our clients.
Call us today for a free consultation if you or a loved one was injured or killed because of a pedestrian accident. You may be entitled to a financial recovery.
