2017 saw 5,977 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in the United States, as well as 137,000 pedestrians sent to emergency rooms for nonfatal crash-related injuries, according to the CDC. There were 13,993 pedestrian collisions resulting in 997 deaths and 14,518 injuries in California in 2018, according to provisional UC Berkeley data.
You may be entitled to financial compensation if you or a loved one was injured or killed in a pedestrian accident. However, insurance companies are not your friends. They won’t respect you unless you have strong, fearsome lawyers on your side, and their compensation offers will match this lack of respect. The insurance companies fear Nadrich & Cohen, so we can obtain the maximum amount of compensation for your injuries.
We offer a no fee promise, which means we only charge a fee if we obtain a recovery for you.
Call us today at 1-800-718-4658 for a free consultation. You can also complete the “Do I Have A Case?” form on the right, email us at info@personalinjurylawcal.com or engage with our live chat feature in the lower right.
Why Do I Need A Pedestrian Accident Lawyer?
The lawyers at Nadrich & Cohen 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.
For example, 17 percent of pedestrian accidents in 2017 involved a drunk driver, according to the CDC. 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
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 & Cohen 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.
What Types Of Damages Can I Recover In A Pedestrian Accident Claim?
Many types of damages can be recovered in a pedestrian accident claim, including:
- Medical payments
- Loss of wages and earning capacity
- Physical and mental pain and suffering
- Funeral expenses and loss of companionship in the case of a wrongful death claim
How We Can Help You
Pedestrian accidents can lead to particularly serious injuries with particularly serious medical costs and losses of income to match. Worse yet, insurance company employees are trained to manipulate you into saying things they can use to pay you less than you deserve for your injuries. They can also spy on your social media for anything they can use to pay you less.
Experienced pedestrian accident attorneys like the lawyers at Nadrich & Cohen can deal with the insurance companies for you so you don’t accidentally step into any of their devious traps. We can find the highest quality doctors to treat your injuries on a lien so you don’t have to pay until the case is over. We can take care of everything for you so all you have to do is sit back, recover from your injuries and let us obtain the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
California Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit
We’ve been successfully obtaining pedestrian accident clients recoveries for three decades and have recovered over $350,000,000 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 at 1-800-718-4658 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.
