San Antonio

Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents

Although car crashes and pedestrian accidents are different situations, they share a lot of the same causes.  Some common factors that cause pedestrian accidents to happen include:

• Distracted driving
• Speeding or the general failure to abide by roadway laws
• Failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk
• Weather conditions
• Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs

Common Pedestrian Accident Claims

Just as there are multiple causes of pedestrian accidents, there are many different types of pedestrian accidents as well.  The following is a list of some of the common claims that arise from pedestrian accidents:

Getting Hit By A Car Or Other Vehicle In A Crosswalk

Under Texas law, drivers are required to yield to the right of way of pedestrians who are using crosswalks.  However, distracted drivers sometimes fail to check the crosswalks while other drivers purposely don’t yield to pedestrians because they think cars should have the right of way.  Every pedestrian has an inherent expectation that motorists will stop for them when walking on a crosswalk, but the reality is that some drivers ignore the rules, fail to stop, and cause serious accidents and injuries.

Getting Hit By A Car Or Other Vehicle On A Sidewalk

Often times drivers make a choice to speed, unlawfully pass other drivers on the road shoulder, or just don’t pay attention to where they are going.  In these cases, drivers can end up losing sight of the marked road and can hit pedestrians who are safely traveling along sidewalks.  This is less common than getting hit while walking in a crosswalk, but it certainly can and has happened in San Antonio roadways.

Children Getting Hit By A Car Or Other Vehicle

Children are especially vulnerable to the dangers of being hit by a car, a bicycle, or any type of motor vehicle.  Children love to outside play near the street, but, unfortunately, this makes them more susceptible to getting hit if a driver is not paying close attention or doesn’t have time to yield.  It is important to keep a close eye on your children while they are playing outside and to educate them about the importance of pedestrian safety.  San Antonio programs such as Vision Zero mentioned above are trying to tackle issues like this by educating children and parents on proper safety protocol and how to avoid putting yourself or your children in harm’s way.

How to File a Claim

1. Call the Police

It is crucial that you contact the police as soon as possible and as soon as you are able.  The police are able to file an official report on the accident, which can be very helpful later on when filing a personal injury claim.

2. Seek Medical Attention

After suffering an accident, the most important thing to do is to seek medical attention.  Knowing what your injuries are and a treatment plan is an essential part of being able to file a claim.  Without a medical professional’s evaluation of your injuries, it is hard to quantify your damages.

3. Call an Attorney

If you have been involved in a pedestrian accident, the best way to make sure you are being treated fairly is to hire an experienced attorney.  Our San Antonio pedestrian accident lawyers at Zinda Law Group have the experience to assist you and may be able to help.

4. Investigation

Once you speak with and hire an attorney, they may help you by launching an investigation into your claim in order to determine what happened.  This investigation will include reviewing the police report, looking at your medical records, and speaking with any witnesses or anyone who has any information about the incident.  The purpose of the investigation is to determine who is at fault and what amount of damages you should seek.

5. Settlement Negotiations

After investigating your claim and determining what damages are appropriate, your attorney may reach out to the responsible party’s attorney and/or insurance to ask for the agreed-upon amount of compensation.  The responsible party will usually respond with a settlement offer.  Settlement offers are an attempt to resolve the dispute and compensate the injured party without having to proceed to an actual trial.  Sometimes that settlement offer is substantially close to what you asked for, and sometimes it isn’t.  Your attorney may advise you on whether to accept the offer or negotiate further.  If in the end, you choose not to accept any of the responsible party’s offers, you may decide to proceed to a trial.

Compensation

If you or someone you know has become the victim of a pedestrian accident, you may be able to seek both economic and non-economic damages.  Economic damages are calculated using your medical bills, property damage, lost wages, and other financial burdens that arose due to the accident. Non-economic damages are based on pain and suffering.  Calculating pain and suffering is not an exact science, but often it is determined by multiplying your economic damages by a number that represents the severity of your suffering.

Some states also allow for the possibility of punitive damages.  Punitive damages are meant to punish the liable party for conduct that is particularly egregious in the hopes that it will deter others from acting similarly.

Punitive damages are allowed in Texas if the injured party can show that they are entitled to actual economic and -non-economic damages and that there is some type of extreme degree of recklessness, fraud, or cruelty involved.  A simple act of negligence will not suffice.  The burden is on the injured party to show at trial why punitive damages are appropriate in their case.

Statute of Limitations

Each state places a time limit on your ability to file a personal injury claim.  Texas law mandates that you file a claim for compensation in a personal injury case within two years of the date of the accident.  In the event that a pedestrian accident resulted in death, you will also have two years to file the claim.  However, rather than having two years from the date of the accident, you will have two years from the date the death was discovered to be a result of the accident.

If you fail to abide by the statute of limitations and wait too long, you may lose your ability to seek compensation.

Get Help From Zinda Law Group Today!

If you have been injured in a pedestrian accident, you should not hesitate to file a personal injury claim today. The attorneys at Zinda Law Group fight for their clients and have experience handling pedestrian accidents.

Call today at 512 246 2224 for a free consultation. If we don’t reach a favorable result in your case, you will not owe us anything!

Meetings with attorneys by appointment only.