Usually a pedestrian that has been hit by an automobile, and thus plans to sue the careless driver can expect to have a sound case. Of course that same case will be made even stronger, if the same pedestrian takes the proper actions right after being hit.
Needed actions to take at time of incident
First call the police. Next get the names of any witnesses, along with their contact information. If possible take pictures. If you have no camera, at least check to see if any local businesses had a video camera running at the time when you became the target of a careless driver.
Call your insurance company. Explain the nature of your injuries, especially any pain that you are experiencing. Then make arrangements to see a doctor as soon as possible. The cost of that doctor visit will be covered by your health insurance, assuming that you have such coverage.
Most likely result of legal action taken against driver
A pedestrian that has been crossing in a cross-walk can expect to have lots of support, should that same victim decide to sue the guilty driver. Drivers are expected to keep an eye out for hazards. In the eyes of the law, a pedestrian that is walking in a cross walk and texting at the same time should be viewed as a hazard, one for which the driver should be on the lookout.
A pedestrian that chose to cross at a spot away from a cross-walk would have a weaker case. Those responsible for judging the level of his or her responsibility would seek to find out to what extent he or she had been paying attention. What was the nature of that same pedestrian’s entrance into the street? Was the street entered cautiously, or did the person that got hit just run into the road?
Could someone other than the driver be held responsible?
Sometimes an injury to a pedestrian reflects the absence of proper safety measures in some section of a roadway. The officials in a municipality reflect the existence of that possibility whenever a pedestrian suffers serious harm, while crossing a street. Those same officials might be seen asking certain questions at a scheduled meeting, during the days following such an unfortunate tragedy.
Here are the types of questions such officials might be asking: Does it look like a broken traffic light was responsible for the pedestrian’s injury? How long had that same light been broken and why had no one fixed it?
Had the city hired a contractor, one that had chosen to place a cross-walk in a dangerous location? Had someone that works for the city inspected the location of the various cross walks? If that one dangerous cross-walk was located, had it been reported? If it was reported, then why was no attempt made to install a warning for approaching drivers? It is good to let your injury lawyer in Burlington deal with the details of the claim process.
