“Might makes right” is no defense in car vs. pedestrian accidents

When people think of traffic laws, and traffic accidents, the first thoughts that can and often do come to mind are about the cars, the drivers, and perhaps the passengers. Seldom does the question immediately arise, “Were there any pedestrians involved?”

In our modern, mechanized society, where having a car can be seen not so much as a privilege but a necessity of life, the individual on foot can easily seem to be the forgotten person. Unfortunately, some drivers seem to forget that it is not just other drivers that they need to be paying attention to, and as a result an act as simple as crossing a street can end up becoming a life-altering event.

If you are walking or even standing still and a driver wrongly contests the right of way with you, it can happen for any number of reasons: he was talking on the phone, or looking over his shoulder to tell the kids to be quiet, or fumbling for that cigarette lighter that fell to the floor, or just plain too drunk to care.

The reasons for his hitting you are not as significant as the outcome: the car has every advantage. Your injuries, as an individual with nothing to protect you from the car grill or the pavement can be catastrophic, and your costs of recovery (not just measured by hospital bills) can be equally devastating.

You cannot necessarily count on the driver of the car that hit you or the vehicle insurer to be sympathetic to your condition. They may even seek to avoid responsibility. As attorneys who have experience representing injured pedestrians, we understand this. And we also know how frustrating it can be at times to deal with the other side to achieve a just outcome for what has happened to you.

Our role in this situation is to be your advocate, and to make sure that your rights to fair compensation for your injuries are respected and not forgotten, whether in settlement negotiations or in court. Our purpose is to make sure, after a pedestrian accident that you will not be run over again by a careless driver’s insurer or his or her defense attorney. We take your claim seriously, and will do our utmost to see that the legal system does too.