Injured In A Pedestrian Accident? Pennsylvania Lawyers Help You Fight For Compensation

Pennsylvania has thousands of accidents involving pedestrians every year. Auto drivers often cause injury or death to inadvertent road users by being careless.

PA Pedestrian Accident Lawyers

The Justice Guardians personal injury law firm is available to help pedestrians who have been hurt in an accident. Contact us now if you think you are in this situation.

Victims of pedestrian accidents can seek compensation from those responsible for their injuries through the civil justice system. We will provide free legal consultations to help you determine if achieving compensation is possible.

Who Is At Fault In A Pedestrian Accident?

Determining who is at fault in a pedestrian accident is not always straightforward. One may think that the driver of a vehicle is usually at fault, and indeed many pedestrian accidents are caused by careless drivers, for example:

• The vehicle involved was being operated by a driver who was impaired by alcohol or drugs.
• The driver was operating the vehicle at an excessive rate of speed, often over the speed limit as posted.
• The vehicle involved in the pedestrian accident did not yield to the pedestrian in either a crosswalk, at a stop sign, or a stoplight.
• The driver involved in the pedestrian accident was using his or her cell phone and accidentally ran into one or more pedestrians due to distraction.

Who Is Considered A Pedestrian?

Generally, a pedestrian is anyone who is traversing a public place on foot. This includes individuals who are:

• Walking, running, otherwise moving in an area they have a right to be in
• Crossing or otherwise using a roadway or crosswalk legally and with due caution
• Anyone operating a wheelchair for transport purposes within an appropriate area

Who Else Can Be Held Liable?

One must also consider other factors that can lead to a pedestrian being struck by a car or other automotive vehicle:

• Traffic signal malfunction: if stoplights or electrical crosswalk signage malfunctions, it can lead pedestrians to cross the street at a time when it is not safe to do so.
• Poor road or intersection design: there are likely a number of different contractors responsible for designing and building any section of road. If these contractors were negligent in their duty to design safe roadways for both drivers and pedestrians, they could be held liable for injuries or death resulting from pedestrian accidents.
  • In such instances, the city or specific municipality may also be held liable for damages via a civil lawsuit. 

The true cause of a pedestrian accident may seem obvious at first, but it is critically important to conduct an investigation that gets to the bottom of the issue. It may be that numerous factors, not just one, accumulated and led to the accident. Therefore, if a pedestrian accident lawsuit is filed, it could be filed against different parties.

What Does A Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Do?

When you hire a pedestrian accident law firm, the attorneys representing you will analyze all of the circumstances surrounding the accident. 

They will visit the scene to collect as much evidence as possible. This includes potential eyewitness testimony as well as video recordings, such as from local businesses. Your lawyer and their team will also contact roadway safety experts who may also conduct their own investigation of the scene to determine who may have been at fault.

As mentioned above, it may very well be exclusively the fault of the driver. However, design flaws in the roadway may exist, which had not previously been noticed. A roadway safety expert can point these out and theorize how they may have led to the accident and your damages.

Seeking Compensation For Personal Injury Or Death

Once your pedestrian accident attorney team has found the party or parties likely responsible for the accident, the next step is to open communications with them in search of compensation.

Through a demand letter conceived by your legal representatives, you are officially establishing your intention to file a lawsuit if you are not compensated for your damages. If these initial demands are not met or at least negotiated, your team will move to file the lawsuit in the appropriate court. 

Deadlines And Time Limits In A Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit

In the legal process, many vital deadlines must be met for a claim to be successful. Naturally, all of this paperwork will be handled by your lawyer.

Timelines become even more critical when the defendant in your pedestrian accident lawsuit is not an individual but the city or municipality where the accident occurred. Often, your intent to file a lawsuit must be established within a short time frame after the accident occurs. Once more, such critical aspects of a lawsuit will be managed by your legal team so that you can concentrate on recovering from your injuries.

How Much Compensation For Injured Pedestrians?

If you suffered personal injury or had a family member killed in a pedestrian accident, the only way to receive compensation for your loss is likely through a personal injury claim. How much compensation can be obtained is usually directed by the damages you've suffered. Some factors to be considered when determining the value of a pedestrian accident lawsuit include:

1. Medical expenses, including surgery, rehabilitation, medication, and ongoing treatment needs
2. Lost wages due to physical disability
3. Pain & suffering
4. Loss of enjoyment of life
5. Loss of consortium & more

In some instances, punitive damages will be sought out as well. This means that an amount of money will be awarded to you because the party responsible for the accident was deemed to have acted with negligence or acted with intent to cause harm purposely.

In Pennsylvania, it is challenging to win punitive damages. However, with an experienced pedestrian accident attorney by your side, you can rest assured that all applicable forms of compensation will be pursued.

Free Pedestrian Accident Consultations

The team of injury attorneys at the Justice Guardians makes their services available at no cost to victims of pedestrian accidents. Simply fill out the form on this page or contact us directly at our 24/7 injury victim helpline and take the first step on the path to justice.