Hitchcock Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Injuries suffered in pedestrian accidents are almost always severe and can be life-threatening. They can affect you and your entire family’s future. You should not have to worry about how you will pay for your medical bills and other expenses while you work on recuperating, but you might be feeling pressure from a driver who is denying accountability or their insurance company who refuses to give you fair compensation.

A Hitchcock pedestrian accident lawyer could help identify the losses you suffered and hold the liable parties accountable through settlement talks or a lawsuit. A proper personal injury attorney could guide you through the legal process and offer helpful advice as you pursue your rightful compensation for the challenges you are experiencing.

Reasons For Auto-Pedestrian Crashes

Many pedestrian accidents happen at intersections. Even if intersections have marked crosswalks which are intended to help people safely cross roads, intersections are still dangerous for people on foot. While motorists expect to see other cars, most are not always on high alert and do not check for people walking or jogging across the street. They are much harder to spot, especially at night, if they are not wearing proper reflective clothing.

However, just because people are harder to see does not mean that drivers should be excused from liability, particularly if a motorist was acting negligently. Distractions, such as texting, eating, talking to passengers, reading GPS directions, or changing music, could cause a motorist to be inattentive and miss seeing a pedestrian. Drivers who speed are also responsible for pedestrian crashes, since they cannot stop in time to prevent accidents. Failure to follow traffic signals or yield the right of way can also lead to a major collision.

Pedestrian accidents also frequently occur in parking lots where drivers who are in a hurry to get out of their parking spots fail to look behind them before reversing.

A dedicated Hitchcock lawyer could investigate the circumstances of a pedestrian accident to learn why it occurred, and search for proof of liability.

Shared Fault Situations in Pedestrian Crashes

As with most other types of motor vehicle crashes, many pedestrian accidents happen because of shared fault situations. Often, both the driver and pedestrian are partially at fault for a crash. Pedestrians can share responsibility for a crash when their negligent or reckless actions lead to an accident, like when they cross the road at night outside of a dedicated crosswalk, while wearing dark colors.

In shared fault situations, courts need to assign percentages of fault. For instance, a court might determine that a person who crossed the road at night outside of the crosswalk might bear 30 percent of the blame for the crash, while the speeding motorist who failed to yield bears 70 percent of the blame.

Fortunately, Texas allows pedestrians who share fault to pursue civil claims so long as they are less than 51 percent to blame for the accident.

An experienced attorney could explain how modified comparative fault law might apply to a Hitchcock pedestrian’s injury lawsuit, and argue that the driver holds most or all of the fault.

Call a Hitchcock Pedestrian Accident Attorney for a Free Consultation

After a pedestrian crash, you are probably feeling incredibly overwhelmed. You might also have a lot of questions and concerns about how you will pay for your care, especially if it resulted in a catastrophic injury which will last for years or the rest of your life.

Call a Hitchcock pedestrian accident lawyer today. The Schechter, Shaffer & Harris team can answer your questions and discuss where you go from here.