If a car hit you or a loved one while you were walking in Petersburg, you need an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer. Emroch & Kilduff offers free consultations. We understand that pedestrian accidents may cause serious injury or death and that victims need help achieving just compensation.
While we can’t guarantee results in any particular case, our record speaks for itself. We recovered $4.8 million for a man seriously injured while working on a sidewalk when a truck drove on the sidewalk and struck him. For each pedestrian accident case we take, we work hard to help victims put their lives back together.
Who Is Responsible for a Petersburg Pedestrian Accident?
Multiple factors are usually involved in any accident, and pedestrian accidents are no exception.
Vehicle drivers can cause accidents. If a vehicle malfunction was responsible rather than driver error, the car’s manufacturer or repair shop may bear responsibility. Pedestrians themselves can also cause accidents.
Determining who or what is responsible for an accident is a necessary part of the process if you are injured in an accident. Why? Because obtaining compensation for your injuries depends on knowing who the responsible party is.
To prove that a car or truck driver or manufacturer is responsible for the accident, you must prove that they were negligent and that your injuries or other harm stem directly from the accident. Negligent parties are liable, or financially responsible, for injuries they cause.
Negligence is defined as a breach of a legal duty of care. A driver’s duty of care, for example, must include following all traffic laws and operating their vehicle safely.
Specifically, the duty of care includes:
- Not driving while impaired by any substance;
- Not driving while distracted, through smartphones or any other form of distraction;
- Following all traffic signals and signs;
- Yielding the right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks and intersections; and
- Adjusting driving if visibility is low, either because of time of day or weather.
All too many statistics indicate that many drivers breach their duty of care vis-à-vis pedestrians. In almost half of pedestrian accidents, either the driver or the pedestrian is under the influence of alcohol.
A manufacturer’s duty of care must include safe manufacturing and quick and appropriate recall if problems with a vehicle make and model occur. A repair shop’s duty of care is to inspect and repair a vehicle appropriately, and not to introduce any new problems.
Once responsibility is determined, victims can seek compensation from the at-fault party. This compensation can come either from the insurance company or a Petersburg pedestrian accident lawsuit.
Injuries in a Petersburg Pedestrian Accident
Nearly 6,000 pedestrians die every year in the United States as a result of traffic accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s roughly one death in a pedestrian accident every hour and a half. Another 137,000 pedestrians suffered injuries that require a visit to the emergency room.
Pedestrian accidents always pose dangers, but they tend to increase at certain times of the year. The beginning of back-to-school season, for example, is often particularly dangerous, because children are unaccustomed to their routes to school and may not receive training in safety. At the same time, drivers may not account for children when they’re on the road.
The switch between standard time and daylight savings time also poses dangers. Drivers unaccustomed to the changes in light during the morning or evening hours may not pay sufficient attention to pedestrians, and pedestrians may not remember to take visibility precautions.
Pedestrians can receive multiple types of injuries in a car accident, ranging from the minor to the catastrophic. A catastrophic injury often leaves victims unable to take care of the activities of daily living, such as dressing or bathing. Catastrophically injured people frequently cannot work ever again.
People walking, standing, or jogging are highly vulnerable if they’re hit by a vehicle, because their bodies are unprotected against the onslaught of metal and rubber. Cars usually weigh more than 2,000 pounds, and trucks are even heavier. Pedestrians can also be thrown by certain types of accidents, dragged by the vehicles, or run over entirely by vehicles.
Pedestrian injuries can include:
- Soft tissue injuries;
- Sprains;
- Fractured bones, including those in the arms, legs, ribs, skull, back;
- Cuts;
- Abrasions;
- Bruises;
- Internal injuries;
- Traumatic brain injury;
- Spinal cord injury;
- Amputations and loss of body parts;
- Disfigurement and scarring;
- Coma; and
- Death.
Receiving Damage Compensation After a Petersburg Pedestrian Accident
The law allows victims whose injuries stem from the actions (or inactions) of another party to pursue compensation, for both economic and non-economic losses.
They can seek damage compensation for:
- Medical bills, both current and future - Including emergency services, doctor’s visits, hospitalization, surgery, diagnostic tests, long-term care, prescription medication, retrofitting a home to accommodate a disability, and more.
- Wages lost from work, both current and future - If the accident, treatment, or recuperation requires time taken off work.
- Lifetime value of earnings - If the accident caused disabling injuries.
- Personal property - If the accident causes damage to personal property.
- Pain and suffering - For physical, mental, and emotional pain and suffering.
If victims are expected to need medical care or time off work in the future, experts in both medical care and the worker’s field are consulted to determine several factors:
- Type of treatment necessary in the future;
- Expected cost of this treatment;
- Expected time for recovery;
- Salary level; and
- Forecasted lifetime earnings, based on work at the time of the accident, if necessary.
These professional consultations determine the appropriate compensation a victim can seek from the at-fault party.
Should I Seek Compensation from an Insurance Company or through a Lawsuit?
Virginia is a fault state for car accidents. This means that at-fault parties bear responsibility. If the driver who injured you has insurance, it’s prudent to approach the insurance company first.
However, in the Old Dominion, drivers can also pay an Uninsured Motorist Fee to the Department of Motor Vehicles. If they do, they are not required to carry insurance on their vehicle. In those cases, a lawsuit can help you seek to recover damages. Lawsuits also help if an insurance company is not forthcoming in paying a just claim.
Call Us if You Were in a Petersburg Pedestrian Accident
If you or a loved one has been in a pedestrian accident in Petersburg, contact us or call (804) 358-1568 The first consultation with our personal injury attorneys is always free. We can help you seek just compensation for your injuries.
Client Testimonial
“There's only one choice really. Emroch and Kilduff, my experience with the team here was indescribable. The people there truly care. Mr. Robins and Rita treated me so kindly assisting me along the way with literally everything! I don't know what I would have done without them!”
Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Stacy T.
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