Ellicott City Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

When a person is hit by a car, their injuries might be extreme, and long-term care might be necessary. As such, damages can be very high, and the driver in such a case should be held accountable.

Pedestrian accidents often happen in places where people on foot travel near roads or highways. Crosswalks, sidewalks, and parking lots are common areas for pedestrian accidents and injuries. Liability for these accidents often falls on the driver of the car, but multiple drivers might instead share liability under certain conditions. In your lawsuit, you might recover damages related to economic losses like medical bills and non-economic injuries like mental or physical pain and suffering. You need evidence such as photos, security camera footage, witness testimony, and more to prove your claims and get compensation.

Drivers have a lot of responsibility behind the wheel, and negligence might easily cause a serious accident. If you were hit by a car, our Ellicott City pedestrian accident attorneys can help you get compensation. For a free case evaluation, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291.

Typical Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in Ellicott City

Pedestrian accidents can be unpredictable. Many accident victims report walking down the street or across the road, and the next thing they know, they are on the ground in severe pain. Vehicles often travel at such a high speed that it is impossible for pedestrians to get out of the way in time even if they can see the car coming. Pedestrian accidents can happen anywhere there are cars and people, but some locations are very common sites for collisions.

Crosswalks are incredibly dangerous when drivers are not paying attention. Under the traffic laws, drivers must yield to pedestrians when they enter crosswalks. Often, pedestrians are signaled to cross when drivers have a red light. Unfortunately, many drivers are in too much of a hurry or too distracted to stop in time, and pedestrians are often injured when crossing the street. If you were hit by a car in a crosswalk, call our Boston pedestrian accident lawyers to discuss your case.

Although vehicles are not allowed to be on sidewalks, sidewalks are often the sites of bad pedestrian accidents. Drivers sometimes run their vehicles onto sidewalks when they lose control of them. A driver might lose control if the roads are slick or icy and the driver is going too fast. Alternatively, something like a blown tire or debris in the road might cause a driver to swerve and run up on the sidewalk. Ideally, drivers should be traveling at speeds that allow them to come to a stop safely, but this is unfortunately not always the case.

Parking lots are also high-risk zones for pedestrians, although many people disregard these risks. Many pedestrians come and go in parking lots, especially when lots of people are out shopping or running errands. Even though drivers usually move slower in parking lots, they can still severely injure pedestrians in an accident.

Liability for Ellicott City Pedestrian Crashes

In many cases, accidents happen so quickly that injured pedestrians are unsure who hit them or how the accident happened. In such cases, it can be difficult to determine who should be held liable for the accident. You can discuss your accident with our Boston pedestrian accident lawyers, and we can help you figure out who you should sue for damages.

In many pedestrian accident cases, only one driver is involved. In that case, you can hold that driver accountable by naming them as the defendant in your lawsuit. If the driver stops, calls for help, and exchanges information with you, it should be fairly easy to identify them for a lawsuit. However, if the accident is a hit and run, we might need to wait until the police investigate and find the defendant before we can sue them.

In other cases, multiple drivers share blame for a pedestrian accident. Perhaps you were hit by a car involved in a chain reaction with other vehicles. For example, if car A hits car B from behind, causing car B to hit you in a crosswalk, both drivers might be named in your lawsuit for damages. The more drivers involved, the more difficult it becomes to identify them properly, and our legal team can help you.

Recoverable Damages in Ellicott City Pedestrian Accident Lawsuits

Pedestrian accident victims often experience serious injuries that come at a steep financial cost. Not only that, but injured victims also endure a great deal of suffering that also deserves financial compensation. Our Boston pedestrian accident attorneys can help you calculate your damages to get you the most compensation possible.

Economic damages may be awarded if you suffered monetary losses from the accident. Chief among these losses are medical expenses. Pedestrian accidents tend to involve very severe injuries, and pedestrians often end up paying very high medical bills. You can also claim the value of income you lost because you could not return to work in addition to the value of lost or damaged personal property.

Non-economic damages are not based on money. Instead, they are based on your personal experiences related to the accident. For example, many injured pedestrians endure great mental and physical pain and suffering. People who experience long-term or permanent injuries often endure this pain for years. Similarly, you can claim non-economic damages for experiences including humiliation and damage to your reputation.

How to Find and Gather Evidence for a Pedestrian Accident Case in Ellicott City

Lawsuits cannot proceed without evidence. In some cases, evidence is scarce, and arguing for damages is challenging. In other cases, plaintiffs are more fortunate, and evidence is more plentiful. Talk to our Boston pedestrian accident lawyers for help finding the right evidence for your case.

Photos from the accident scene can be very helpful. Taking pictures right after the accident might help preserve important details that could be lost after the scene is cleaned up by law enforcement. For example, the defendant’s identity, vehicle, and the surrounding location might all be captured in your photographs.

In many cases, pedestrians are struck by vehicles in very busy shopping centers, and there is a good chance that security cameras recorded the accident. If that is the case, our Boston pedestrian accident lawyers can help you obtain and review this footage. In many cases, video footage of the accident is very powerful evidence and might be the lynchpin of your case.

Pedestrian accidents do not usually happen where nobody can see. Other drivers or people walking by likely saw the accident take place. If we can find these people, they might act as witnesses in your trial and testify about what they saw.

Call Our Ellicott City Pedestrian Accident Lawyers for a Free Case Review

If you were hit by a car, the driver of that car should be held responsible and made to pay for your considerable damages. Our Boston pedestrian accident lawyers can help you file a lawsuit and get compensation. For a free case review, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291.