Aberdeen Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

When you are simply walking somewhere, going about your day, the last thing you expect to happen is being struck by a negligent driver’s car. Pedestrians suffer serious injuries when cars strike them, including brain injuries, internal bleeding, broken bones, and more. Paying for treatment for all of these injuries can be extremely expensive, and victims may never fully recover from the experience.

Call our office if you got hit by a car. We know how to handle these cases from start to finish. Let us handle the gathering of evidence, talking to adverse parties, and all the other legal legwork so you can focus on recovering from your injuries and getting back to living your life.

Get a free review of your case from Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s pedestrian accident attorneys when you call (410) 694-7291.

Who Can You Sue in an Aberdeen Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit?

An important thing that our pedestrian accident lawyers can help you figure out early on is who exactly you are going to sue in your claim. After all, if you do not use the right parties, you are not going to do well in court. Civil claims are meant to let plaintiffs recover damages from defendants they can prove negligently caused their injuries. Negligence is when another party does something careless or unreasonable and, as a result, someone else gets hurt. Some parties that may have negligently caused your pedestrian accident include:

The Driver Who Hit You

You should nearly always include the driver who struck you as a defendant in your claim. You can prove that a driver was negligent in two main ways. First, you can demonstrate that they broke a traffic law. Things like speeding or driving drunk fall under this category. Second, you can demonstrate that they acted unreasonably under the circumstances. Ultimately, the jury decides whether a driver’s conduct was reasonable or not, so our lawyers will work hard to show the jury the full extent of your defendant’s unreasonable conduct.

Other Drivers

There is also a chance that you will want to sue a driver other than the one who hit you. For example, suppose one driver cuts another driver off, and that second driver takes evasive action and hits you. In that case, it may be a good idea to sue both drivers instead of just the one who struck you.

Vehicle Designers and Manufactures

Some pedestrian accidents happen because something is wrong with the car that hit you, not because the driver did anything wrong. In those cases, you should sue the entity responsible for the car’s problem. If the problem is inherent in the vehicle’s design, you should go after the company that designed the car that hit you. On the other hand, if the problem is caused by someone making a mistake while working on the car, you should sue that entity instead.

Employers

If the person who hit you was working when they hit you, there is a chance you can sue their employer. The standard for whether an employee’s conduct makes their employer liable is whether the employee was doing something related to their job at the time of injury. For example, suppose a pizza delivery driver hits you while delivering an order. In that case, their employer is probably liable. However, if that same driver is on their way home after their shift when they hit you, their employer is probably not liable.

Government Entities

In some rare circumstances, you may be able to sue the government for your injuries. For example, suppose a car hits a pothole that has been there for months, the driver loses control, and you get hit. You may be able to sue the government entity responsible for maintaining that roadway.

Damages in Aberdeen Pedestrian Accident Cases

Courts award plaintiffs damages when they prove that a defendant is responsible for their injuries. The idea behind damages is to give the victim back what they lost in the accident. Depending on the nature of the plaintiff’s injuries, this is often not literally possible. Accordingly, financial compensation is used as a substitute.

Compensatory Damages

The majority of the damages the plaintiff receives in a lawsuit are likely to be compensatory damages. These damages are meant to make plaintiffs “whole” again – at least to the extent that the court is able to accomplish such a thing.

Common compensatory damages include things like medical bills and expenses, lost wages, and property damage. You can also get compensatory damages for things that may not be as immediately discernable, like physical pain, emotional distress, and mental anguish.

For items like medical care, you can point to a receipt or bill to show the court its value. Something like “mental anguish” may be trickier to put an exact value on, as it is deeply personal and going to be different for each plaintiff. You will have to prove its worth to you in your case with the help of our lawyers.

Punitive Damages

Not all damages are based on compensating you for harm done. Plaintiffs are awarded punitive damages when they can prove that the defendant’s conduct rises to a level above regular negligence. If you are considering seeking punitive damages, you should bring it up early on in discussions with our lawyers, as you need to request punitive damages in your initial filings.

If going after punitive damages turns out not to be the right move in your case, you should not be worried about getting enough compensation, as many plaintiffs receive all compensation they are owed and need through compensatory damages alone.

Chat with Our Aberdeen Pedestrian Accident Attorneys Today

Call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 and discuss your case with our pedestrian accident attorneys for free today.