Gaithersburg Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Pedestrian accidents are extremely dangerous, and pedestrians often end up with traumatic injuries. Most pedestrian accidents are caused by negligent drivers who deserve to be held responsible in a court of law.

After being injured in a pedestrian accident, an attorney can help you take legal action against the driver. First, you need to figure out who should be held liable. This might be a difficult question to answer in cases with multiple drivers involved. Once you have identified the person or people you want to sue, your lawyer can help you assess your injuries and calculate damages. The more severe your injuries and losses, the greater your damages, and the more compensation you should get. You need as much evidence as possible to prove your claims in court. Evidence might come directly from the crash scene or other sources close to you or the defendant.

If you were struck by a vehicle while walking down the street or in a crosswalk, our Gaithersburg pedestrian accident attorneys can help you file a lawsuit to get compensation and justice. For a free case review, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291.

Filing a Lawsuit for a Pedestrian Accident in Gaithersburg

When filing a lawsuit against a negligent driver, there are a lot of details and factors to take into consideration. First, we need to determine who is responsible so we name the correct defendants in our lawsuit. Next, we need to assess and evaluate injuries and damages. Finally, we need as much evidence as we can get to strengthen your case. Our Gaithersburg pedestrian accident lawyers can help you get started and hopefully get the compensation you need.

Liability for the Accident

Figuring out who should be held liable for a pedestrian accident is often harder than it seems. In some cases, only one driver is involved, and liability is a bit more obvious. In many other accidents, multiple drivers play a role, and one or more might share liability. To make matters more complicated, the drivers involved rarely own up to their negligence, and instead, they try to pass the blame to other drivers.

We should take a good hard look at how and where your accident happened to get an idea of who should be held liable. For example, if a driver hit you in an intersection while you were in a crosswalk because another driver rear-ended them, both drivers might be liable. If only one vehicle is involved, like if you were hit in a parking lot, the driver of that vehicle is likely the only liable party.

Injuries and Damages

Once you know whom you want to sue, our Gaithersburg pedestrian accident lawyers can help you assess and evaluate your injuries and damages. Potential injuries in pedestrian accidents are often very serious, but only for pedestrians. Drivers are often unharmed inside their vehicles. Many pedestrians experience severe and painful injuries like broken bones, neck and spinal cord injuries, lacerations, road rash, brain injuries, and more.

Your damages should be calculated under two broad categories. Economic damages include the losses or injuries that cost you money. For example, the injuries mentioned before often come with very expensive medical bills, and those costs should be added to your economic damages calculations. Other economic damages might include the loss of income because you cannot return to work while injured.

Non-economic damages might also stem from your injuries, but they deserve compensation for different reasons. Rather than making up for financial losses, non-economic damages seek compensation for painful experiences unrelated to an exact price or cost. For example, pedestrians often suffer both physically and emotionally after a serious collision. Your pain and suffering can be claimed as part of your non-economic damages. Other possible claims include humiliation and damage to your reputation.

Evidence

You need to present effective and persuasive evidence and arguments to prove your claims and get compensation for your damages. Evidence significantly varies from case to case and might include almost anything. For example, you can take photos immediately after a crash to preserve important details, such as who was present, vehicle damage, weather conditions, and more.

Your medical records should also be submitted as evidence of your injuries. Most plaintiffs substantially recover by the time the trial comes around, and they cannot present their injuries to a live jury. Instead, photos of the injuries and medical records from your doctors can help us explain the extent of your injuries to the jury.

Witnesses are like the backbone of a trial. Even if physical evidence is scarce, witness testimony can be very powerful. A pedestrian accident can be especially severe, so they tend to draw a crowd. Our Gaithersburg pedestrian accident lawyers can help you track down witnesses who can testify about what they saw and back up your version of events.

How an Attorney Can Help You with Your Pedestrian Accident Case in Gaithersburg

Filing a lawsuit for any reason, including a pedestrian accident, is difficult and complicated. Many plaintiffs face a long road to recovery, and handling a lawsuit might feel impossible under such circumstances. Our Gaithersburg pedestrian accident lawyers have the skills, knowledge, and experience to assist your case from start to finish.

Filing the claim for your case is a big job on its own. The initial complaint in your case must contain specific information, including details about you, the defendant, your injuries, and what you want as far as relief (i.e., compensation). Not only that, but the case must be filed in the correct court, or it will be rejected, and we will lose precious time. Your attorney should be familiar with how to quickly and efficiently assemble a strong complaint to submit to the correct court.

Your attorney can also help you assess damages. You could miss out on valuable compensation if damages are not evaluated properly. For example, if you forget to include some medical bills or other damages, you might not be able to claim those at all, and you cannot recover any compensation for unclaimed damages.

Call Our Gaithersburg Pedestrian Accident Lawyers for Assistance

If you were injured in a pedestrian accident, speak to our Gaithersburg pedestrian accident lawyers about filing a lawsuit against the negligent driver. For a free case assessment, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291.