Foot traffic is common in and around Clarkstown. Every day, pedestrians walk to and from work, school, or to get some exercise. Unfortunately, pedestrians are vulnerable to accidents with speeding vehicles and may be severely injured.
Pedestrian accident victims might hesitate to take legal action. After all, nobody wants to be “that guy” who threatens to sue. Unfortunately, pedestrian accidents can be incredibly severe, and many injured victims need to file lawsuits to get fair compensation to help them pay for things like medical bills. When filing a lawsuit, it is crucial that we identify the parties we believe should be held liable. In many cases, liable parties include one or several drivers. In other cases, pedestrian accidents are related to poorly maintained roads and highways, and governmental authorities might be to blame. To successfully prove your case and be awarded compensation, we need evidence. Evidence might include physical objects, witness testimony, photos, videos, and records pertaining to the crash.
Schedule a confidential assessment of your case for no charge with our pedestrian accident attorneys at The Martello Law Firm, PLLC by calling (914) 685-6950.
Reasons to Sue for Damages After a Pedestrian Accident in Clarkstown, NY
People sometimes unfairly assume that people who file lawsuits are only after money. While financial compensation is important to injury victims, it might not be the sole factor in their decision to sue. In pedestrian accident cases, injured victims are often left with mounting debt from medical bills and property damage. They are also often psychologically scarred and traumatized. Filing a lawsuit might help them find closure and a sense of justice so that they can move on from the chaotic ordeal.
Money is a major concern for accident victims. Being hit by a car is not just painful and traumatic but also very expensive. Injuries are often serious, and medical bills tend to be high. On top of that, an injured pedestrian might have lost valuable personal belongings in the crash. Expensive computers, tablets, or other devices might be crushed, and priceless wedding rings or other jewelry might be lost. All these costs add up to staggering amounts of money that could spell financial ruin for plaintiffs.
On top of all that, many plaintiffs injured in pedestrian accidents experience profound psychological trauma. Being struck by a speeding vehicle is terrifying in the moment, and many plaintiffs feel the ripples of that trauma for many years. Although these experiences are unrelated to money, our pedestrian accident attorneys can present evidence and arguments to the jury to convince them to award you significant compensation for non-economic damages, including pain and suffering. Filing a lawsuit and getting a verdict in their favor might help a plaintiff find closure, justice, and vindication, regardless of financial compensation.
People Who Might Be Responsible for Your Pedestrian Accident in Clarkstown, NY
After a pedestrian accident, it is easy to say that an injured pedestrian should sue the driver who hit them. What is not so easy is figuring out who that driver is. What’s even harder is determining who the liable driver is among several drivers. To make matters even more complicated, pedestrian accidents might be the result of poor infrastructure rather than negligent drivers.
Drivers on the Road
Other drivers on the road are very often the direct cause of pedestrian accidents. A pedestrian accident might involve a driver behind the wheel of a car, bus, truck, or even a motorcycle. All possibilities are serious and might lead to severe injuries.
In many cases, drivers fail to look out for pedestrians despite numerous signals and warning signs on the road indicating pedestrians might be ahead. For example, pedestrians might be in the middle of a crosswalk when a speeding driver plows through them because they could not be bothered to keep their eyes on the road.
Multi-Vehicle Collisions
Another possibility is that not one but multiple vehicles are involved in a pedestrian accident. For example, a car might hit you in the middle of a crosswalk because they were rear-ended by the vehicle behind them hard enough to push them into the crosswalk. Even though only one car struck you, more than one driver might be liable.
These cases can be complicated and require us to piece together how the accident happened to determine which drivers to hold responsible. This can be difficult when the drivers are all pointing fingers at each other and telling different stories about how the crash occurred.
To start your case, we do not need definitive evidence of which driver is at fault and which is not. As long as we have enough evidence showing that each driver contributed to the accident in some way, we can name all of them in your lawsuit. Which drivers are held liable is ultimately up to the jury.
Governmental Authorities
In some cases, pedestrian accidents occur because roads and highways are negligently maintained by governmental authorities at the local or state level. Whether or not the government is implicated in your claims depends on how the accident happened.
Did the driver hit you because a traffic light not working? Was there a lack of signage for drivers indicating pedestrians? Perhaps poor road conditions contributed to your crash. Under these circumstances, the government might be liable for your injuries because the government is responsible for maintaining roads, providing signs, and making sure things like traffic lights are in working order.
Alternatively, the government might be implicated in your case if you were hit by a vehicle owned and operated by the government. In most cases, this would be a public transit vehicle like a bus.
Suing the government can be tricky, and there is usually a very tight deadline by which you must submit a notice of your claim to the proper authorities. Talk to your attorney to make sure you know when and how to begin your claims against a governmental authority.
Call Our Clarkstown, NY Personal Injury Attorneys to Discuss Your Claims
Arrange for a private review of your claims for no cost with our pedestrian accident lawyers at The Martello Law Firm, PLLC by calling (914) 685-6950.
