In a pedestrian accident, the injuries the victim faces are often more severe than in other accident cases. In a car crash where everyone was inside a vehicle, there are protective features like seat belts and the vehicle itself to protect the occupants – but pedestrians hit by a car do not have the same protection.
Injured pedestrians often face broken bones, head trauma, spinal cord injuries, and even traumatic amputation. For help with injuries – whether minor, moderate, or severe – you should turn to an attorney who can assist you in filing an injury claim and get you the financial compensation you need.
For a free case assessment, contact The Carrion Law Firm’s pedestrian accident lawyers today by dialing (718) 841-0083.
Determining Fault in a Poughkeepsie, NY Pedestrian Accident
To determine who is at fault in a crash involving a pedestrian, there are a number of factors to look at. First and foremost, it is important to understand that questions of fault are a situation where the “totality of the circumstances” must be taken into account. All in all, a court might decide that everyone involved shares partial fault – which could include you, as the injured pedestrian. In any case, New York law permits victims to be held partially at fault and still seek compensation for the other party or parties’ fault in the matter.
A party is generally considered to be wholly or partly at fault if their actions did not comport with the duties that they owed the victim, and the victim was injured because of that breach of duty. In most auto accident cases, this will mean violating some type of safety law, such as traffic laws. Drivers who run red lights, drive through crosswalks without yielding, or hop the curb onto the sidewalk are commonly at fault for the resulting accidents.
Fault can be assigned, in part, to the pedestrian as well. If you crossed between crosswalks, crossed against a signal, or were walking along the street, that could be a jaywalking violation or some other violation. If the court considers that that violation contributed to the crash, they could hold you partly liable – but our pedestrian accident lawyers can help to show the court the full weight of fault falls on the defendant’s shoulders, not yours.
Damages are reduced for a pedestrian who is partially at fault for their accident. However, they can still claim damages for the percentage of fault the court assigns to the defendant. So, for example, a driver who is 95% at fault for damages totaling $100,000 will still pay $95,000 in damages to the injured pedestrian.
Common Causes of Pedestrian Crashes in Poughkeepsie, NY
Pedestrians are typically hit by drivers after the driver does something dangerous. Unless the pedestrian was walking in the street, there are very few ways a car can hit them unless the driver did something clearly illegal.
Most accidents involve speeding, and pedestrians can be seriously injured by speeding drivers. Additionally, drunk driving accidents account for a number of injuries to people walking along the road – and some of these are even hit and run crashes. Otherwise, pedestrian accidents typically occur when a driver fails to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, fails to obey traffic signals, or hops the curb (often around a tight corner).
Common Injuries to Pedestrians in Auto Accidents in Poughkeepsie, NY
Pedestrians who are struck by cars in Poughkeepsie can face a wide range of injuries. As mentioned, without the protection of a car, airbags, and seat belts, pedestrians are more vulnerable to injury and are usually the ones to be injured in a car crash rather than the occupants of the vehicle.
Broken bones are quite common in car accidents, especially broken ribs. These injuries can keep you from working for quite some time while you heal up.
Cuts and scrapes are also exceedingly common, especially if you hit the ground or were pushed and rolled or slid along the ground after being struck. Lacerations and abrasions can take time to heal and might result in scarring.
Moreover, many pedestrians suffer catastrophic injuries like brain injuries and spinal cord injuries in car crashes. These injuries can affect a victim’s whole life, leaving them with permanent disabilities, cognitive issues, mobility issues, and paralysis. Any serious injuries like this must be treated immediately, and the care involved can be quite costly. You might also need ongoing nursing care, home care, assistance with household services, and other expensive needs – all of which can contribute to the total damages in your case.
Calculating Damages for Injured Pedestrian Accidents in Poughkeepsie, NY
The damages that you can claim in your injury case can be divided into two common areas of damages, plus a third potential area of damages:
Economic Damages
Any damages made to compensate you for the harms you faced can be divided into “economic” and “non-economic” damages. Economic damages are the damages that are shown by bills, financial statements, and other financial records.
Economic damages can also be further divided into the costs that you face because of the accident, such as medical bills, and the money you miss out on because of the accident, such as lost wages. All in all, there are many specific out-of-pocket expenses that could fall into this category, and it is important to have a lawyer help you discover and add up all of these damages to calculate your total economic damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate you for the rest of the harms you faced – the ones that have no bills or financial records attached. Physical pain, emotional distress, mental anguish, mental suffering, lost enjoyment of life, and other harms can be included in this area of compensation.
Often, these damages are calculated by applying some multiplier to the other economic damages you faced. This could range from 1.5 to 5 and is set to reflect the severity of your injuries. Alternatively, a per diem value could be assigned to your pain and suffering and multiplied by the number of days you experienced pain and suffering.
Keep in mind that non-economic damages are not available through an insurance claim against your no-fault policy and require “serious injuries” to claim these damages.
Punitive Damages
In rare cases, additional damages that are set to punish the defendant instead of compensating the victim can be issued. These punitive damages require a higher degree of fault on behalf of the defendant and are not available to every victim in every case.
Call Our Pedestrian Accident Lawyers in Poughkeepsie, NY Today
To get a free case review on your injury claim, call the pedestrian accident attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083.