Making a Personal Injury Claim for a Pedestrian Hit by a Car

It is not difficult to begin the process of making a personal injury claim arising from a pedestrian car accident. Many people will need to hire an attorney to draw up the complaint and file it with the correct court. An injured pedestrian interested in filing a personal injury claim against the driver of the car that caused him to suffer serious or severe injury may also want to consider making a simultaneous claim against that driver’s automobile insurance company and/or his employer if he was acting in the scope of his employment in driving the vehicle when he hit the pedestrian.

Determine the direct cause or the proximate cause of the injury

A claimant injured in a pedestrian car accident will need to prove that the driver’s actions were the direct cause or the proximate cause of his injury. This means taking a long look at what the pedestrian was doing in the minutes and seconds before the accident in addition to what the driver was doing. If the pedestrian failed to cross the street within a marked crosswalk and darted out from between two parked cars into traffic before being struck by a car then that claimant could be said to be the “direct cause” of his own injury and in that type of situation would have a very weak claim against a driver that could not stop in time because a pedestrian darted into the street without regard for his own safety.

Establish Negligent or Reckless Driving

An individual injured in a pedestrian car accident will need to begin to establish that the actions of the driver which caused the pedestrian accident and injury were either negligent or reckless or both. Operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or prescription drugs would tend to show negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Driving in a distracted manner due to dealing with children or passengers inside the car, taking on a cell phone, eating food or texting on a blackberry will tend to show reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

Getting Legal Help

If you or a member of your family has been injured in a pedestrian car accident it may be helpful to discuss the circumstances of the injury with a personal injury lawyer. A lawyer can provide guidance on the best steps to take to protect the rights of the injured pedestrian and recover for the financial, physical and emotional injuries that the pedestrian may have suffered due to the accident.

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