What Happens Immediately After a Pedestrian Accident?
Right off the bat, it is important to understand that, in most cases, the incident was not an “accident.” An accident is a generally harmless omission that was not anyone’s fault. People accidentally leave the oven on or the water running. Driver error causes about 98% of the pedestrian injuries in Florida. This driver error is usually operator impairment or aggressive driving. People do not accidentally drive while they are drunk or distracted.
These victims also have substantial needs, which a Florida personal injury lawyer can address. Frankly, these victims need money to pay injury-related costs and move forward with their lives. They also need emotional closure. To obtain these things in court, a Florida personal injury lawyer must quickly build a solid foundation. Houses built on sand wash away in the rain, and houses built on rock stand firm through these storms.
Medical Care
Multiple safety devices, not to mention steel cages, protect vehicle occupants during collisions. Pedestrians, on the other hand, are completely exposed to danger. So, they usually sustain serious injuries, like:
- Head Injuries: When pedestrian accident victims fall and land hard, their brains slam against the insides of their skulls. This internal impact causes brain bleeding and swelling, conditions that only a top surgeon can correct. Then, physical therapists must painstakingly train uninjured areas of the brain to assume lost functions.
- Internal Injuries: This same motion causes internal organs to jostle and smash against each other. The resulting cuts and abrasions, no matter how tiny, usually bleed badly. Internal organs don’t have protective skin lawyers. In fact, many pedestrian injury victims lose over a fifth of their blood before they reach hospitals.
- Broken Bones: These injuries normally are not life-threatening, but they normally are permanent. If Joe breaks his shoulder, the bone will mostly heal. However, he will probably have a limited range of motion in that joint. He will also be more likely to break that bone again in the future.
A Florida personal injury lawyer connects victims with top doctors who know how to treat injury-related conditions. Furthermore, these doctors usually charge nothing upfront for their services. So, victims get the treatment they need when they need it, as opposed to the treatment they can afford at the time.
Case Evaluation
There is a difference between a crash and an accident, and there is a difference between fault and liability. Basically, fault at the scene is like a halftime score, and liability (legal responsibility) is like the final score. Liability, like the final score, is all that matters.
So even if an investigator said you were at fault, compensation may still be available, especially since Florida is a pure comparative fault state.
When both parties are partially responsible, perhaps because the victim was jaywalking and the tortfeasor (negligent driver) was speeding, jurors must divide responsibility on a percentage basis between them. In Florida, even if a victim was 99% responsible, the tortfeasor is liable for a proportionate share of damages.
These damages usually include compensation for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.
Reach Out to a Sarasota County Personal Injury Attorney
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Florida, contact Carman, Bevington & Finegan, P.A.