As someone who has handled personal injury cases here in Mississippi for a long time, I have seen more than my share of tragedy. Consistently, some of the most serious injuries I see occur when a pedestrian is hit by an automobile or truck. Clients sometimes think that these are particularly easy cases, which is a misconception. There are often multiple defendants—the driver, any other drivers that may have instigated the accident, the government agency responsible for building and maintaining the roadway in question, even the car company—and the actual cause of the crash is often vigorously disputed. Accordingly, my clients tend to be very thankful that I have extensive experience defending injured parties in pedestrian accident cases. Because I often receive questions about how to handle this situation, I have written the following blog post.
If you or a loved one was injured or killed, you must contact an attorney experienced in representing families in pedestrian accident cases immediately. Dealing with opposing attorneys and insurance companies is no simple task, and your loved one’s health, finances, and well-being are at stake. Barrett Law has the experience to help you during this difficult time. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.
Pedestrian Accidents
You do not have to be a physicist to understand why pedestrian accidents are so severe—a car weighing many thousand pounds, moving at a high rate of speed hitting a 100 to 200-pound person moving slowly is bound to create a tremendous amount of force on the pedestrian’s body.
Under Mississippi law, it is not enough that a pedestrian was just hit by a car to collect damages. The pedestrian must also demonstrate legally that there was negligence involved and that the collision injured them. Negligence is proven when a driver knows or should have known of some risk and fails to avert it. So if a driver is operating his vehicle while intoxicated or driving at night without headlights, he (or a reasonable person under the circumstances) should have been aware that that behavior was likely to result in some harm.
The above accident descriptions are fairly straightforward examples; the drivers were behaving in a way that was obviously negligent. Accidents are not always that clear, however. What if the driver is driving responsibly down the road and makes a right turn at a heavily wooded intersection, and because of the heavily potholed road and bushes fails to see a pedestrian crossing the street? The driver that injured the pedestrian is likely to claim that he or she was driving responsibly—not negligently—and it may be difficult to prove otherwise. That said, the true cause of the accident may not be the driver at all. The municipality might be the negligent party if they failed to maintain the road and cut back bushes in a way that protected pedestrians. The negligence argument against the municipality would get stronger if this were the third accident at that intersection or if the municipality had received complaints about how dangerous it was. Basically, the more a party is aware—or “on notice”—of a danger, the stronger the claim of negligence is for ignoring that danger.
What Should You Do If You Are Injured in a Pedestrian Accident?
If you or a loved one has been hit by a car while walking, contact experienced personal injury counsel immediately. Collecting evidence of the accident, dealing with opposing counsel, and attaining expert opinions about the scene are essential tasks that a personal injury attorney can handle for you while you concentrate on making sure you or your family member recovers.
Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if your loved one has been injured. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.