Cleveland Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
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Personal Injury Lawyers for Pedestrian Accident Victims
Over the past two decades, pedestrian accident cases have risen significantly across the country, according to pedestrian accident statistics provided by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety. This may be due in part to the increase in motor vehicles on the road, as an increasing population allows for more motorcycles, trucks, and cars on the road at once. Other factors contributing to this increase include speeding and distracted driving, as the use of smartphones while driving is an ongoing issue.
Regardless of what causes these types of accidents, serious and even fatal pedestrian and bicycle accidents occur every day. Victims and their families face overwhelming medical expenses, extended recovery periods, and lost wages, among many other challenges. This is not even to mention the toll on the injury victims’ mental health and overall wellbeing.
Most accident victims don’t know where to begin or what to do first after being struck as a pedestrian. That’s where a pedestrian accident lawyer comes in. Obtaining legal representation from a trustworthy Cleveland pedestrian accident attorney like those at Joseph Law Group ensures your rights remain protected while pursuing the maximum compensation you deserve for your serious injuries. Contact the legal team at Joseph Law Group today for a free case review.
What Should I Do After an Ohio Pedestrian Accident?
In typical motor vehicle accidents, meaning a car accident involving another car, truck, or other vehicle, the exterior of the vehicle offers occupants some protection from injuries. That is not the case for pedestrians struck by vehicles. The fragile human body is no match for a moving vehicle weighing thousands of pounds. As such, the injuries sustained in pedestrian crashes are often devastating.
It is important that pedestrians know what to do after being involved in such an accident. If you are hit by a vehicle in Ohio, the first thing you should do is seek and receive immediate medical attention. Call 911 right away (or have someone else do it if you cannot). Not only is this imperative to your own health and safety, but these medical records are necessary when building your personal injury case.
Do not allow anyone else to move you before the paramedics arrive. Moving the wrong way could worsen your injuries, especially if you notice you have severe neck or back pain.
Give your ID card and a statement to law enforcement authorities when they arrive at the accident scene. If you are able to, document the scene and take photos from multiple angles. You should also obtain information such as the names and insurance information of any and all vehicles involved.
Above all, never admit fault for a traffic accident, especially if you were the pedestrian injured.
What Are the Most Common Cleveland Pedestrian Accident Injuries?
Most pedestrian accidents that involve a motor vehicle often inflict serious and catastrophic injuries. As a result, injured victims may suffer long-term health conditions and permanent disabilities following the accident.
Pedestrian accident victims frequently experience the following injuries:
Broken Bones and Fractures
Broken bones and fractures are common Cleveland pedestrian accident traumas. The impact of a vehicle against a human body may fracture the bones in a victim’s wrists, hands, shoulders, arms, legs, and backs. Complete breaks may also occur, such as compound fractures where the bone punches through the skin.
Back and Spinal Cord Injuries
Back trauma and spinal cord injuries frequently occur in pedestrian-involved accidents. Spinal cord injuries can be devastating, often requiring multiple surgeries and long-term physical therapy. Spinal cord injury symptoms include:
- Breathing difficulties
- Loss of bladder and bowel control
- Numbness
- Paralysis
Head and Traumatic Brain Injury
A vehicle striking a pedestrian may throw them through the air and onto the hard pavement or concrete where they hit their head. It is also possible that the mere impact of the collision causes serious head trauma. As such, traumatic brain injuries and concussions are common. Victims may experience the following symptoms for days or even years after a forceful blow to the head:
- Memory loss
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Seizures
- Loss of consciousness
- Loss of balance
Burns and Soft Tissue Injuries
Pedestrians involved in car accidents typically suffer injuries not only from the impact of the vehicle, but from the impact they make with the ground afterward. Road burns and rashes are common in these scenarios and can leave victims with permanent scarring and disfigurement.
Meanwhile, soft tissue injuries may include contusions, lacerations, sprains, strains, and tears. It usually takes less time to heal from soft tissue injuries, but they may cause permanent scarring and severe pain.
Amputations
When a pedestrian is hit by an automobile, their limbs may sustain severe damage. This is especially true if the vehicle ran over one or more of the extremities of the victim. It may require amputation if medical professionals cannot save the arm or leg.
If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident while walking or running, the Cleveland personal injury attorneys at Joseph Law Group can help you recover compensation for your losses and injuries.
Why Do Pedestrian Accidents Happen in Cleveland?
Several factors may contribute to Cleveland motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians. These include:
Distracted Driving – Distracted driving refers to any activity that takes a driver’s attention from the road, such as texting, adjusting the radio, talking to passengers, and other distracting activities. This can cause the driver to ignore important traffic signs and/or traffic signals.
Alcohol and Substance Abuse – One of the main causes of traffic accidents is drivers operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This also applies to pedestrian-related accidents.
Speeding – Exceeding speed limits may cause drivers to hit pedestrians. The faster the speed of the vehicle, the more likely a victim will suffer serious, life-altering injuries.
Not Respecting a Pedestrian’s Right-of-Way – Pedestrians may get hit by a car when drivers ignore a pedestrian’s right-of-way when crossing an intersection. Most pedestrian fatalities happen at intersections.
Not Signaling Before Turning – Walkers crossing the street receive no warning and could walk in front of an oncoming vehicle if drivers fail to signal when turning.
Reckless Driving – This includes previously mentioned factors such as speeding and distracted driving, as well as driver fatigue, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or blatantly disobeying traffic laws. Aggressive and impatient drivers are a serious pedestrian threat.
Time of Day and Visibility – Pedestrian accidents frequently occur at night, as poor visibility and increased numbers of drunk drivers increase these risks. Accidents may also increase at dawn and dusk because of the sun’s glare.
No matter what factor caused your accident, the legal team at Joseph Law Group are here to help those injured in pedestrian accidents by holding negligent drivers responsible for their victims’ severe injuries.
How a Cleveland Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Can Help
With decades of experience helping Ohio residents, the experienced pedestrian accident lawyers at Joseph Law Group excel at recovering compensation for lost wages, medical costs, and many other damages for injured pedestrians. When our personal injury attorneys work on your case, we’ll review the evidence, calculate your damages, and establish fault.
It’s also vital that we prove that driver negligence caused your harm. Four essential elements make up every negligence claim:
- Duty of care
- A breach of duty
- Causation
- Damages
The Cleveland car accident attorneys at our Ohio law firm will thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding your pedestrian accident case and will work to prove each of these elements to ensure the negligent party is held accountable for their actions.
Damages for Cleveland Pedestrian Accident Claims
The Ohio pedestrian accident attorneys at Joseph Law Group are ready to step in to help when you’ve been hurt by another person’s negligence. We immediately investigate the details of your pedestrian accident lawsuit with the goal of securing compensation for your injury-related expenses. These expenses may include:
Economic Damages
These are tangible losses you suffered because of your accident. Economic damages cover current and future losses and include:
- Past and future medical bills
- Lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Property damage
Non-Economic Damages
Pedestrian accidents are traumatizing events and victims almost always experience serious non-monetary losses in their aftermath. These types of damages are harder to prove and quantify. Non-economic damages include but are not limited to:
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- PTSD
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
The minimum requirement for insurance coverage varies by state. Ohio’s drivers must carry the following minimum liability coverage amounts:
- $25,000 – bodily injury or death of one person
- $50,000 – bodily injury liability coverage for injury or death of two or more people
- $25,000 – damage to property
Your uninsured motorist (UIM) or underinsured motorist (UM) insurance may cover a portion of your accident if the at-fault driver doesn’t have enough coverage to pay for your losses.
What is Ohio’s Contributory Fault Law?
Insurance companies work hard to pay out as little as possible to accident victims. However, Ohio’s comparative negligence statute lets victims seek damages even if they partially contributed to their injuries.
The statute states that a victim’s personal injury damages may be reduced by the percentage of fault they contributed to the accident. As an example, a pedestrian using a marked crosswalk has the right of way. If they are on an unmarked crosswalk, they are expected to yield the right of way to motorists. As such, a pedestrian may be partially at-fault if they are hit by a car while jaywalking. Both the driver and the pedestrian share responsibility because both violated traffic laws.
A victim may only file a pedestrian accident claim as long as they are assigned less than 50% of the liability.
Ohio Hit and Run Pedestrian Accidents
In some cases, an injured pedestrian won’t know who hit them because the vehicle fled the scene of the accident. Even if this happens, the victim may potentially still seek compensation for their injuries. For the purposes of insurance coverage, hit and run accidents and accidents involving uninsured motorists receive a similar classification.
As a result, the victim may file a claim with their own insurance company and receive damages from their uninsured motorist coverage. However, insurance providers don’t like these types of claims and will likely try to deny them. Your best chance of success is to obtain the help of an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer in Cleveland.
Experienced Cleveland Pedestrian Accident Lawyers
Pedestrian accidents often have a life-altering domino effect on a victim’s life and future. Victims injured in traffic crashes suffer catastrophic injuries, face staggering medical bills, and may be unable to work. If the victim did not survive the accident, it is their family members who are left with the devastating impact. That’s why our Cleveland-based injury law firm is dedicated to helping injury victims and their families file personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death lawsuits to recover compensation for their insurmountable losses.
In addition to the financial ramifications of your accident, there is a limited amount of time to file pedestrian accident lawsuits. Ohio’s statute of limitations allows claims for up to two years from the date of your injury. That’s why you should never wait to hire a Cleveland pedestrian accident attorney. Your trustworthy legal representative helps you recover the financial compensation you need and deserve.
The Joseph Law Group is ready to help you on your healing journey. We have the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to achieve a successful outcome in your case. We offer a free consultation to all of our new clients, so please call us today to discuss the circumstances of your accident. You may reach us at (216) 522-1600 or by filling out our online contact form.
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The insurance industry is built on the avoidance of making any payments on claims. They see claims as liabilities, and initially deny, defend, and delay a claim to limit that liability and save money for the company. Ultimately, it is the job of the attorneys at Joseph Law Group to advocate on behalf of our clients and to give the insurance companies and adjusters enough reason to pay an amount of money that is fair under all circumstances. When you hire Joseph Law Group to represent your claim, you are getting a full-service team of dedicated attorneys and paralegals who will be committed to pursuing the best outcome for you from day one until trial.
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