In addition to keeping an eye out for other vehicles near theirs on public roads, drivers in Connecticut also must look for pedestrians in crosswalks and yield to them. Unfortunately, as experienced personal injury attorneys know all too well, not every driver can be trusted to always fulfill this “duty of care” towards the people around them, and sometimes that misconduct can lead to traffic collisions with dire consequences.
However, the fact that pedestrians are much more likely to get hurt in traffic accidents compared to people inside motor vehicles does not mean courts will automatically side with the former over the latter during a civil lawsuit. If you or a loved one were struck by a negligent driver, it is crucial that you get legal help as soon as possible. A Stamford pedestrian accident lawyer from Berkowitz and Hanna LLC can help ensure you get the compensation you need and deserve.
In order to successfully sue the driver who struck them, a pedestrian injured in a traffic crash must prove that a specific reckless or careless act by the driver in question directly led to a specific physical injury bad enough to need professional medical care. This typically requires various forms of evidence from the accident scene itself, such as photos of vehicle damage and nearby traffic patterns, eyewitness testimony, and footage from surveillance or dashboard cameras, if available.
Comprehensive records from treating physicians will be key to establishing the existence of crash-related injuries, as well as how long the healing process can be expected to take and what long-term harm—if any—the injuries can be expected to cause. A Stamford pedestrian accident attorney can help track down important information and incorporate that information into a lawsuit or settlement.
Both economic and non-economic losses stemming from a pedestrian collision can be factored into an ensuing civil claim, ranging from short-term losses like emergency medical bills and physical pain to long-term losses of working capacity or enjoyment of life. However, if an injured pedestrian wants to recover the full value of all their injury-related damages, it may be just as important to prove that they themselves were not to blame for their accident as it is to prove that someone else was at fault for it.
As a pedestrian injury lawyer in Stamford can further explain, this is because of the “modified comparative fault” system established under Connecticut General Statutes §52-572h. Under this system, courts can assign a percentage of fault to an injured person based on the degree to which that person contributed to causing their own injuries. Then, depending on whether that percentage is under or over 50 percent of the total fault for the incident, that court could proportionately reduce the value of that person’s final damage award or throw their case out altogether. Working with a seasoned attorney is crucial to avoiding unfair assignments of blame after an accident.
Being struck by a car while walking can leave you with long-lasting and even life-altering injuries, none of which are things that anyone should have to deal with solely because of someone else’s misconduct. However, if you are proactive about enforcing your right to civil recovery, you should be able to preserve your financial security and protect your long-term best interests in spite of the harm you have sustained.
A Stamford pedestrian accident lawyer from Berkowitz and Hanna LCC can be the steadfast ally you need to obtain the restitution you deserve. Call today to set up a meeting.
Berkowitz Hanna
1177 Summer St 4th Floor
Stamford CT
06905
