Any accident with a vehicle can be serious, but pedestrian accidents in Georgia are even more dangerous. There is nothing to protect the pedestrian from the impact of a vehicle weighing several thousand pounds.
Georgia pedestrians must be aware of laws that affect them and know their legal options after an accident. Remember to speak to an experienced pedestrian accident attorney if you suffered an injury in an accident with a vehicle recently.
Table of Contents
- How Common Are Georgia Pedestrian Accidents?
- Pedestrians Have The Right Of Way In Georgia
- Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries
- Financial Compensation For A Pedestrian Accident
- Insurance Coverage For Georgia Pedestrian Accidents
- Who Is At Fault For A Georgia Pedestrian Accident?
- Should You Hire A Pedestrian Accident Attorney?
- What Is A Georgia Pedestrian Accident Claim Worth?
- Georgia Has A Two-Year Statute Of Limitations
- Speak To A Georgia Pedestrian Accident Attorney Today
How Common Are Georgia Pedestrian Accidents?
Pedestrian fatalities in Georgia dropped in the previous year, but the Governors Highway Safety Association stated recently that 7,300 pedestrians died in car accidents last year. This is far too many, and thousands more were seriously injured. You should always have a pedestrian accident attorney review your case if you suffered an injury. These accidents are often devastating, and paying your bills and recovering can be difficult without sufficient compensation.
Pedestrians Have The Right Of Way In Georgia
Georgia pedestrians have the right of way when they cross at any intersection with a marked crosswalk and at unmarked crosswalks. Drivers must wait until the pedestrian has finished crossing the road before moving.
Pedestrians are required to obey all traffic signals, including traffic lights and stop signs, when they cross. Pedestrians must yield to vehicles without a stop sign or traffic signal.
While pedestrians are required to cross at intersections only when they have the right of way, drivers cause most accidents involving pedestrians. Georgia law requires all drivers to drive responsibly and avoid hitting pedestrians. This means that even if a car's driver has the right of way when a pedestrian is present, the driver still needs to stop.
You should always speak to a car accident attorney if you are a pedestrian in an accident. You can think you were to blame for the accident and can’t receive compensation, but this isn’t necessarily true. A pedestrian accident attorney will review your case for free and determine if you can receive compensation for your losses.
Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries
Pedestrian accidents are among the worst of all motor vehicle accidents. The severity of your injuries depends on the size and speed of the vehicle. Common pedestrian accident injuries include:
- Brain injuries and head trauma
- Spinal cord injuries
- Joint dislocations
- Ligament and tendon damage in the joints
- Nerve damage
- Rib fractures and other broken bones
- Road rash
- Lacerations
- Wrongful death
Pedestrian accident injuries can permanently incapacitate you, and your medical bills and other losses can be high. An experienced pedestrian accident attorney will ensure you receive the most compensation for your injuries.
Financial Compensation For A Pedestrian Accident
After suffering an injury in a pedestrian accident, you can receive compensation for your injuries and related losses. Usually, the injured pedestrian files a claim against the liable driver’s insurance policy. Some of the damages you can receive include:
- Medical costs: This pays for your pedestrian accident medical expenses today and in the future, including hospitalization, surgeries, prescriptions, and physical therapy.
- Lost earnings: You should receive money for the lost income related to the accident and treatments.
- Lost earning capacity: A severe injury can mean permanent disability and the loss of ability to earn a living as you once did.
- Property damage: Any damaged or destroyed property from the accident should be repaired or replaced.
- Pain and suffering: Pedestrian accident injuries are often painful, and you should receive compensation for physical discomfort.
- Mental anguish: Serious pedestrian accident injuries may cause disability that prevents you from enjoying life. You may have anxiety, depression, and PTSD; You should receive compensation for other mental issues as well.
You should have an experienced pedestrian accident attorney review your case today. They can analyze your situation and provide an approximate case value range based on your injuries and related losses.
Insurance Coverage For Georgia Pedestrian Accidents
Most people file Georgia pedestrian accidents under the liability driver’s insurance policy. Insurance is usually the majority compensation provider for such accidents, but the policy limits may prevent you from recovering your full damages.
The problem in Georgia and many states is that minimum coverage may be only $50,000 per incident for bodily injury in a single accident. Your damages in a pedestrian accident can be $100,000, $250,000, or more, depending on your injuries. A month in the hospital for a serious back injury can cost you hundreds of thousands in medical bills.
If your pedestrian accident losses exceed the driver’s policy limits, you need a pedestrian accident lawyer to support you. There are other potential options for increasing the size of your settlement that your attorney can handle. For example, you may need to sue the driver personally and obtain compensation for their assets. Your attorney may file an underinsured driver claim on your policy if you have such coverage.
Lack of coverage isn’t the only problem you can face when settling with the driver’s insurance company. Insurance companies are profit-driven. They only make money when they pay out less than they take in. The insurance company may offer much less than you deserve for your losses.
You always have the right to turn down a low settlement offer and contact a pedestrian accident attorney to guide you. Only accept a settlement offer and sign insurance paperwork with your attorney reviewing the matter. Once you sign off on a settlement, you can’t go back and demand more later.
Who Is At Fault For A Georgia Pedestrian Accident?
You can usually only recover compensation for your damages if you prove that another party violated their duty of care and injured you. Drivers are generally at fault for pedestrian accidents, meaning the driver who hit you should pay for your damages.
Your car accident attorney will rely on the case evidence to prove who caused the accident. Obtaining compensation in a pedestrian accident lawsuit means showing that the other party was negligent as follows:
- The other party had a duty of care to you. A driver has a duty of care to stop at crosswalks and not injure pedestrians.
- The driver violated their duty of care by, for example, not stopping at the crosswalk and hitting you.
- The accident caused your injuries, such as broken bones.
- You have damages from the accident, such as medical bills and lost earnings.
The at-fault driver’s insurance company usually pays damages in these cases. However, the at-fault insurance company may contest liability and deny the claim. Even if they accept liability, they may try to pay less than what you deserve.
For example, the insurance company can call you the day after the accident and offer to cover your medical bills. You should politely decline the offer and have them talk to your pedestrian crash attorney. You can be entitled to compensation for current and future medical bills, pain and suffering, lost earnings, and more. An offer to ‘pay your medical bills’ might sound good, but it’s a bare minimum offer, and you should allow your car accident attorney to negotiate for more.
Should You Hire A Pedestrian Accident Attorney?
You should generally retain a pedestrian accident attorney if a car hit you in Georgia. Pedestrian accidents are usually serious, and injuries can be long-term or permanent, such as spine injuries, brain trauma, severe road rash, internal injuries, and broken bones.
With such high potential damages, you should have a personal injury attorney in Georgia handle your case and lawsuit. Your attorney will gather important evidence to prove that a driver violated their duty of care and injured you. Important evidence may include:
- Police report
- Eyewitness statements
- Photos and videos of the accident scene
- Surveillance video of the accident
- Physical evidence at the scene, such as tire marks
Injuries that you suffer in a pedestrian accident can be life-changing, causing high medical bills and lost earnings. You need more income for your medical and other bills if you attempt to settle your claim. The at-fault driver’s insurance company isn’t your friend and will try to deny or downplay your claim if it can. You need a tenacious pedestrian accident attorney to level the playing field.
Your pedestrian accident attorney will also handle all communications with the insurance company and may find doctors to treat you while you wait for the case to settle.
What Is A Georgia Pedestrian Accident Claim Worth?
A pedestrian accident lawyer can only accurately estimate your case value if they know the details. Every pedestrian accident case is unique. Your injuries may resemble another person’s but may affect you differently.
Generally, pedestrian accident attorneys can say that these factors will influence your case value:
The Injuries You Suffered
Did you break your wrist or suffer a serious head injury? The severity of pedestrian accident injuries will largely influence the size of the settlement. You should receive fair compensation for serious injuries with long-term and permanent damages. A skilled pedestrian accident attorney will investigate your injuries and prognosis with your medical team to understand how much you should receive for your injuries.
Your Medical Bills
Major injuries will have higher medical bills. For example, if you shattered your left leg in the accident, you may need hospitalization and surgery on the bones in your upper and lower leg for them to heal correctly. Hospital procedures and hospital stays will drive up your medical bills substantially.
You also will have medical expenses for a significant injury related to your recovery. Your attorney will work with your medical providers to understand your future medical bills. This ensures that your compensation covers current costs and any ongoing or future treatment you may need.
Pain And Suffering
Pedestrian accident injuries may be excruciating, so you should receive compensation for your physical pain and suffering. The treatments for your injuries also can be painful, so you should be compensated for those, too.
Mental and emotional anguish can also be extensive with serious pedestrian injuries. Your car accident attorney may consult with your therapist or mental health professional to understand how the accident has affected your mental state.
Lost Work Time
Suppose you have a serious back injury that prevents you from working for six months. You should receive fair compensation for that lost work time. But if you have a spinal cord injury that permanently incapacitates you, you also should receive compensation for lost earning capacity.
Lost earning capacity compensation will be higher if you have more education and a higher salary. For example, a physician may have more compensation for lost earning capacity than an elementary school teacher. Your attorney will consult with occupational and economists to understand the compensation you should receive for lost income in the future.
Insurance Coverage
The amount of auto insurance available may limit compensation. Many car drivers lack significant assets to go after in a lawsuit, so you cannot get more money than the insurance policy provides. However, your auto accident attorney will investigate the person at fault and find every possible insurance policy to pay you.
You should rely on a seasoned car accident attorney to accurately estimate the scope of your losses. The financial impact of your accident can be more than you think. Your attorney will calculate your losses and commence settlement negotiations with the insurance adjuster so you get what you deserve.
Georgia Has A Two-Year Statute Of Limitations
Don’t delay hiring a pedestrian accident lawyer to represent you. There is a limited time to file a personal injury lawsuit in Georgia. You have only two years from the date of injury to file your claim, so act quickly!
Speak To A Georgia Pedestrian Accident Attorney Today
Did a driver injure you in a pedestrian accident? You can be entitled to compensation according to Georgia law. You may receive money for medical bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering if your pedestrian accident attorney proves that another party’s negligence caused your injuries. Speak to a personal injury attorney in Atlanta today for a free legal consultation. An experienced attorney can clarify your rights and guide you through the legal process to ensure you receive fair compensation.