There are always serious consequences after car accidents, especially when the party injured is a pedestrian. If a pedestrian is hit by a vehicle, injuries tend to be much more severe than when compared to those of the driver and the car’s other passengers. It is simply impossible to match the weight and size of the vehicle.
Fortunately, there are laws that allow you to receive compensation for injuries you suffered. You just need the services of a good pedestrian injury lawyer and, if you are right, you will surely receive financial compensation.
Eligibility For Personal Injury Claims
Pedestrians hit by road vehicles who ended up injured are eligible for some sort of injury compensation. This is possible through the personal injury claim. This is a process that requires some information. Get this data by taking the following vital steps for the process:
- Report the accident
Always do this and do it as soon as you can. When the accident is not reported in the time allowed by law, the delay has to be explained for a future claim. After the report, you have to receive documents from the police that show what happened. These will be needed in your claim.
- Get medical attention
All the injuries you sustained should be taken care of and documented. Even in the event that you think you were not injured, you have to get medical attention since there are several injuries that will take a lot of time until they appear. Also, all the medical records you will receive will serve a vital purpose in the claims process.
- Get contact information
Because of the fact that drivers are required to have insurance coverage, you should get this information from them. When the driver refuses this, just record the license plate. Insurance information will be gained by your attorney afterward without any problems.
Personal Injury Claims
When pedestrian accidents happen, the injured party can receive two types of compensation:
- Accident nomination claim
You do this with the insurer of the driver at fault. However, the compensation that you will receive is usually limited by the coverage that is available since policies always have maximum payments. See if the amount you would receive can cover all the expenses you suffered after the injury. If not, you will need to opt for the second option
- Personal injury claim
The timeframe available for this claim is much longer than the previous one. Also, you will receive a compensation that is much higher. This option is also always preferred when the injuries you suffered will take a long time to heal.
What Can You Receive Compensation For?
When the personal injury claim is successful, compensation is received for every single loss you suffered because of the car accident. This can include several different things, like:
- Medical, hospital, and rehabilitation expenses.
- Attendant care expenses.
- Home modification expenses.
- Loss of earning capacity.
- Loss of earnings.
- Loss of life enjoyment (this applies when you are impaired over a threshold of 10% and the result is permanent).
- Pain and suffering.
