Drivers are expected to obey a number of safety rules and regulations when they operate their vehicles, and they are expected to act with reasonable care. Motorists have these obligations to protect others on the road, including pedestrians.
Unfortunately, sometimes drivers are unreasonably careless, break the rules or fail to live up to basic safety rules. A pedestrian can suffer grave harm if a driver’s bad choices or careless actions lead to a collision. In fact, auto accidents can cause serious injury or death to those walking on or near streets and sidewalks.
If you or a loved one was injured in a pedestrian accident, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. A pedestrian accident attorney at Steinger, Greene & Feiner can evaluate your case, explain your options and help you pursue damages to cover your losses.
Pedestrians should be compensated for all losses from a car accident caused by a driver who does something wrong. To obtain remuneration, a pedestrian would need to prove:
- that the driver broke a driving rule (such as maximum speed limit laws) and/or that the driver was more careless than any average reasonable driver would have been
- that the driver’s negligence, carelessness or rule violation was a direct cause of a pedestrian accident
- that actual harm resulted from the pedestrian crash, which the driver can compensate the victim for
Both pedestrians hurt in crashes and family members of those killed in pedestrian accidents can pursue claims against the responsible drivers provided they can prove these three things. Unlike in criminal court, there is no requirement that a case be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Instead, it is sufficient to prove by a preponderance of evidence that the driver should be made to compensate the accident victim.