Clermont Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
Florida is among the most dangerous states for pedestrians in America. It is estimated that over 5,000 individuals have been killed by motor vehicles in the past decade alone in Florida. Statistically, seniors are among those more likely to be struck by a motor vehicle in car accidents, motorcycle accidents, and truck accidents. There are several reasons behind the causes of pedestrian accidents, including negligent driving, aggressive driving, and, in some cases, the pedestrians’ mistakes.
In Lake County, Florida, pedestrians injured in an auto accident must seek immediate medical attention following the accident to safeguard their well-being and strengthen their pedestrian accident case. Injured pedestrians are highly recommended to consult a pedestrian or car accident attorney to learn more about their legal options for recovering compensation for damages suffered in an accident.
Injured pedestrians have the legal right to seek justice and financial compensation for severe injuries and other losses following a motor vehicle accident. However, they must prove negligence in their personal injury case to recover compensation. Our law firm has extensive experience representing clients injured in various personal injury cases, including pedestrian accident cases.
What Should an Injured Pedestrian Do After a Car Accident?
Knowing what steps to take at the accident scene can save your life or the lives of others injured in pedestrian accidents and strengthen your personal injury claims for when you later take legal action.
Try to remain calm and assess your injuries after a pedestrian accident. Even if you believe your injuries to be relatively minor, it is still important that you get checked out by professional medical providers. Some injuries may worsen with time or manifest later. Additionally, thorough medical records can be valuable evidence to your personal injury lawyers.
Call 911 to summon paramedics and law enforcement to the scene. While awaiting the arrival of the police, seek out any witnesses to the accident and gather their contact information.
Collect relevant information from the motorist involved in the pedestrian accident, including their contact information, driver’s license number, license plate, and insurance company provider.
Document everything related to your pedestrian accident, including photographing your injuries, the damage to the motor vehicles, the time of the incident, and any associated medical costs.
Contact an experienced auto accident attorney to immediately discuss your pedestrian accident case. We offer free consultations to prospective new clients interested in retaining our legal services. Do not delay; contact us today.
What Causes Pedestrian Accidents in Clermont, FL?
Negligence commonly plays a part in Florida pedestrian accidents.
Negligent driver actions may include the following:
- Disregarding pedestrian islands where pedestrians are attempting to safely cross multi-lane roads
- Distracted driving, such as eating while driving, talking on a cell phone while driving, or texting while driving diverts attention from pedestrians
- Driver fatigue and drowsy driving, which can cause drivers to nod off while driving
- Driving at excessive speeds reduces a driver’s ability to stop in time for people on the road
- Driving recklessly in heavy rain, darkness, fog, and other scenarios which may cause visibility issues
- Failing to obey traffic signs and signals, particularly in pedestrian crosswalks
- Failure to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, at stop signs, and where pedestrians have the legal right of way
- Impaired driving, such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which can slow reaction times and impair decision-making abilities
- Improper left turns, which can endanger pedestrians crossing the street
- Reversing a car without first looking for pedestrians in driveways and parking lots
In some pedestrian accident cases, the driver may not accept that they were to blame for the accident. They may point to reduced visibility, road defects, or vehicle malfunctions as the reason behind the pedestrian accident. However, Florida motorists are still expected to drive safely, and all owe a duty of care to others who share their roads with them. If things like poor weather reduce visibility and driving abilities to such an extent that driving becomes dangerous, then the motorist should not be driving in the first place.
There are also times when pedestrians can cause accidents. Pedestrians must follow certain rules, such as crossing the street legally and using a crosswalk when available. If pedestrians are not using a crosswalk, they must always yield to the right of way to traffic. Pedestrians should never jump into traffic without giving motorists the necessary notice and enough time to stop. Suppose pedestrians fail to alert motorists of their intention to cross the road without a crosswalk. In that case, pedestrians can be found liable for causing the accident.
Are Hit-and-Run Accidents Common in Florida?
Florida law requires motorists who strike a pedestrian to remain at the accident scene and wait for law enforcement and first responders. However, this is not always the case. In some cases, at-fault drivers flee the scene of the accident, making the pedestrian accident a hit-and-run.
Almost one-quarter of all motor vehicle crashes in Florida involve a hit-and-run driver of some kind. Florida law dictates significant legal consequences for drivers who leave the scene of an accident.
When vehicles strike pedestrians, the amount of damage to the vehicle will almost certainly be less than the damage delivered to the pedestrian. It is very likely that the pedestrian, unlike the vehicle and its passengers, will suffer serious injuries. Because of this, the limited damage to the car could tempt drivers to flee the scene, especially if negligent driving, traffic violations, or impaired driving played a role in the accident.
Pedestrians injured in hit-and-run accidents must retain professional legal representation to help them prove their case in a court of law.
Can a Florida Personal Injury Attorney Help You Pursue Compensation?
With a well-argued case, it is possible to recover a fair settlement for your injuries and other losses following a pedestrian accident. Your compensation may come in the form of both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages may include the following:
- Lost wages and lost income earning capacity
- Property damage
- Past medical bills and future medical expenses
- Physical therapy expenses
- Funeral, burial, and memorial expenses in the event of a fatal accident
Non-economic damages may include the following:
- Disability, disfigurement, or dismemberment
- Loss of companionship or consortium
- Emotional distress and mental anguish
- Lost quality of life
- Physical pain and suffering
- Wrongful death
Injured pedestrians and their family members have the legal right to pursue justice and compensation following an accident. Please schedule a free case consultation with our legal team today.
Do You Require the Legal Assistance of a Clermont Personal Injury Lawyer?
Among the many legal rights an accident victim in Florida has is the right to file a personal injury claim with the help of legal representation.
A personal injury lawyer can help your case in some of the following ways:
- Address potentially dangerous conditions that led to your pedestrian accident
- Answer all of your questions and concerns
- Collect evidence to support your personal injury claim
- Determine all sources of liability by gathering evidence to support your case
- Ensure that all necessary paperwork is filed promptly
- Help you find a doctor to treat your pedestrian accident injuries
- Investigate the pedestrian accident in comprehensive detail
- Manage communications with all involved parties
- Negotiate with insurance companies
- Properly assess your economic and non-economic damages
- Recover lost income resulting from your injuries
- Represent you in a courtroom trial, if necessary, to hold at-fault parties accountable
Schedule a Free Consultation with an Experienced Clermont Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Today
With a well-presented case, it is possible to recover compensation for medical expenses, emotional trauma, pain and suffering, property damage, and more. However, it is important that you speak about your personal injury claims soon after the pedestrian accident so that your attorneys have time to build a case that properly presents the facts of the matter so that you may pursue maximum compensation for your losses. To learn more about our legal services and how we may assist you in this difficult time, please contact us to schedule your free consultation today.
Please contact our law office for legal guidance during this traumatic experience to schedule your free, no-obligation case evaluation today.
You can reach us at 407-287-6757.
Possibly. Crossing outside a crosswalk does not automatically prevent you from pursuing a personal injury claim. The location of the accident, traffic signals, right-of-way rules, visibility, and the actions of both the pedestrian and driver can all matter.
Florida law requires drivers to exercise due care to avoid colliding with pedestrians. A driver’s speeding, distraction, failure to keep a proper lookout, or failure to react may contribute to an accident even when the pedestrian may also have made a mistake.
Florida law: Florida Statutes § 316.130 — Pedestrians; traffic regulations
The insurance company’s assessment does not settle the issue. Witness statements, surveillance or traffic-camera footage, vehicle damage, accident-scene evidence, traffic signals, and other evidence may help establish what actually happened.
Florida uses a modified comparative negligence system. In most negligence cases, a person found more than 50% responsible for their own injuries cannot recover damages. If the injured person is 50% or less at fault, compensation may be reduced according to that percentage of responsibility.
An attorney can investigate the collision and challenge an unsupported determination of fault.
Florida law: Florida Statutes § 768.81 — Comparative fault
It may. Florida Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, insurance can apply to certain people who are injured as pedestrians in motor vehicle accidents. Depending on the circumstances, coverage through your own policy, a resident relative’s policy, or insurance connected with the vehicle that struck you may apply.
PIP can pay certain medical expenses and lost income subject to the requirements and limits of the policy and Florida law. A separate claim against the responsible driver may provide additional compensation.
Determining which insurance policies apply is an important part of investigating a pedestrian injury claim.
Florida law: Florida Statutes § 627.736 — Personal Injury Protection benefits
Seek prompt medical attention after being struck by a vehicle, even if you initially believe your injuries are minor. Some injuries become more apparent over time, and an early medical evaluation can both protect your health and document your condition following the collision.
For Florida PIP medical benefits, qualifying initial medical services generally must be received within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident.
That 14-day requirement concerns PIP benefits. It is different from the deadline for bringing a personal injury lawsuit, and missing the PIP deadline does not necessarily eliminate every potential claim against the responsible driver.
Florida law: Florida Statutes § 627.736 — PIP medical benefits and the 14-day requirement
You may still have options. Available PIP benefits may help with some initial expenses. In addition, Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage — commonly called UM or UM/UIM coverage — may provide another source of recovery when an injured pedestrian is struck by an uninsured driver or in a hit-and-run collision.
UM coverage is associated with your own automobile insurance policy. Florida insurers generally must offer uninsured motorist coverage with policies providing bodily injury liability coverage, but the named insured may reject that coverage in writing. Whether UM coverage is available in a particular pedestrian accident therefore depends on the policy and the circumstances.
After a hit-and-run accident, report the collision promptly and preserve any information you have about the vehicle, witnesses, nearby businesses, surveillance cameras, or other evidence that could help identify the driver.
An attorney can investigate the accident, determine what insurance coverage may apply, and review any notice requirements under the policies involved.
Florida law: Florida Statutes § 627.727 — Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
Yes. Pedestrian injury claims are not limited to public streets or marked crosswalks. A collision can occur in a parking lot, driveway, shopping center, apartment complex, or other area where vehicles and pedestrians interact.
Drivers must use reasonable care when backing up, turning, entering or leaving parking spaces, and traveling through areas where people are walking.
These cases may depend heavily on visibility, vehicle movement, witness accounts, photographs, and security-camera footage. If a dangerous property condition also contributed to the collision, there may be additional questions about whether another party shares responsibility.
Be cautious about settling before you understand the nature of your injuries, your expected recovery, and whether you may need additional treatment.
A settlement generally requires the injured person to sign a release ending the claim against the parties covered by that release. If your injuries later turn out to be more serious than expected, you ordinarily cannot return and ask the released party or insurer for additional compensation.
An attorney can evaluate a settlement offer in light of your medical records, lost income, anticipated treatment, long-term limitations, available insurance coverage, and the other consequences of the accident.
For most recent Florida personal injury cases based on negligence, the statute of limitations is generally two years.
However, exceptions and different notice requirements can apply depending on the circumstances, including cases involving a government agency or public entity. Insurance deadlines can also arise much sooner than the lawsuit deadline.
Evidence can disappear long before the statute of limitations expires. Video may be overwritten, vehicles repaired, and witnesses may become difficult to locate. Speaking with an attorney early can help preserve evidence and identify the deadlines that apply to your particular case.
Florida law: Florida Statutes § 95.11 — Limitations of actions
