Lafayette Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

As a pedestrian, you are at the greatest risk of being hit by a truck, motorcycle, or car, especially if you are on a crosswalk, near a road, or on the sidewalk. It takes only a split-second for a distracted driver to turn your life upside down with devastating, life-altering injuries.

If this happened to you or a loved one, immediately seek legal counsel from a committed Lafayette pedestrian accident lawyer. The team at Laborde Earles can help you determine your next steps. 

Learn more about your rights and options for compensation during a free case review with our team. You can speak with a Lafayette personal injury lawyer to help you pursue compensation. We’ve litigated thousands of cases over the years and won over $1 billion for Louisiana victims.

Why Choose Laborde Earles?

When you need pedestrian accident lawyers with experience and passion, we’re the team to choose; we have both. We’ve won multiple cases and used our combined 350+ years of experience to get satisfactory settlements for our clients, including a $1.75 million settlement for a passenger injured by a defective railroad crossing.

In addition, we fought for a client who lost their mother and won their family a $23 million settlement to cover their expenses. When you work with us, you can trust that we’ll fight for every cent you qualify for.

Our passion for holding negligent parties accountable has earned us multiple testimonials from clients who can speak to our successes. We’re grateful our clients take the time to share their experiences and that they chose us.

Do I Need a Lafayette Pedestrian Accident Lawyer?

After you’ve been injured as a pedestrian, starting the process for a legal situation can be overwhelming. You could try to recover damages from your insurance company, but you’ll unlikely get the settlement you deserve.

When you work with a lawyer, you could win approximately 3 times more in a lawsuit than if you were to do it alone. When you work with a pedestrian accident attorney in Lafayette, LA, we can: 

• Collect evidence to support your claim
  
• Negotiate with the insurance adjuster
  
• File a claim against the negligent parties
  
• Schedule car repair appointments or medical appointments
  
• Find a doctor to get you medical assistance
  
• Determine who is at fault for the accident
  
• Represent you in court if necessary

More About How We’ll Help You

Seeking medical care after a pedestrian accident is essential. However, speaking to a knowledgeable pedestrian accident lawyer in Lafayette, LA, is also important. They can help assert your legal rights and help you pay for the cost of your care.

We can review documentation of your injuries and evidence to determine if you have a case. If you do, we will evaluate your monetary and non-monetary losses to establish a value for your case.

Then, we will advocate for you to insurers, who may try to get you to accept a lower settlement or not offer you one. Finally, we can negotiate a favorable outcome for you. If that does not happen, we could move forward with an injury lawsuit to seek compensation from the court.

How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer?

If you have injuries from an accident, you are likely facing medical bills and other expenses. Hiring a lawyer from our team for your pedestrian accident case may seem like another financial burden, but it doesn’t have to be. Unfortunately, victims sometimes view cost as a barrier to hiring legal representation, so many people don’t pursue their cases.

We understand your concerns, and that’s why our personal injury lawyers work on contingency. We start work on a client’s case without upfront fees or costs. We’ll work on your case and won’t accept payment unless we secure a settlement or court award for you.

We will take our payment from your award if we win the case. If not, we do not charge you a fee. Contingency agreements allow us to work together toward getting you compensation.

Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries

After a pedestrian injury, you may wonder whether you should contact a lawyer. In addition, it is common for injury victims to wonder if their injuries are severe enough to warrant civil action.

It is important to keep in mind that you do not need to suffer a life-threatening injury to be entitled to compensation following an accident. How your injuries have affected your life will determine your compensation eligibility status, not the type of injury you have sustained.

However, pedestrians suffer some types of injuries more frequently when vehicles hit them than others. These include: 

• Road rash
  
• Concussion
  
• Whiplash
  
• Head injuries
  
• Traumatic brain injuries
  
• Broken jaw bones
  
• Other facial injuries
  
• Other bone breaks and fractures
  
• Loss of limbs
  
• Spinal cord injuries
  
• Paralysis
  
• Broken bones
  
• Back injuries and neck injuries
  
• Herniated discs
  
• Third-degree burns
  
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

These are only a few more common injuries pedestrians have endured after being hit by reckless drivers. However, pedestrians can suffer severe injuries under a wide range of circumstances, such as dog attacks. Our legal team includes experienced dog bite lawyers in Lafayette who can help you hold the negligent pet owner accountable.

If you have suffered another type of injury not listed above, you can contact our office to find out what legal options are available.

Compensation for Pedestrian Accidents

Our law firm can help you seek financial compensation for your injuries and other damages you suffered in your accident. Injuries in pedestrian accidents can range in severity, requiring varying levels of treatment. There is no average settlement for a pedestrian hit by a car.

Common damages in these cases include: 

• Medical expenses (past, present, and ongoing)
  
• Rehabilitation costs (physical therapy and occupational therapy)
  
• Lost wages from missing work
  
• Emotional distress
  
• Lost or reduced earning ability or income
  
• Permanent disabilities
  
• Pain and suffering
  
• Other non-economic damages

Wrongful Death Benefits

If your loved one died from their injuries from a pedestrian accident, we are truly sorry for your loss. We can help you recover financial compensation for damages on their behalf, such as their: 

• Final medical expenses (paid and unpaid)
  
• Funeral and burial or cremation costs
  
• Pain and suffering they faced
  
• Loss of companionship

In Louisiana, there are thousands of fatal pedestrian accidents each year, the NHTSA states. This makes Louisiana one of the states with the highest pedestrian fatality rates in the country.

Punitive Damages

Sometimes, pedestrian accidents happen for shocking reasons that go beyond ordinary negligence. An example might be a drunk driver speeding well over the limit and hitting a family in a crosswalk. Our personal injury attorneys could ask for punitive damages in these egregious cases.

Punitive damages give victims additional compensation from a court. The court punishes the defendant for their actions by making them or their insurer pay more. These are rarely awarded in personal injury cases but are possible in extreme situations.

If our pedestrian accident lawyers think you need these damages to achieve fair compensation, we will determine whether starting a personal injury lawsuit is in your best interest. We’ll explain the legal process for asking for them and work with you to determine whether this is the best option.

Special Considerations for Child Pedestrian Accidents

When a child is injured in a pedestrian accident, the case requires special handling and consideration. Children are among our most vulnerable pedestrians, and accidents involving minors have far-reaching consequences for families.

When representing injured children, our Lafayette pedestrian injury lawyers look beyond immediate medical needs to consider the following:

• Future medical treatments and therapy needs
  
• Impact on educational opportunities
  
• Potential effects on career prospects
  
• Long-term psychological impact of the trauma

Consequently, cases involving injured children may include damages like paying for special education, psychological counseling, life care planning costs, and future lost earning capacity. 

How We Determine Fault in Pedestrian Accidents

Our legal team must also prove who is responsible for your injuries. Whether someone was hit while jogging along a sidewalk or walking in a crosswalk, our experienced attorneys can thoroughly investigate what happened.

Many times, negligent drivers cause pedestrian accidents. Unsafe driving practices that often result in pedestrian accidents include: 

• Speeding
  
• Texting when driving
  
• Failure to halt at a stop sign or red light
  
• Drunk driving
  
• Breaching school zones and school bus restrictions  

Proving Liability in Lafayette Pedestrian Incident Claims

To prove another party is responsible for causing your injuries, your pedestrian accident lawyer in Lafayette, LA, must gather evidence to support your case. Several types of evidence could be used to establish fault in pedestrian accident claims. 

Some of the things our personal injury lawyers need to help your case might include the following: 

• Police reports
  
• Crash reports
  
• Photos of the accident scene
  
• Photos of your injuries
  
• Photos of the property damage
  
• Video of the accident
  
• Witness statements
  
• Expert testimony
  
• Accident reconstructionist reports
  
• Safety inspection reports
  
• Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test results
  
• Cell phone records

In civil pedestrian accident cases, the burden of proof is predicated on how probable the evidence is. This implies that the evidence in your case must establish that the defendant is almost certainly to blame for your injuries.

How Shared Fault Works

An individual who has sustained an injury in a pedestrian accident may be shocked to hear that the other at-fault party is claiming they contributed to their injuries. Unfortunately, however, arguments that the injured individual is partially at fault are not uncommon.

For example, a negligent driver may claim the pedestrian caused an accident by stumbling into the vehicle’s path. An argument of comparative fault could impact an injured party’s financial recovery. In Louisiana, according to CC § 2323, an injured party who is partially at fault may still recover damages with a reduction.

The percentage of fault the victim bears is important. For example, if they were 20% responsible for the accident, they may face a 20% reduction in the damages they can recover. With legal representation from a pedestrian accident attorney in Lafayette, victims could prepare to refute the defendant’s arguments of comparative fault and fight for maximum compensation.

How Pedestrians May Be Found At Fault

Jaywalking remains one of the most common ways pedestrians can be found at fault. This includes:

• Crossing outside of marked crosswalks when one is available
  
• Ignoring pedestrian crossing signals
  
• Darting into traffic without checking for vehicles
  
• Crossing between parked vehicles that obstruct drivers’ views

Intoxicated or impaired pedestrians may be held partially or fully responsible for accidents when their condition leads to:

• Stumbling into traffic
  
• Inability to judge traffic patterns or vehicle speeds
  
• Unpredictable movements near roadways
  
• Falling into the path of vehicles

Finally, modern distractions could lead to pedestrians being blamed for an accident. Using a smartphone without paying attention to your surroundings or wearing headphones that prevent you from hearing traffic could be used against you. They divide your attention, just like a distracted driver who texts while driving.

What to Expect From Your Pedestrian Accident Insurance Claim in Lafayette

Unfortunately, insurance companies often take advantage of pedestrian accident victims filing their insurance claims. This is because insurance companies are for-profit. Therefore, they make money by bringing in more insurance premiums than paying for pedestrian accidents and other motor vehicle injury claims.

To reduce their profit loss, they look for opportunities to reduce the compensation they pay in claims. You can expect the insurer to ask you for a statement, make you a lowball settlement offer, and fight back when you seek total compensation for your damages.

Fortunately, when you have a Lafayette pedestrian accident attorney advocating for your rights, you can rest easier knowing your attorney will never let you settle for less than you deserve. Any damages you cannot recover through an insurance settlement, your attorney may recommend seeking in your pedestrian accident tort claim.

What Happens When You’re a Victim of a Hit-and-Run Accident?

If you suffered injuries in an accident where the driver hit you and left the scene, we could try to locate the driver if you remember the vehicle’s license plate number. Witnesses may also have this information or other tips that could help. We can also use the police report to try to locate the driver.

We can also present this document and others, file a claim with your auto insurance company if you have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, and handle those negotiations for you.

Statute of Limitations for Filing a Claim

Pedestrian accident lawsuits have a deadline between the time of the accident and the statute of limitations. In Louisiana, individuals who sustain an injury in a pedestrian accident have only two years from the accident date to file a personal injury claim. If you file a wrongful death action, you have two years from the person’s death date.

Time can pass quickly while negotiations and investigations of a claim are ongoing. Missing the filing deadline could mean an injured party loses the right to recover damages.

Since many case-specific factors can affect the filing deadline, getting the advice of a pedestrian accident attorney in Lafayette could be helpful. Although not all pedestrian accident cases end up in litigation, it is important to know the deadline to file a lawsuit.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have been struck by a vehicle, you may have unanswered questions about what to expect next. The claims process for pedestrians is complex.

Below, we address the most frequent queries regarding pedestrian accident claims. Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any additional questions not addressed here so we can discuss your worries in more detail.

Where Do Most Pedestrian Accidents Happen?

Most pedestrian accidents occur in urban areas near traffic settings but can also happen in areas without traffic. For example, Injury Facts cited a National Center for Health Statistics study stating that pedestrian accidents can happen in driveways, sidewalks, and parking lots.

Another factor in the frequency of pedestrian incidents was lighting. The study stated that pedestrian injuries were more likely to occur in dark lighting due to the lack of visibility.

It’s always important to be aware of your surroundings as a pedestrian because, as the study shows, pedestrian accidents can happen anywhere, near traffic, or in a non-traffic setting.

Can a Pedestrian Be At Fault for an Accident?

As stated above, even if you were injured as a pedestrian, you could be at fault in an accident. This may seem like an odd concept, but if you were interfering and distracting drivers and they hit you, you could be at fault for your injuries.

Common instances where pedestrians could be at fault for their injuries are being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, taunting traffic, walking too close to traffic, and purposely walking into traffic. Any of these actions can cause you to be at fault for your injuries and others’ if an accident results.

Will I Have To Take My Case to Court?

It is difficult to say whether you must go to court without reviewing your case’s circumstances. However, you should always be ready to take your case to court. Although no one wants to go to court, doing so could ultimately be necessary to recover maximum compensation in your case.

Insurance settlements are often not enough to adequately cover the victim’s damages. When this happens, you may find yourself with remaining damages the insurance company will not be expected to cover. Fortunately, you can recover compensation for every loss by suing for more than the insurance policy limits.

If the insurance settlement is insufficient to compensate you for your damages fully, your attorney will try to negotiate a fair and reasonable settlement with the insurance provider. However, taking your case to the courtroom may be the best option to maximize the value of your claim.

Can I Submit a Claim for My Injured Child?

Children who get hit by vehicles have just as much right to financial recovery as an adult does. Furthermore, their lives may be far more affected by their injuries. They may suffer lifelong, debilitating injuries that impact their ability to support themselves, earn a living, and otherwise live normally. 

You must take legal action as your child’s parent or legal guardian. As a parent or guardian, you have the:

• Authority to act as the child’s legal representative
  
• Ability to negotiate settlements on the child’s behalf
  
• Right to establish trusts or structured settlements for future care

When you reach out to our Lafayette child injury lawyers, we will discuss your pedestrian accident in detail, including how your child’s life has been and is expected to continue to be affected by their injuries.

How Do I Know if I Have Grounds for a Case?

It is more common than you might think for pedestrian accident victims to be unsure whether they have grounds for a lawsuit or insurance claim. No one wants to be accused of filing a frivolous lawsuit or attempting to seek compensation needlessly.

Therefore, if you are wondering what your next steps should be, consider the following: 

• Is another party’s negligence the cause of your injuries?
  
• Is someone else responsible for causing your pedestrian accident?
  
• Could someone else be at fault for your injuries?
  
• Is it possible someone else made a mistake that caused your injuries?
  
• How have your injuries affected your life?
  
• Have you suffered substantial financial damages?
  
• Are you dealing with considerable emotional trauma resulting from the incident?
  
• How significant are your injuries?

The key to being able to pursue a claim is negligence. If someone else is or could be at fault for your injuries, they should compensate you. Even if you’re only a little sore, you may still have a case.

Let a Lafayette Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Help You Today

We want to help you seek the compensation you need to help you recover from your accident. Having a dedicated Lafayette pedestrian accident lawyer from Laborde Earles on your side can be useful in claiming the compensation you deserve so you can move on with your life.

Contact our firm today to learn more and to schedule a free legal consultation with an attorney at our personal injury law firm.