Anyone who regularly walks instead of driving or riding the bus has likely encountered a driver who was not paying attention or driving recklessly. Unfortunately, not all those experiences end in near misses, and when a multi-ton motor vehicle strikes someone walking near or lawfully crossing an active roadway, the results are often catastrophic.
Taking legal action over injuries you suffered in a pedestrian collision can be far from simple, especially if you try to file suit without support from a seasoned personal injury attorney. By working with a Murfreesboro pedestrian accident lawyer from Ponce Law, you can demand the compensation you need, knowing that you have a firm on your side that has been repeatedly voted Nashville’s Best in the Tennessean’s Best of Music City Awards.
Given the much greater risk of serious injury for pedestrians involved in motor vehicle collisions compared to passengers inside a motor vehicle, you would be forgiven for assuming that drivers who strike pedestrians are always considered legally at fault for the ensuing injuries and losses. In reality, pedestrians injured in traffic collisions have the same burden of proof as anyone else when seeking civil restitution for the harm they sustained.
More specifically, you must be able to show through a preponderance of the evidence that your collision, and subsequently the injuries and losses for which you are demanding compensation, likely would not have occurred if not directly because of a specific reckless, careless, and/or illegal act by the driver you are filing your claim against. Our Murfreesboro pedestrian injury attorneys can establish legal negligence, whether the cause of your wreck was a moving violation, a criminal act such as drunk driving, or simply a brief lapse in concentration on the driver’s part.
Perhaps more importantly, we can help fight back against allegations that you were partly to blame for your injuries through your own reckless or careless actions. This is a common strategy that defendants use in cases of this nature, and if you fail to effectively counter it, you may wind up with a court assigning you a percentage of comparative fault for your losses.
The court could then reduce your compensation by that same percentage or even dismiss your case entirely if it finds you hold 50 percent or more of the fault for your accident. Fortunately, our lawyers have extensive experience in effectively handling claims of this nature and maximizing the available compensation for pedestrian accident victims in Murfreesboro.
If everyone around you acts lawfully and responsibly, crossing the road at a marked crosswalk should not be any more dangerous than walking on a sidewalk. However, if just one driver acts irresponsibly, that trip across the street could end prematurely and leave you with severe injuries.
In a situation like this, dedicated legal counsel can make all the difference in how smoothly the civil recovery process goes and what the rest of your life looks like. Call Ponce Law today to discuss your claim with a Murfreesboro pedestrian accident lawyer from our team.
