Drivers have a duty to protect the safety of others sharing the road, including people traveling on foot. While most responsible drivers know to check for other cars before changing lanes, merging, or turning, they do not always look out for pedestrians, who can be harder to see. Failure to look out for pedestrians can result in devastating accidents.
When you experienced injuries or lost a beloved family member in a pedestrian accident, you deserve quality legal assistance from a hard-working personal injury attorney. A Jackson pedestrian accident lawyer can examine the circumstances of your accident and determine the value of your lawsuit.
All motor vehicle accidents can potentially cause harm to people, and the risk is considerably greater when a vehicle strikes a person traveling on foot. People who are walking have nothing to shield them from the impact, unlike people in cars who benefit from a car’s trunk, hood, airbags, and seat belts. A car hitting a pedestrian can cause debilitating injuries, such as:
Many people face emotional trauma in addition to their physical injuries. Depression, anxiety, fear, and post-traumatic stress are all common after being struck by a car. Some pedestrian crash survivors need extensive follow-up medical care, such as surgeries, hospital stays, and post-discharge rehabilitation programs. They might need to modify their homes to accommodate a wheelchair or other assistive device. They may be unable to work while they recuperate. When their injuries prevent them from returning to the same type of work, they might need to change career paths, take a lower-paying job, or even stop working altogether.
Sadly, some pedestrians die from their injuries. A lawyer could fight on their behalf in a wrongful death claim.
A pedestrian accident lawyer in Jackson can examine the toll an accident has taken on the injured person and their family and pursue a settlement that fairly and adequately represents the true value of all they have lost.
Pedestrians struck by cars do not have unlimited time to decide whether they want to bring a legal claim against a negligent driver or other party. In most situations, the injured party must file a lawsuit within three years after the accident. However, meeting with an attorney in Jackson as soon as possible after a pedestrian accident is usually the best course of action. Waiting too long could allow evidence to get lost or witnesses to forget what they saw.
After being hit by a car, you may not want to relive the experience through a lawsuit. However, you might soon need help to pay your medical bills and other expenses. Settling with the at-fault party’s insurance company could give you the money you need to get through this challenging time.
Call a dedicated Jackson pedestrian accident lawyer today to schedule a private meeting.
We counter the driver’s claims by gathering evidence including witness testimony, surveillance camera footage from nearby businesses, traffic signals showing you had the right-of-way, and physical evidence like skid marks and vehicle damage that reveal the true sequence of events. Even if you weren’t in a marked crosswalk, drivers still have a duty to exercise reasonable care and watch for pedestrians, and Mississippi law grants pedestrians the right-of-way at all intersections whether marked or not. We prove you were visible and acting reasonably, while demonstrating the driver was negligent in failing to see you and stop in time.
Yes, if you have medical payments coverage (MedPay) or personal injury protection (PIP) on your own auto insurance policy, it typically covers you as a pedestrian injured by a vehicle even though you weren’t in a car. Additionally, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your auto policy may provide compensation if the at-fault driver has insufficient insurance or fled the scene. We review all available insurance policies including those of household family members to identify every potential source of coverage for your injuries.
You can file a claim under your own uninsured motorist coverage which covers hit-and-run accidents, and we work with police to identify the driver through witness descriptions, surveillance footage, license plate information, and vehicle parts left at the scene. We also explore whether the location where you were hit has any liability, such as poor lighting or inadequate pedestrian safety measures. If the driver is identified later, we can pursue their insurance and personal assets in addition to your own coverage.
Yes, children receive special protections because they cannot be held to the same standard of care as adults—even very young children crossing streets improperly may not be considered contributorily negligent. Drivers have a heightened duty of care in areas where children are present such as school zones, parks, and residential neighborhoods. Additionally, compensation for a child’s injuries often includes future medical needs, lifetime earning capacity if permanently disabled, and the profound impact on their development and quality of life, which can result in significantly higher damages than similar adult injuries.
While parking lots are private property with less formal traffic rules, drivers still must exercise reasonable care and watch for pedestrians, and property owners may be liable for dangerous conditions that contributed to the accident. Mississippi law still applies regarding negligence, right-of-way, and pedestrian safety even in parking lots. We investigate whether the parking lot had adequate lighting, proper signage, designated pedestrian walkways, and whether the driver was speeding, distracted, or failed to yield to you as a pedestrian.
Through the legal discovery process, we can subpoena the driver’s cell phone records from their carrier showing calls, texts, and data usage at the time of the accident. We also request the driver’s actual phone for forensic analysis and can subpoena records from app companies like Facebook, Snapchat, or navigation apps if needed. If the driver refuses to produce their phone or records, the court can impose sanctions or allow the jury to infer they were using their phone at the time of the accident.
Commercial delivery companies typically carry much higher insurance coverage than individual drivers, and we can pursue claims against both the driver and the company under various legal theories including negligent hiring, inadequate training, or vicarious liability for employee actions. The company’s liability depends on whether the driver was working at the time, whether they were an employee or independent contractor, and whether they were acting within the scope of their employment. We investigate the driver’s employment status, work records, delivery routes, and company policies to maximize available insurance coverage.
No, the absence of a traffic citation doesn’t prevent you from recovering compensation because police officers often don’t issue tickets in parking lots or when fault is unclear at the scene, and civil liability is determined by different standards than criminal citations. We conduct our own investigation gathering evidence the police may not have collected, and we can hire accident reconstruction experts who provide more thorough analysis than police reports. Many successful pedestrian accident cases involve no citation, as our evidence proves negligence even when police chose not to issue a ticket.
Insurance companies are not required to pay your medical bills immediately during the claim process, but we can arrange treatment with providers who accept a letter of protection agreeing to wait for payment from your settlement. We also explore whether you qualify for Medicaid, state victim compensation programs, or hospital charity care programs. To pressure the insurance company to settle quickly, we document the severity of your injuries and financial hardship, and threaten litigation if they don’t make a reasonable offer, though full settlement typically takes several months to ensure all injuries are documented.
You can recover the replacement cost or fair market value of all personal property damaged in the accident including your phone, clothing, glasses, bags, stroller, and any other items. Document everything with photographs, receipts showing original purchase price, and estimates for replacement costs. Property damage claims typically settle faster than injury claims, so we often pursue immediate reimbursement for damaged items while continuing to negotiate your personal injury settlement.
