Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit Representation
Pedestrians have the right to safely navigate Louisiana roadways using sidewalks, marked crosswalks, and, occasionally, the appropriate shoulders of the road. Drivers must make every effort to avoid hitting pedestrians and yield to them when required by law, but collisions can and unfortunately do happen, particularly when a motorist is not paying attention or following the rules of the road.
If you were struck by a negligent driver, our injury lawyers at Chris Corzo Injury Attorneys can provide the aggressive representation you need to recover just compensation. Driven by our strong Christian values, our Baton Rouge personal injury law firm deeply cares about our clients and are committed to helping them put money in their pockets after sustaining serious injuries in these devastating accidents.
Our Baton Rouge pedestrian accident lawyers have recovered billions of dollars across thousands of cases, and we are ready to put our experience, skills, and resources to work for you. You will receive personal attention throughout our handling of your case, and we will do everything we can to put you back on top.
Call us today at 225-999-1111 or fill out our online contact form to claim your free consultation.
Why Choose Chris Corzo Injury Attorneys?
- We have a 100% success rate.
- Numerous million-dollar and multi-million-dollar recoveries for our clients.
- Free consultations
- We are happy to come to you to discuss your case.
- You pay nothing until we win for you.
Schedule a free consultation and see for yourself why Chris Corzo Injury Attorneys is the right choice for you.
Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
Many pedestrian collisions involve a motorist driving recklessly or failing to pay attention to the road. Pedestrians must also be aware of the traffic around them and use infrastructure (such as sidewalks and bridges) to avoid violating traffic rules.
Pedestrian accidents are often the result of:
- Distracted driving, including texting while driving
- Drivers failing to check behind them as they back out of a parking space
- Driving while intoxicated
- Excessive speeding
- Failing to stop at a pedestrian crosswalk, stop sign, or red light
- Low visibility due to weather or other hazards
- Pedestrians crossing the road somewhere other than a marked crosswalk
- Pedestrians not using an available sidewalk
- Pedestrians walking on the wrong side of the road
- Reckless driving
Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries
The average car weighs thousands of pounds, so even a low-speed collision with a pedestrian can result in catastrophic injuries. Unlike bicyclists and motorcyclists, who also face more vulnerable conditions, pedestrians do not typically wear any type of safety equipment that can mitigate the fallout of an accident.
Pedestrian accident victims can sustain many types of serious injuries, including:
- Brain injuries
- Broken bones
- Soft tissue damage
- Spinal injuries
- Wrongful death
If you lost a loved one in a pedestrian accident, we encourage you to reach out to our Baton Rouge wrongful death attorney. We’ll guide you through the process of filing a wrongful death claim with care and understanding.
Who Is Liable in a Louisiana Pedestrian Accident?
Determining liability and how it affects what you can recover is extremely important. Our Baton Rouge pedestrian accident attorney can review what happened, assess your level of fault (if any), and walk you through all available legal options.
You may assume that pedestrians always have the right-of-way, meaning drivers must always yield to them. However, unlike many states, pedestrians in Louisiana do not automatically have the right-of-way. This means a driver who collides with a pedestrian is not automatically at fault for causing the accident.
In Louisiana, pedestrians only have the right-of-way on marked crosswalks. When crossing the street using a crosswalk, drivers are required to yield to pedestrians. If a driver’s failure to yield at a crosswalk results in a collision with a pedestrian, the motorist is probably liable for the resulting injuries.
Pedestrians are also required to follow certain traffic laws, including:
- Using sidewalks whenever available
- Walking on the shoulder of the road facing oncoming traffic when a sidewalk is not available
- Yielding to vehicles when crossing a street anywhere other than a marked crosswalk
- Not entering a road and moving in front of a vehicle that does not have adequate time to stop
If a pedestrian breaks any of these rules and is consequently involved in an accident, they may be partially liable for their injuries. This does not mean that a motorist is not at fault or that an injured pedestrian cannot recover compensation.
Drivers do owe a duty of care to pedestrians, just like they owe a duty of care to other motorists. Drivers are legally obligated to make every effort to avoid pedestrians, regardless of whether they are following traffic rules or attempting to cross a street outside a marked crosswalk.
In other words, it does not matter if the driver technically has the right-of-way: The motorist must attempt to warn and/or avoid the pedestrian. For example, if a pedestrian is crossing the road anywhere other than a marked crosswalk and a vehicle is approaching, the driver of that vehicle should attempt to change lanes, honk their horn, or both. If they do not take these actions, they may be partially liable for injuries sustained by the pedestrian in a collision.
What If I’m Partially Liable For My Pedestrian Accident?
When a pedestrian is partially responsible for their injuries, they will not be able to recover the full value of their claim. That does not mean they should not consider taking legal action, as Louisiana does allow injury victims to recover some compensation even if they share some of the blame. The court will decide your level of fault by assigning a percentage of blame and reducing a final damage award by a commensurate amount.
For example, if a pedestrian was crossing the road anywhere other than a marked crosswalk but a distracted driver struck them, the court may determine the pedestrian is 30% responsible for the accident. A damage award of $100,000 would be reduced by 30%, meaning the pedestrian would get $70,000. Again, we can advise how your partial liability could affect what you recover.
Our Baton Rouge pedestrian accident lawyer understands how to approach cases involving partial liability. We will develop compelling arguments that work to maximize your recovery and put you in the best possible position.
How Long Do I Have to File a Pedestrian Accident Claim?
Injured pedestrians must take prompt action if they wish to recover compensation from negligent drivers. A statute of limitations sets the deadline for filing a claim to recover damages. If you miss your deadline, you will probably be unable to recover damages.
The Louisiana Civil Code article 3493.1 now provides for a statute of limitations of two years from the date of the accident or incident that caused your damages for most personal injury claims that occur on are after July 1, 2024. If your accident or incident occurred before July 1, 2024, you only have one year to file a claim.
There may be exceptions to the two-year deadline depending on your circumstances. In some situations, the statute of limitations may be paused, giving you more time to file your claim. In others, you may have a much shorter deadline to file your claim. Speaking with a Baton Rouge pedestrian accident attorney can provide clarity on your options and help determine your specific filing deadline.
How Much Is My Case Worth?
The value of your case is largely determined by the extent of your damages, the available insurance coverage or assets available to pay your claim, and your attorney’s ability to prove liability and the full value of your injuries.
Generally, you can recover three types of damages in Louisiana:
- Economic
- Non-Economic
- Punitive
Economic and non-economic damages are designed to compensate you for your damages. Punitive damages, also called exemplary damages, are designed to punish the wrongdoer and deter future similar behavior. Punitive damages are reserved for particularly bad conduct and may only be awarded for specific situations provided by statute. For example, under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315.4, you may be able to recover punitive damages in some DUI accident cases when the driver was intoxicated and the intoxication caused your injuries.
No attorney can guarantee that you will recover a certain amount. However, once our attorneys have conducted a thorough analysis of your case, we can give you an estimate of the value of your claim. Only after determining the full value of your claim can we understand whether a settlement offer is fair.
What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident in Baton Rouge
After an accident – and especially ones with as great a potential for serious and life-altering injuries as pedestrian accidents – working with experienced legal counsel can ensure that you have the support to protect your rights and pursue a claim.
But whether you have legal representation yet or not, there are some steps you can take as you look to preserve your ability to file a personal injury claim. Some of the most important include:
- Preserve Evidence: Preserve all information and documentation about your accident, including any records and insurance information from the motorist(s) involved, a police report (if one was made), and any medical bills you’ve incurred to date.
- Collect Witness Information: Keep the contact information for any witnesses who may have seen what happened, as their testimony may prove useful should you file a claim.
- Organize Records: Gather and organize all records about your accident and your injuries (i.e. medical records, insurance records, and records related to your employment), as these will be crucial pieces of evidence in any claim you choose to pursue.
- Avoid Insurer Traps: Don’t’ speak to the insurance company! You don’t have to speak to an at-fault motorist’s insurance carrier if they contact you after an accident. These companies often look for ways to deny and underpay claims and may use what you say against you. Instead, you can have an attorney handle these communications on your behalf.
- Contact a Baton Rouge Pedestrian Accident Lawyer. Seek legal counsel as soon as possible, especially if you have already been contacted by the at-fault party’s insurance company or have been asked to speak with an insurance representative. An experienced injury attorney can immediately help you communicate with insurers, gather necessary evidence for your case, and begin the process of constructing a claim for compensation on your behalf. Acting fast to retain a lawyer can also ensure you’re able to file a claim before the statute of limitations expires.
The best thing you can do to move a potential injury claim along is to work with an experienced Baton Rouge pedestrian accident attorney. At Chris Corzo Injury Attorneys, we’re readily available to discuss how the personal injury claim process works and how we can begin working immediately on yours.
Evidence In a Pedestrian Accident Case
At Chris Corzo Injury Attorneys, we provide the experience and resources victims need to conduct meticulous investigations into their accidents. These investigations are critical to identifying liable parties and properly construct claims, and to gathering the evidence that supports our mission to recover the maximum compensation possible.
While every case is unique, some examples of evidence that can be important in pedestrian accident cases include:
- Footage of the accident (if available from CCTV / security cameras and nearby businesses)
- Photos of the accident scene
- A police report (if one was completed)
- Records of accidents at the same location / intersection
- Records of an at-fault motorist’s driving history (i.e. past citations, DUI convictions, etc.)
- Copies of insurance policies of all involved drivers, including any homeowners or auto insurance policies purchased by the victim that may provide coverage
- Records of any alcohol purchases or consumption prior to the accident (if DUI is known or suspected)
- The vehicle(s) involved if they are adequately preserved after the crash
- Any employment records for an at-fault driver (if they were driving in the course of their employment at the time of the crash)
- A victim’s medical records and copies of medical bills
- A victim’s work history records and documented lost income
These and other pieces of evidence can be crucially important when it comes to litigating a pedestrian accident case – both in terms of proving a defendant’s negligence and liability and in recovering the full scope of damages suffered by victims. At Chris Corzo Injury Attorneys, we leave no stone unturned when searching for evidence to support our clients’ cases and position them for the maximum recoveries possible.
Why You Need a Baton Rouge Pedestrian Accident Attorney
You will almost always get a better result when you have an experienced Baton Rouge attorney representing your interests because:
- Insurance companies will do their best to avoid paying your claim and to pay as little as possible when they must pay.
- Insurance companies train their adjusters and other representatives to use tricky tactics to get the upper hand. For example, they often try to get you to admit fault, apologize, say you’re “okay”, or say something they can twist and use against you.
- A good attorney will conduct a complete investigation of your accident to determine all possible causes and potentially liable parties.
- An experienced personal injury lawyer can negotiate skillfully with insurance companies and defense attorneys to reach a fair settlement.
- Your attorney can conduct formal discovery, including depositions and issuing subpoenas to get the evidence needed to build your strongest case.
- Litigation can be complex and expensive. An experienced personal injury lawyer will have the skills and resources to aggressively litigate your case at no charge to you until they recover compensation for you.
Consult an experienced pedestrian accident attorney in Baton Rouge as soon as possible after your accident.
Contact Our Baton Rouge Pedestrian Accident Attorney Today
If you have been injured in a Baton Rouge pedestrian accident, you need the help of an experienced Baton Rouge pedestrian accident lawyer to help you recover maximum compensation for your injuries.
At Chris Corzo Injury Attorneys, our personal injury lawyers have a proven track record of winning big for our clients, and we want to do the same for you.
Schedule a free consultation to discuss your case today by calling (225) 999-1111 or completing the short form on our contact page. We look forward to meeting you, answering your questions, explaining your rights, and helping you recover every dollar you deserve.