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Getting into a pedestrian accident in Shreveport, LA, can be a devastating and potentially catastrophic experience. If you were injured as a pedestrian due to the negligence of a third party, then you may be entitled to compensation. An experienced Shreveport pedestrian accident lawyer from Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers can help you recover the compensation you deserve.
Let us put our more than two decades of experience providing outstanding representation to injury victims in Shreveport and throughout Louisiana. Our exceptional service and diligent commitment to our clients have resulted in unrivaled case results, including the largest verdict in Louisiana history. Learn more about how the pedestrian accident lawyers at Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers can help you recover damages for your pedestrian accident in Shreveport.
Pedestrian accidents can be messy, especially if several vehicles are involved in your accident. However, even if you were involved in a relatively straightforward case, the negligent parties will try to minimize their responsibility in the accident to reduce the amount of money they are required to pay out.
You deserve an experienced pedestrian accident attorney by your side who will:
Pedestrian accidents often result in severe or catastrophic injuries. That is why you deserve the help of an experienced pedestrian accident attorney as soon as possible, even if you are still in the recovery process. Once you have a skilled legal team on your side, you will be able to focus on your rehabilitation while your legal team fights for the compensation you deserve.
You can recover compensation for any injuries you sustained due to the negligence of a third party. This means that you will first have to show that you suffered a verifiable injury and that the injury would not have happened if it were not for the negligent behavior of a third party. The circumstances around the accident also impact how much a case is worth and how likely it is to settle out of court, such as situations when the negligent party accepts full responsibility immediately after the accident or is a high-profile individual.
Nobody wants to be involved in a serious accident, but sustaining more severe injuries often results in higher compensation in pedestrian accident cases. A serious injury like a broken bone typically compensates more than other injuries that may only damage tissue.
These injuries also naturally restrict the time the victim can be at work. When that is the case, you may also seek compensation for loss of wages. If, for example, your broken arm prevented you from coming to work for eight weeks, then you may be able to recover compensation for those eight weeks of lost wages.
More severe injuries, however, can result in even higher compensation amounts. For example, traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries frequently have life-long consequences. In these situations, settlement awards include compensation for significant long-term disruptions to the victim’s quality of life, including loss of enjoyment of life, limited motor skills, and more. This can result in significantly higher settlement or verdict awards for pedestrian accident victims.
The compensation you can receive after a Shreveport pedestrian accident largely depends on the losses you suffer. Some of the most common types of damages in pedestrian accidents include:
Anyone who contributed to your pedestrian accident can be held responsible, even if they were only partly responsible. Louisiana is a comparative fault state when it comes to negligence, which means those found negligent in an accident will be responsible for a proportion equal to their proven level of responsibility.
For example, you may have been injured in an accident because of another driver’s negligence. However, an investigation found that the local transportation authority did not set up appropriate signs for road construction. In that case, the court may assign 50% of the responsibility to the negligent driver and 50% to the transportation authority. You will then have to pursue compensation from both parties.
That means that it is critical to find everyone who contributed to your Shreveport pedestrian accident to get adequate compensation for your injuries. Some of the most common parties responsible for pedestrian accidents in Shreveport include:
There are many factors involved in every pedestrian accident. From poorly designed streets and intersections to faulty vehicle parts, there can be more negligent parties than just the motor vehicle operators. An experienced Shreveport pedestrian accident lawyer will help you identify those responsible for your injuries, prove that they are at fault, and obtain compensation from them for your injuries.
You may recover compensation even if you were partly responsible for your pedestrian accident. Since Louisiana is a comparative negligence state, you may recover compensation proportional to the level of fault you were not assigned. In other words, if you were found to be 20% responsible for the accident, then you will only be able to recover up to 80% of the total damages of your case. You will not be able to recover compensation for the percentage of the accident you were responsible for.
Getting into a pedestrian accident can be devastating. When you are hit by a moving motor vehicle, your body is exposed to a tremendous amount of force from its weight and momentum. The intensity of the impact can cause evident injuries such as bone fractures, but it can also cause other injuries that are harder to spot, such as concussions and soft tissue injuries. An experienced pedestrian accident lawyer in Shreveport can help you fight for compensation for all of your injuries.
Some of the most common types of injuries in pedestrian accidents include:
Some of these injuries can also have a delayed onset, so you might not even know that you are injured until weeks or even months after the accident. A skilled pedestrian accident lawyer will advise you on the types of medical evaluations you should get to rule out any injuries. Then, they will help you fight to obtain adequate compensation for each of the injuries from your pedestrian accident in Shreveport.
A pedestrian accident can be a traumatizing event, no matter the magnitude of the accident or the severity of the injuries. When you are involved in a pedestrian accident in Shreveport, you should remain calm and take the following measures:
Pedestrian accidents are some of the most common outcomes of many types of accidents. That is because pedestrians are easier to miss than other vehicles on the road, especially for large trucks and 18-wheelers. Some of the most frequent culprits of pedestrian accidents in Shreveport are:
It is common knowledge that texting and driving is an easy way to get into a wreck. However, distracted driving involves much more than just texting. Some activities that are generally considered safe to do while driving have been found to contribute to distracted driving accidents, such as using hands-free devices.
Some of the most devastating motor vehicle accidents are frequently caused by drunk drivers. Driving while intoxicated can make it easy for the driver to not see any pedestrians on the street, even in broad daylight.
Speeding is one of the most dangerous forms of reckless driving. In these accidents, the driver can generally spot the pedestrian before impact but is unable to stop in time. Following the designated speed limits can help prevent pedestrian accidents on the road.
Driving while tired or drowsy can be extremely dangerous. In fact, research shows that tired drivers are as dangerous as drunk drivers, which is why they typically get into accidents with pedestrians.
The statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits in Louisiana is one year from the date of the accident. That means that you only have one year to file a personal injury lawsuit if you intend to seek compensation for your pedestrian accident. This statute of limitations is shorter than the statute of limitations in most states, so you need to act fast if you wish to recover damages.
While many pedestrian injuries can take well over a year to treat and rehabilitate, you do not need to worry about handling a personal injury case while you are still in recovery. One of the best reasons to hire an experienced trial lawyer is to have them handle all the legal paperwork while you focus on recovery.
Louisiana law RS 32:212 gives the right-of-way to pedestrians when there is no traffic signaling in place. This means that drivers are required to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks as long as there is no traffic light or traffic control signal in place or in operation. Pedestrians, in turn, are required not to walk or run into the street when vehicles are so close that they do not have enough time to yield to the pedestrian. Additionally, pedestrians do not have the right-of-way when there is an overhead pedestrian bridge or a pedestrian tunnel available.
You may still recover compensation for a pedestrian accident injury if you were hit while crossing the road outside a crosswalk. However, the court may find that you were partly responsible for the accident because of jaywalking, which can reduce your compensation amount. For example, if the total compensation amount in your case was $15,000, but you were found to be 30% negligent for jaywalking, then you may only be able to recover up to $10,500.
In other situations, however, the court may find that you were not negligent for crossing the road outside a crosswalk. For example, if there are no crosswalks reasonably close or if all available crosswalks were blocked due to construction, you may still be able to absolve yourself of negligence if you can show that you did not fail to use great care to protect yourself from injury.
Having an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer on your side can make a difference in your pedestrian accident case. Whether you suffered devastating injuries or just want to recover damages for the disruptions caused to your daily life, you should be properly represented to face the high-powered attorneys of insurance companies.
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