If you are looking for a Seattle pedestrian car accident injury lawyer, you should be aware of your rights in the car accident. Pedestrian car accidents are some of the worst type of car accident injury cases because the person injured is often severely injured. This is obvious as they have no protection to limit the damages that a car can have on someone like someone safe in a car would have. Pedestrians are more prone to bone fracture type injuries and traumatic brain injuries than those in a car.

How to Prove Fault in a Pedestrian Car Accident Injury Case?

Pedestrians have a lot of advantages and rights to cross streets at certain spots than those in cars in Seattle. Pedestrians have a right of way to cross streets at intersections with cross walks and in unmarked cross walks. An unmarked cross walk is the like an invisible cross walk or where you would usually find a cross walk between streets. In these areas, cars are supposed to wait for the pedestrian and stop to let them cross the street.

What if you are injured in an area not in a cross walk or unmarked cross walk?

If a pedestrian is crossing the street at a spot other than a cross walk or an unmarked cross walk, they are generally not allowed to cross the street and they must wait until all cars have passed to cross safely. This is highly discouraged but people do it all the time when a cross walk or intersection is too far away.

In these situations, if a pedestrian is hit by a car, the pedestrian is not out of luck for recovering damages for being injured. The car driver has an obligation to be careful and prudent to not hit people that are in the road. This means that they must be driving with an awareness for obstacles and others. In Seattle, there is a distraction law that prevents people from using a cell phone while driving or any other acts that cause a driver to be distracted like eating, doing makeup, or smoking a cigarette.

If hit by car 50% your fault, Seattle is a Contributory Fault State so no worries

Contributory fault means that if a pedestrian is partially at fault for crossing the street and getting hit by a car, they can still recover damages minus the percentage fault they are responsible for causing in the car accident. This means that if the person crossing the street was deemed 50% at fault for being hit by the car, the judge will award the person hit by the car 50% of their damages. This means that if the other person caused $1 million dollars in damages, the pedestrian would recover $500,000 from the driver of the car’s insurance company.

Damages that a Pedestrian Can Recover in a Seattle Car Accident

If a pedestrian is hit by a car in Seattle, they can recover the cost of their medical bills, lost wages, future lost wages, and pain and suffering. If the pedestrian is hit by a car and the driver has PIP insurance, you are entitled to the driver’s PIP coverage to cover your medical bills up front, which is not available to a car driver hit by another car driver. This is unique as it applies to bicyclists, pedestrian, and passengers who are going after the driver of the car for negligence in causing a car accident.

Pedestrians Entitled to PIP of Driver and Their Own PIP Policy

Generally, you must pay for your own medical bills until you reach a settlement with the defendant’s insurance company for your total damages. However, most PIP policies are only $10,000 which may not be enough to cover your medical bills. At this point, a Seattle personal injury lawyer would look into trying to use your car insurance PIP policy to apply to the medical bills, your own medical insurance, or delaying payment of medical bills until we reach a settlement for the pedestrian’s injuries.

If you are injured by a car accident as a pedestrian, you are looking at an uphill battle to not only recover and get back to normal life as you know it, but also fighting the insurance company and making sure all your medical bills are paid. A Seattle car accident injury lawyer can allow you to focus on healing while they figure out how to get coverage for your injuries and negotiate a good settlement that you deserve. Contact Cherin Law Firm today for a free consultation.