Pedestrian accidents take the lives of many people in Georgia every year and injure far more. If you are the victim of a car striking you when you were out walking, there are steps you should take to protect your right to compensation for your injuries.
Contact S. Burke Law at 404-842-7838 for a free consultation and case review.
First Steps After a Pedestrian Accident with a Car
After you leave the scene of the collision, get medical care immediately.
You should always get a thorough trauma examination after a car hits you.
If you did not go for medical care straight from the accident, go to an emergency room right away. You could have hidden injuries. Head, neck or back injuries sometimes do not exhibit symptoms for a day or two. Internal bleeding can also happen without pain and can create a medical crisis.
The importance of a documented medical evaluation.
Getting a medical evaluation right after the accident also provides reliable third-party evidence of the fact that a car hit you. We can use the medical records in negotiations or trial to prove your case. If the insurance company denies that your injuries came from the wreck, you will have evidence that they did. If you do not go for medical treatment right away, the insurance company can claim that something else, not the car hitting you, caused your injuries.
Tell Law Enforcement About the Accident
If no officer came to the scene and wrote a report, you should contact law enforcement as soon as possible and tell them about the accident. State law requires that the accident is reported, and the police report is valuable evidence of your side of the story.
Why Your Lawyer Needs to Hear from You Right After the Accident
Time is of the essence in contacting a personal injury lawyer after a car hits you. Of course, you should take care of your urgent medical issues right away. As soon as possible, though, you should select the lawyer who will handle your injury claim. Here are some of the reasons you should not delay:
There are deadlines to file lawsuits. State law limits the amount of time you have to bring a lawsuit against someone for injuring you through negligence. If the deadline passes, you may lose all right to financial compensation, no matter how devastating your injuries are.
To preserve the evidence. It can be hard to locate witnesses if too much time passes. Also, the condition of the scene where the accident happened could be relevant to the case. Your lawyer needs to be able to visit the scene and take photographs while the place is still in substantially the same condition as it was when the car hit you.
To protect you. Sometimes people only turn to a lawyer for help if the injured person cannot get a fair settlement from the insurance company. This strategy requires the injured party to deal directly with the insurance adjuster, who has far more experience than you do in handling accident claims. We can protect you from some of the tactics that adjusters use to cut the value of your injury claim.
One trick is that the insurance company will dangle a check under your nose to get you to agree to a quick settlement before you realize the full extent of your injuries and how they will affect the rest of your life. If you take the money and then realize that you need more medical procedures, you will have to pay for them yourself. Once you sign for the settlement check, the insurance company is off the hook.
Another scheme we will protect you from is the recorded statement. Adjusters ask injured people to give these statements, but then they can turn around and take what you said out of context to devalue your injury compensation claim. Once we are representing you, the adjuster has to deal directly with us, not you. If the insurance company asks for a recorded statement, tell them to talk to your lawyer.
Contact S. Burke Law at 404-842-7838 for a free consultation and case review.
What You Can Do to Strengthen Your Injury Claim
While your lawyer is handling the insurance company and your injury claim, there are things you can do to preserve the value of your case. These things include:
- Do everything you can to get well as soon as possible. That way, the driver cannot say that you are exaggerating your injuries.
- Make a good faith effort to get back to work when your doctor releases you from care, so that the judge finds you to be a believable and trustworthy plaintiff.
- Keep a journal of how you were feeling, doctor appointments, your level of pain, medical procedures you had to endure, and other relevant information. Be sure to include details like dates, times, and names of people.
Getting Help with Your Pedestrian Accident Case
We will be happy to talk with you about your injury compensation case from a car hitting you while you were on foot. At S. Burke Law, we do not charge to let you know if you might have a right to get compensation for your injuries.
Call S. Burke Law today at 404-842-7838, and we schedule your free consultation.