Pedestrians Hit By Cars Need To Know These Claim Tips

When a pedestrian on foot is hit by a vehicle, it can lead to severe injuries or even death. In this video, I’m going to provide you with three tips any pedestrian victim or their loved one can use to potentially help them secure the maximum settlement amount for their injury. Here at Meagher Injury Lawyers we offer a free case consultation.

Tip 1: Track Down Surveillance Footage

Try to track down surveillance footage of your incident as soon as possible after your incident. Simply put, video footage of the accident speaks for itself and can help prove that the driver in your accident was careless. Let me tell you the story of one of my recent clients, Mr. Larry Jefferson.

Mr. Jefferson’s Story

Mr. Jefferson first contacted me after he was struck by a vehicle while in a roadway in his wheelchair in 2022. I ended up representing him for his 2022 incident, but he also informed me that he was in a similar incident where he was struck as a pedestrian on the same road in 2021. It had been several months since his 2021 incident when he first contacted me, but I wanted to see if I could help him get a settlement in that case as well.

Investigation Process

I began investigating his 2021 incident. I pulled the police report for the incident, but unfortunately, it did not provide me with much information. You see, even though the driver was said to be driving too fast for the conditions, the at-fault driver had fled the scene. This did not deter me from digging more. If Mr. Jefferson or one of his family members had contacted me right after this accident, I would have contacted any nearby businesses or residents who may have caught the incident on surveillance video.

Outcome

However, I did find a news story of Mr. Jefferson’s 2021 incident. I contacted the news reporter who did the story. The reporter had done an investigation into Mr. Jefferson’s 2021 incident and tracked down some surveillance footage from a nearby business. The footage showed Mr. Jefferson right before the 2021 incident but did not capture the incident itself or the vehicle that struck Mr. Jefferson. Ultimately, we could not discover enough evidence to help Mr. Jefferson with his 2021 incident as we could not track down the driver or vehicle license plate number, and there was no insurance coverage for Mr. Jefferson to pursue.

Lesson Learned

The point is to do an investigation to try to find surveillance footage after the accident. In today’s world, more and more businesses and people have surveillance footage. If the incident happened several months ago, it could be the case any surveillance footage has been overridden or erased by then. But see if any local news did a story on the incident as many local news outlets report on severe accidents. It’s possible they discovered surveillance footage of the incident already.

Tip 2: Don’t Panic if the Police Report Does Not Place the Driver at Fault

Mr. Jefferson also did not contact me until weeks after his 2022 incident, so we were unable to track down any surveillance footage for that incident either. However, I did pull the police report for his 2022 incident. Thankfully, the driver did the right thing in this incident and did not flee the scene of the incident. However, the police report did not find that the driver was at all negligent for causing Mr. Jefferson’s 2022 incident.

Understanding Police Reports

The police never got to interview Mr. Jefferson as he was knocked unconscious and transported to the hospital from the scene of the incident. While Mr. Jefferson did not recall many specifics about how the incident occurred, which is common when someone suffers a head injury, he did recall that he was traveling in his wheelchair in the bike lane when he was hit. Mr. Jefferson’s version of how the accident occurred is evidence in his case as he is ultimately entitled to testify in his own case should the case have to be litigated.

Using Your Own Testimony

We included Mr. Jefferson’s version of how the incident occurred in the written demand package. This ultimately helped us get the case resolved. Also, remember, the police report typically is not admissible as evidence at the trial of an injury case. Thus, it could very well even be the case that the police report finds you at fault for the incident, but don’t let that necessarily deter you or your loved ones from pursuing your injury claim.

Successful Cases

I personally handled several cases where the police report found my client to be at fault for the accident and we were ultimately able to get a settlement. If you believe you were not at fault despite what the police report says, it may very well be worth still pursuing your injury claim.

Tip 3: Send a Policy Limits Demand in Writing

In Mr. Jefferson’s 2022 case, I represented him for, the insurer for the driver did not have to disclose the driver’s policy limits to us. You see, in Kentucky, where I practice law, and in some other states as well, the law does not require the at-fault driver’s insurer to disclose the insurance policy limits to the victim until after a lawsuit is filed. We ultimately never had to file a lawsuit in Mr. Jefferson’s case.

Demand Letter

We thus did not know the policy limit amount for the at-fault driver before we sent a written demand. What we did was send a demand letter along with the evidence in support of Mr. Jefferson’s case, like medical records, etc. We also sent a statement with the insurance company documents about the at-fault driver’s insurer’s treatment with the insurance company. The insurance company only gave it to the insurer for the driver’s policy limits.

Successful Outcome

After reviewing the case, the insurance company finally agreed to pay out the policy limits and provided us with proof that was the entire amount of the policy limits. However, they did not agree to do that until after we demanded the policy limits. Making a demand for the policy limits is one way to put pressure on the insurance company.

Good Faith Requirement

Insurance companies have a duty to act in good faith when handling injury claims. If you have a claim that is clearly worth the policy limits, they have a duty to offer those to you. If they don’t, they risk the filing of separate bad-faith lawsuits directly against the insurance company. In many cases, I would also highly recommend that you put an expiration date on your demand to avoid the insurance company unreasonably delaying making you an offer on your case.

Conclusion

Simply knowing the tips I’ve outlined in this video can help, but that alone won’t get you a fair and reasonable settlement. To help get a maximum settlement in your case, there are certain questions you can ask insurance adjusters that they absolutely hate to be asked. They can help you get the most amount possible for your settlement if you ask these questions. Lastly, if you’ve been injured in a car accident, slip or trip and fall accident, or dog bite accident in Kentucky, remember: don’t wait, call Tate.