Your rights in a DC pedestrian accident depend on the facts of your case. If we prove the defendant acted negligently and caused your injuries, you may have rights to compensation. On the other hand, a lot can go wrong between the moment of injury and when you decide to pursue a claim. Here, we will discuss your legal options as a pedestrian accident victim, the challenges you may face when handling this type of claim, and how to protect your rights and get the compensation you deserve. Walking in downtown Washington, D.C., is not always safe. There are reckless drivers, novice drivers, young drivers, old drivers, drivers from out of town, and everything in between. Staying safe is not always possible. However, there are things you can do to protect yourself from negligent drivers and reduce your chances of being struck.
Likewise, you can also take steps to protect your rights after your injury. The sooner you act and speak to a DC pedestrian accident attorney, the sooner you can protect your rights. While the statute of limitations is three years for most personal injuries in the District, other deadlines run far quicker. While not all are applicable in every case, when they are applicable, they can have a tremendous impact on the value of your case. Contrary to what may be intuitive, this is only sometimes related to the severity of your injuries. Even for minor injuries, there are additional statutes of limitation that may be applicable. This may depend on the jurisdiction in which the vehicle that hit you is registered and the owner of the vehicle. For example, if the District of Columbia owns the car, there are notice statutes.
There are several legal options for pedestrian accident victims. Your rights in a DC pedestrian accident will depend on how quickly you take action and on certain factors outside your control.
Your right to compensation in a DC pedestrian accident is the most frequently asked question we get from clients. The right to compensation will depend on whether we have sufficient evidence to establish liability for the defendant. To do so, we must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant acted negligently in causing your injury. Additionally, you must not have been contributorily negligent. However, if you were, there may still be steps we can take to preserve your right to recover. Note that a mere act of negligence is not always sufficient for recovery. If you do not get the information from the adverse party, we will not have anyone to pursue to recover for your injuries. If they hit you with their vehicle and immediately flee the scene, that is a crime in DC. However, that does little to help us.
Fortunately, if you get a picture of their license plate, we may be able to run their tags, determine who the vehicle is registered to, and, if the car is not stolen, hold the owner responsible. But what if you do not get a picture of their plate? Then, we can determine if any other party can be held legally liable. If there are no other parties, our options are more limited, though not wholly. If you have car insurance on a vehicle at home, you may make an uninsured motorist claim despite not being in a car at the time of the accident. What if you do not have insurance? You may be able to use a relative’s car insurance if you live with them, such as a parent or spouse.
Pursuing a pedestrian accident claim in Washington, D.C., can present several hurdles.
When we sue a driver for negligence and cannot amicably resolve the matter via settlement, the defendant will put up some defense. The most common defenses by defendants are not always legally viable. Nonetheless, in our 70 years of handling pedestrian accident cases, we have heard it all, and we know which are most common and which are most successful. Jaywalking as a defense for a negligent driver is among the most successful defenses. A jaywalking defense implies the pedestrian was contributorily negligent in causing their injuries. If that is the case, the pedestrian cannot recover. However, the pedestrian may counter this defense by proclaiming that the driver had the last clear chance to avoid the accident and failed to do so.
Whether this will succeed depends on where the pedestrian was struck in the road. If the pedestrian was struck closer to the sidewalk, it may fail. However, if the pedestrian was in the dead center of the road between the sidewalks and the driver still failed to stop, the driver will be liable.
The defense may also say the pedestrian was texting on his phone when struck by the defendant. However, if the plaintiff was in a place like a sidewalk or a crosswalk when he was legally permitted to be there, whether he was distracted by his phone is irrelevant.
To protect your rights in a DC pedestrian accident, we must be able to establish that an accident happened at all. Thus, it is imperative to document the scene. If there is minimal damage to the vehicle that hit you, you may still be severely injured. However, we must prove that the car hit you and, generally, property damage to the vehicle is the way to do this. So, take pictures of the adverse driver’s insurance card. This will establish that the driver exited their vehicle and felt compelled to exchange information with you. While circumstantial evidence that the accident occurred, that is sufficient to make your case in a pedestrian accident.
We cannot list every deadline to be aware of in your pedestrian accident. Some deadlines depend on the facts of your case. Moreover, these are statutes created by DC. Thus, they are subject to change. In a DC pedestrian accident, you must immediately speak to a skilled attorney. Some statutes run as soon as 60 days after your accident. In other cases, we must preserve evidence that may be discarded if we do not act quickly.
Below is a list of things to remember when dealing with insurance companies. Adhering to this list can better protect your rights in a DC pedestrian accident.
Your rights in a DC pedestrian accident depend on how quickly you act after your injury, the evidence you collect immediately after your injury, and the actions of your attorney.
Our DC pedestrian accident attorneys have 70 years of experience practicing personal injury law in DC. Call our office today for a free consultation at (202) 331-7227 for a free consultation
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