3 Questions If You're Injured As A Pedestrian In A Car Accident

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Your Case. Your Attorneys. Every day, people are injured in accidents and scenarios that are not their fault. In many of these situations, the injured party is due compensation for their injuries and the associated medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. To help them recover these damages, they hire a specific type of attorney known as a personal injury attorney. Personal injury law is unique and nuanced. Proving that you are not at fault for the incident and that you deserve compensation can be difficult, which is why you really need the help of these professionals. Learn more about personal injury attorneys and their jobs on this website.

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You don't have to be in a vehicle to be injured in an auto accident. You may be walking in a crosswalk when a distracted driver hits you and causes an injury. Here are some common questions you'll have about this type of accident as a pedestrian.

Does Your State Have No-Fault Insurance? 

The first thing you want to understand is what kind of insurance your state has for accidents. Many states have at-fault insurance, which means that the driver of the vehicle will be responsible for paying for your medical bills with their insurance policy.

Things can get a bit tricky if you are in a state that has no-fault insurance. This type of insurance typically means that both drivers are responsible for their own damages, but the problem is that you were not driving a vehicle so you cannot use your own auto insurance. As the victim, you will need to fill out paperwork for no-fault benefits against the driver's insurance policy, and there is often a time limit on when that form must be filled out. If you do not know that you have to do this, then you could miss out on receiving compensation if it is not done in a timely manner.

What If The Responsible Driver Doesn't Have Insurance Or Enough Coverage?

You are not completely out of luck if the other driver does not have insurance. While you can use the responsible individual to compensate you for your injury, it is likely that they do not have the funds to pay for it. This means that you have to use your own insurance to pay for the injury.

If you have your own car insurance, you will have to use your personal policy to pay for the accident, even if you were not driving a vehicle. It involves using your underinsured motorist policy, which is specifically designed to cover incidents like this where the other person doesn't have enough insurance or is lacking insurance completely. If you do not have this policy, then you'll have to resort to using your own health insurance to avoid paying for the entire medical bill.

Can You Be Found At Fault As A Pedestrian?

It's possible that you were doing something that would make you partially at fault for causing the accident. For example, you may have been texting while crossing the street or not crossing at a designated crosswalk. One thing to keep in mind is that vehicles are supposed to yield to pedestrians in the road, but you could still be assigned a percentage of fault as a pedestrian. If you are assigned 50% responsibility, your compensation could be reduced by half. 

To learn more, contact a resource like Kenneth P Hicks.

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