Jaywalking is the term used to describe a pedestrian who unlawfully crosses the street. You can be cited for jaywalking if there was no designated crosswalk, you refused to use the crosswalk, or you crossed against a pedestrian traffic control device. Many pedestrian accident cases technically involve jaywalking, but you can still have a claim for personal injury damages. Being cited for jaywalking does not mean you can’t recover financial compensation if a negligent driver struck you while you were crossing the street.
An experienced pedestrian accident attorney can help you understand the difference between a traffic citation, if any, and your legal right to claim damages from an insurance company. Do not give up your claim just because an insurer or law enforcement officer blamed you for jaywalking.
Understanding Liability in Jaywalking Injury Cases
Pedestrians injured by negligent drivers have rights regardless of whether they were legally or illegally crossing the road. Reckless jaywalking can reduce the driver’s overall liability for the accident, but it does not necessarily mean you can’t recover financial damages. This depends on the unique facts and circumstances of your case, including the reasonableness of your choices. For example, crossing the street to say hello to your neighbor can be considered jaywalking. However, you can still recover most, if not all, of your damages from a reckless driver who strikes you while speeding. Just because you weren’t in a crosswalk doesn’t mean you don’t have a claim for damages.
Jaywalking claims are similar to claims involving pedestrians in crosswalks with the understanding that certain unlawful behaviors can reduce your overall damages by a certain percentage. This is not uncommon even in traditional motor vehicle accident cases where both drivers can share liability. Be careful, however, of speaking with insurers without the presence of a pedestrian accident attorney. Liable insurance adjusters want you to admit you were jaywalking to reduce their overall financial liability. Common mistakes include admitting that you did the following:
- Finished crossing after the crosswalk countdown expired
- Walked around obstructions in a crosswalk
- Crossed the road outside the designated crosswalk
- Jaywalked due to poorly placed or unnecessarily far crosswalks
Do not be surprised if adjusters use your admission as a means of denying or reducing your insurance coverage. A pedestrian accident attorney can still fight to hold liable drivers and even municipalities responsible for your injuries if a car struck you in the roadway.
Negligent Driving Behaviors Commonly Causing Pedestrian Accidents
Jaywalking is never an excuse for a driver’s failure to both see and respond to pedestrians in roadways. Many roads with heavy foot traffic do not have marked crosswalks, and even when they do, cities frequently fail to fix broken traffic control devices. When pedestrians have no means of safely crossing the street, jaywalking is often necessary.
Drivers are still responsible for operating their vehicles safely, yielding to pedestrians in the roadway, and doing everything possible to avoid a pedestrian accident. An experienced legal professional can hold negligent drivers accountable if one of the following legal violations resulted in a pedestrian accident:
- Speeding
- Drunk driving
- Racing
- Failure to yield
- Distracted driving (texting)
- Running red lights
- Not stopping at stop signs
- Failure to take evasive action
Additionally, most states recognize that drivers have the duty to be observant of anything on the roadway, especially pedestrians. This basic duty extends to all drivers, who must always be on the lookout for dangerous conditions and respond accordingly. A pedestrian accident attorney can still hold negligent drivers liable for your injuries even if you were struck outside of a crosswalk.
Holding Cities and Towns Responsible for Jaywalking Accidents
Many pedestrians are forced to jaywalk due to poor roadway planning and broken traffic devices. For example, the CDC reports that the majority (60 percent) of fatal pedestrian accidents occur on roadways with a design conflict. This often occurs when cities allow for the development of commercial areas, such as shopping centers and restaurants, on high-speed roadways without considering increased foot traffic.
These municipalities are encouraging pedestrians to frequent their businesses but have often not provided safe or efficient crosswalks. Additionally, many roads with adjacent commercial retail spaces still have speed limits above 30 mph, at which point the severity of pedestrian accident injuries increases.
Holding municipalities liable for design flaws, including missing crosswalks, requires a law firm with experience handling public liability claims for pedestrian accidents. Most injury claims against highway departments require victims to report the accident within a short period, sometimes only 30 days, and go through an administrative claims process. This process is necessary to obtain litigation rights even though it nearly always results in denial.
If the state reviews your design flaw claim and refuses to provide compensation, your injury lawyer may sue the liable entity in court. Even if the state does not consider itself responsible, making a strong claim that you were forced to jaywalk due to roadway design flaws can result in a fair settlement with the state liability fund.
Serious Injuries Commonly Sustained in Pedestrian Accident Cases
Pedestrians struck by motor vehicles have no protection. They’re often run over, thrust into other lanes of traffic, or suffer from significant double-impact injuries. The faster the vehicle was traveling, the more severe the injuries sustained. If you suffered one of the following injuries in a pedestrian accident, including from the direct strike or hitting the pavement, a personal injury lawyer can help you obtain needed financial damages.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
TBIs are some of the most dangerous injuries you can sustain in a pedestrian accident, but they most frequently occur when the pedestrian’s head hits the pavement. If a pedestrian turns toward the vehicle at the last minute, this often results in the vehicle propelling her backward with no way to break her fall. The back of her head may strike the pavement, resulting in traumatic brain bleeds, concussions, or skull fractures. Without immediate medical intervention, these injuries are often fatal. Victims suffering from head trauma can also end up with significant physical and cognitive impairments requiring life-long medical care and rehabilitation.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Side and rear impacts may cause severe spinal cord damage to the vertebra, discs, and nerves. Pedestrians can end up paralyzed below the area of damage or suffering from extreme neck, back, or nerve pain. Injuries to your central nervous system are extremely hard to treat and often result in permanent workplace disabilities, as many victims are unable to sit, stand, or lie down for extended periods. A pedestrian injury attorney with experience handling complex nerve injury cases can obtain the value of your lost earnings and compensation for continuing rehabilitation.
Amputations
Over 75 percent of pedestrian accidents occur at night or in poor lighting conditions. In such cases, many drivers – often fatigued or intoxicated – fail to see pedestrians before the impact occurs. This frequently results in the vehicle hitting a pedestrian at top speed and running him over. The heavy vehicle will cause crushing injuries, often a compression fracture, to limbs and ribs. Doctors must often amputate crushed legs and arms to save the victim’s life. In such cases, a dedicated legal team can demand substantial pain and suffering damages.
Organ Failure
Runover accidents can also result in substantial organ damage from crushed chest cavities and ribs, which protect the heart and lungs. Pedestrians might survive runover accidents involving lighter vehicles, such as motorcycles or sedans, but frequently pass away if they’re run over by SUVs or large trucks. Families may claim damages for wrongful death in such cases.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Emotional injuries are injuries, too. Pedestrians struck by oncoming vehicles often suffer from recurrent nightmares, depression, and anxiety. A lawyer can demand compensation for any mental health disorders, including PTSD, resulting from the collision.
Death
Unfortunately, pedestrian deaths account for nearly 20 percent of motor vehicle accident fatalities. Loved ones can have a claim for wrongful death even if the victim was jaywalking at the time of the accident. Although this can proportionally reduce overall damages, it should not stop you from contacting a wrongful death lawyer to discuss your right to recover damages from negligent drivers.
Insurance Compensation Available if You’re Hit by a Car
Most viable car accident claims settle with the liable driver’s insurance company. However, the prevalence of hit-and-run accidents involving pedestrians and liability issues arising in jaywalking cases complicate the claims process. You should always contact an attorney with experience litigating complex jaywalking accident cases before making a claim for damages. A dedicated law firm can demand compensation from various sources, including the liable driver’s auto insurance policy, the victim’s UM/UIM policy, and the state injury fund.
Financial compensation available to injured pedestrians and their families can include the following:
- Medical Expenses: You may be entitled to reimbursement for all past and future medical costs, including hospital visits, surgeries, follow-up appointments, rehabilitation, nursing care, medications, and medical equipment. An attorney can even help victims suffering from paralysis obtain damages to make certain household modifications to entranceways and bathrooms.
- Lost Income: Personal injury victims can obtain compensation for their direct lost earnings, along with the value of lost business opportunities, promotions, and earning capacity. An experienced car accident attorney can also request compensation for lost benefits, including paid health insurance, leave, pensions, and 401(k) contributions.
- Pain and Suffering: Also known as non-economic damages, injured pedestrians can demand compensation for their physical pain, emotional suffering, and lost enjoyment of life. Lost enjoyment of life damages include compensation for activities you used to enjoy, such as dancing, cooking, or painting, that you can no longer enjoy due to the accident.
- Loss of Consortium: Spouses and, in some states, children of the victim can demand damages for lost comfort, companionship, and love. This claim is traditionally available in wrongful death cases or if the victim suffered from a catastrophic injury, such as a TBI or paralysis.
- Wrongful Death: If your loved one died from his or her injuries, a dedicated wrongful death lawyer can help close family members obtain damages for funeral expenses, lost financial support, and their emotional pain and suffering.
Personal injury law firms can maximize available insurance benefits by calculating the true value of your damages, including future anticipated damages, and demanding insurance compensation based on fair liability determinations. The right lawyer can obtain damages even if you were struck while jaywalking.
Cost of Retaining a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Following a Car Crash
Pedestrians suffering from catastrophic accident injuries, especially if they were jaywalking, often wonder whether attorneys take these cases and, if so, how much they will charge. Not only will reputable law firms accept jaywalking injury cases, but they may do so without charging you any upfront fees or out-of-pocket costs. Many firms even cover investigation expenses, putting you on even footing with wealthy insurance companies.
Pedestrian accident attorneys typically take cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning they do not get paid unless they recover compensation for you. Additionally, any earned legal fees and costs are taken as a percentage of the overall settlement award and do not come out of the victim’s pocket. This fee structure allows injured pedestrians and their families to obtain legal representation regardless of their financial status.
Connect with a Pedestrian Accident Attorney that Handles Complex Liability Claims
Not every pedestrian accident attorney accepts jaywalking cases because they frequently involve complex liability determinations and insurance claims. However, some law firms are not afraid to tackle complex claims when it means recovering fair compensation for walkers struck by negligent drivers.
There’s no risk associated with confidentially contacting a local law firm to request a free case review. Just because you were jaywalking, even if the police cited you in the police report, does not mean you don’t have a personal injury claim. Do not let that stop you from connecting with a dedicated pedestrian accident lawyer near you. Pedestrian accident lawyers offer a free consultation to discuss your case and provide you with the information you need to make informed decisions.