St. Charles Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

What does life look like after a pedestrian accident? If you’re contending with severe injuries, you may have dozens of doctor’s appointments and physical therapy visits to integrate into your schedule. If you lost your cell phone in the accident, you may have to work with providers to get yours replaced.

All the while, you may have to deal with predatory conversations with insurance providers, all of whom want to do whatever it takes to avoid helping you recover. How are you supposed to get your life back on track when you have this many obstacles in your way? When in doubt, let the pedestrian accident attorneys in St. Charles, MO, give you a hand.

Morelli Law Firm can connect you with a St. Charles personal injury lawyer within hours of your pedestrian accident. In doing so, we can make it easier for you to recover the damages you need to get your life on track again.

Who Protects Pedestrians?

There are laws throughout Missouri that dictate how pedestrians should act on the road. Similarly, there are statutes that dictate how drivers, bicyclists, and related parties should interact with pedestrians to ensure their safety. All parties that abide by these statutes make a point to uphold the duty of care owed by larger vehicles to higher-risk pedestrians.

That said, not everyone on the road upholds the duty of care that they owe to pedestrians. These parties, in prioritizing their own best interests, can cause dangerous accidents. That said, the same statutes that dictate behavior on the road can help injured pedestrians hold these negligent parties accountable for their misconduct.

What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident

Should you find yourself contending with the aftermath of a pedestrian accident, you should:

Get Essential Medical Attention

You may not have visible injuries following a pedestrian accident. Alternatively, you may need immediate medical attention. In either case, it’s in your best interest to work with emergency responders. Emergency responders can often identify early signs of long-term or severe injuries and help you get ahead of the worst of their symptoms.

What’s more, working with emergency responders lets you start establishing a loss paper trail. If you can refer to medical reports detailing the extent of your accident-related losses, you can more effectively argue for compensation should you choose to take your case to civil court.

Gather Information to File an Insurance Claim

If a liable party stays at the accident scene, make sure you or a representative get their name, the name of their insurance provider, and their insurance policy number. Doing so can make it easier for you to file a claim with that insurance provider in the days following your accident.

Most insurance providers should recognize your right to compensation and help you with your most pressing expenses. That said, don’t take an insurance claims adjuster’s assessment of your losses at face value. Some adjusters try to minimize your losses to save their employers’ money. 

You can request that an attorney step in and mediate the claim filing process if you suspect a provider of acting in bad faith.

Do not attempt to pursue a fleeing party away from the accident scene to get their insurance information. Doing so can put you and your peers in danger. Instead, report what you saw to local police and inform those officers of your intent to take legal action. You may retain your right to action through their thorough investigative work.

Decide Whether or Not to Open a Case in Civil Court

No one in the state of Missouri can force you to take legal action against the party liable for your pedestrian accident. While the state may call you and ask that you contribute to a criminal hearing addressing that party’s behavior, you do not have to file a personal injury claim with the state’s civil courts.

That said, taking civil action against a negligent party has its benefits. You can specifically demand compensation for your losses from that negligent party. Should you successfully prove that said party caused your accident out of avoidable negligence, said party may have to help you pay for your post-accident medical care, property restoration, and lost wages.

If you want to open a civil case against a negligent party, you need to do so before your statute of limitations expires. Missouri Code section 516.120 gives pedestrian accident survivors like you up to five years to take legal action. If you don’t act within those five years, you may waive your right to civil action.

With that in mind, don’t hesitate to contact a St. Charles pedestrian accident lawyer at your earliest convenience. You can come to a FREE case evaluation to learn more about the civil process.

Pedestrian Accident Attorneys Continually Advocate for Your Right to Fair Compensation

It’s our job as attorneys to represent your best interests in civil court. If you choose to file a pedestrian accident claim, you can count on our team to continually advocate for your right to fair accident compensation. This means that we can bring forward the evidence needed to prove your right to economic and non-economic losses like the following:

• Property damage and restoration
• Lost wages or time at work
• Emergency medical care
• Long-term medical care
• Emotional distress
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Stress

We use evidence to help establish your right to these forms of compensation. We can outline which damages we believe you may deserve in an initial case evaluation before investigating further into your losses.

You Direct Your Case

So long as you submit your claim before your statute of limitations expires, a court can consider the extent of your losses and your right to damages. You, however, get to determine how those conversations go. You can opt to negotiate for your compensation in out-of-court meetings mediated by an attorney.

You can alternatively take more belligerent liable parties to a civil trial. You can discuss both processes and their pros and cons with our team long before you file your claim. Then, when the time comes to take action, we make sure you get the first say when dictating how your case progresses.

Book a Free Case Evaluation With Our Norwich Pedestrian Accident Lawyers

Are you ready to fight for fair pedestrian accident compensation? Let the pedestrian accident attorneys in St. Charles give you a hand. Morelli Law Firm can provide you with the legal tools you need to hold a liable party accountable for their dangerous negligence. We can stand by your side as you demand fair compensation for your losses.

Moreover, we can make it easier for you to navigate a complex legal system with as little stress as possible. Want to learn more? You can contact our personal injury lawyers today to book a FREE case evaluation.