Negligence threatens to do significant harm to anyone who comes across it. Pedestrians are particularly vulnerable to the effects of negligence. They don’t have the same protections as motorists, motorcyclists, or businesses. They are often left to contend with losses more severe than others.
Should you find yourself struggling to recover from a pedestrian accident, don’t panic. New York makes legal options available to injured pedestrians. You can collaborate with a pedestrian accident attorney in Yonkers to bring your losses to civil court. Morelli Law can help you.
When to File a Pedestrian Accident Claim
The benefits of filing a pedestrian accident claim include your right to pursue compensation and control over how that pursuit takes place. In most cases, pedestrian accident claims allow you to request compensation equal to or greater than the losses you endured in your accident.
Should a civil court approve your request to move your case forward, you can then choose to engage in either settlement negotiations or a civil pedestrian accident trial. A pedestrian accident trial allows you to present your concerns to a judge. The judge and jury can then rule on your right to obtain compensation.
Comparatively, negotiations allow you and the party allegedly liable for your losses to debate your right to compensation out of court. These proceedings tend to resolve more quickly than traditional trials. However, you may be asked to sacrifice some of your rights for a settlement. Our firm can represent you throughout either of these proceedings.
How to Take Action After a Pedestrian Accident
If you want your pedestrian accident case to move forward, you need to present a comprehensive claim to a county clerk within New York’s statute of limitations, New York Civil Practice Law & Rules §214. This statute dictates how long you may spend gathering evidence to back your assertion of loss and liability.
A Yonkers, NY, pedestrian accident attorney can understand how your losses may make it difficult for you to gather the information needed to build your complaint. That’s why we can step in and perform investigative research on your behalf. With us on your team, you can stay on top of your submission deadline.
Unfortunately, it is all but impossible to file a pedestrian accident complaint outside of the three years given to you by the aforementioned statute. New York civil courts have the right to reject any personal injury claims that come to them after the statute of limitations has passed.
Yonkers Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Near Me 877-751-9800
Pedestrians Have Responsibilities on the Road
If you want to file a pedestrian claim, you need to indicate that you were obeying pedestrian laws at the time the accident occurred. New York is a comparative negligence state, so you do retain the opportunity to pursue compensation even if you may be partially liable for your losses. However, courts reduce your possible compensation based on your involvement.
As such, you can work with a Yonkers, NY, pedestrian accident lawyer to indicate that, at the time of an accident, you:
- Obeyed road signs and signals
- Used area crosswalks appropriately
- Did not antagonize or inappropriately interact with an offending party
If you have evidence of your compliance on hand, be sure to include it alongside your complaint. While the liable party you name may challenge this evidence, you can still reference it while fighting to bring your claim forward.
Claiming Violated Duty of Care in a Pedestrian Accident Complaint
To take a pedestrian accident claim to civil court, you need to indicate that your accident resulted from someone else’s negligence. More specifically, you need to indicate that another party owed you a duty of care and then violated that duty.
To prove that another party owed you a duty of care, elaborate on the relationship you had to that party. At the time of an accident, you are assumed to be a pedestrian. Was the other party a motorist? Were they operating independently or as part of a corporate entity? Were you an invitee on their land, or did roadway law indicate that you deserved extra protections?
Once you can answer the above questions, you can describe what may have constituted “reasonable” behavior on the part of the offending party. You can then use evidence, including bystander testimony and video or photo footage, to indicate that said party failed to engage in those “reasonable” behaviors.
Using Duty of Care to Assess Liability
Pedestrians encounter all manner of people while making their way from Point A to Point B. Several different parties can be held liable for a pedestrian accident.
Landowners, for example, owe a duty of care to invitees and licensees. You can hold shop owners, landowners, and even corporations liable for a pedestrian injury obtained while injured on their property. The same logic applies to accidents endured due to government negligence, though more restrictions may be placed on your claim.
Even car accidents may require assessment before you assign one party liability. Drivers can be responsible for these accidents. However, you can also hold an automotive mechanic, manufacturer, or even rideshare service liable for the full extent of your pedestrian losses.
We Represent Pedestrians Injured by Negligence
Pedestrians may be obligated to make themselves visible on the road, but motorists – and other parties – also owe them a duty of care. So long as you obey New York’s pedestrian laws, you’re entitled to increased protections when you walk from place to place. Pedestrian accident lawyers in Yonkers can hold negligent parties accountable if you get hurt.
You can discuss a pedestrian accident with Morelli Law. Our office wants to advocate for your right to civil action and pedestrian accident compensation in the face of your losses. You can request a case evaluation by calling our firm or filling out our online form.