​Bloomfield Hills Pedestrian Accident Attorney

Walking is a way of life for both residents and visitors in Michigan. Sadly, many localities have not done enough to protect pedestrians’ safety while on foot for work, school, church, and vacation. Injured pedestrians can face a long road to recovery and insurmountable medical expenses. Some may never completely recover from their injury and endure significant pain and suffering.

Suppose you or a loved one recently suffered an injury in a pedestrian accident. In that case, always know that you have legal rights, including the right to compensation for your injuries. You can exercise and secure your rights by speaking with an experienced Bloomfield Hills pedestrian accident lawyer from Michigan Injury Lawyers as soon as possible after learning about your injuries.

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Pedestrian Accident Statistics

Pedestrian accidents are too often in the news in Bloomfield Hills, whether they happen to pedestrians crossing Telegraph Road or simply walking from their cars into Costco. However, pedestrian collisions are a greater issue outside the Bloomfield area.

Consider these statistics:

• An estimated 7,485 people pedestrians died in a recent year—the most pedestrian deaths in a single year in four decades, averaging 20 deaths every day.
• Pedestrians account for 17 percent of all traffic deaths, compared to only 13 percent a decade ago.
• Pedestrian deaths have risen by 54 percent over the past decade, while all other traffic deaths have increased by only 13 percent.
• Passenger cars have consistently caused the greatest number of fatal pedestrian crashes, but in the last decade, the number of pedestrian accident fatalities involving sport utility vehicles (SUVs) has increased faster than deaths in crashes involving passenger cars (36 percent versus 27 percent)
• 82 percent of pedestrian deaths occurred in urban areas
• 78 percent of pedestrian accidents occurred at non-intersections
• 60 percent of pedestrian deaths occurred on major roads that weren’t interstates and freeways
• 28 percent of pedestrian accident fatalities happened at speeds of 35 to 40 miles per hour, and 29 percent occurred at 55 miles per hour and over

Why You Need Michigan Injury Lawyers

Personal injury attorney Thomas Stroble founded Michigan Injury Lawyers in 2008 to help injured clients get their lives back. Thanks to Mr. Stroble and his dedicated and knowledgeable team, Michigan injury victims have legal professionals to guide them through their complex and sometimes overwhelming pedestrian accident cases. We don’t measure success by settlements or trial awards but rather by how well we care for each of our clients.

Our experienced Bloomfield Hills pedestrian accident attorneys have helped many deserving clients over the years, and we are prepared to do the same for you. Contact us today to start your claim with a free case consultation.

Who is Responsible for My Injuries After a Michigan Pedestrian Accident?

When a pedestrian accident occurs, several people or parties might be liable or legally responsible for the resulting damages. In Michigan, anyone who plays a role in causing a pedestrian accident can be liable. Sometimes multiple parties are liable.

The following parties might have been negligent in causing your pedestrian accident:

• The driver of a passenger vehicle, including a Lyft, Uber, or other rideshare drivers
• A school or transit bus driver
• A transit company
• The employer of a negligent third party
• A bicyclist
• A motorcyclist
• An electric scooter or moped operator
• Another pedestrian
• The manufacturer of a faulty product or vehicle
• A government agency or municipality

All injury pedestrian accidents require a thorough investigation to determine who is liable. Unfortunately, liability can sometimes be challenging to sort through.

Our experienced Bloomfield Hills pedestrian accident lawyers will take the time to dig deep to find out how and why your accident occurred. They will hold every at-fault party accountable for their actions to ensure we maximize your compensation.

Types of Cases Our Law Firm Handles

While distracted driving causes many of these crashes throughout Michigan, many other factors can cause pedestrian accidents. At Michigan Injury Lawyers, we have experience successfully representing pedestrian accident clients in personal injury claims. We represent pedestrian accident client claims involving:

• Distracted driving
• Malfunctioning road signals and inadequate signage
• Drunk drivers
• Buses
• Trains
• Rideshare vehicles such as Uber or Lyft
• Motorcycles
• Commercial and delivery trucks
• Those resulting in catastrophic injuries such as spinal cord or brain damage

At Michigan Injury Lawyers, we treat each of our clients as unique individuals. We don’t use cookie-cutter legal strategies; we tailor a strategy specific to your case.

Before attempting to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company or at-fault party, we gather evidence, interview any eyewitnesses, and use expert witnesses when necessary. We make your claim as strong as possible from the get-go so that insurance companies know you are serious about getting compensation for your damages.

Types of Pedestrian Accidents

Multiple factors can contribute to a pedestrian accident. However, there are a few types of accidents that are the most common in Michigan. A pedestrian accident occurs anytime a car, truck, or motorcycle collides with someone not inside a vehicle. Walkers, shoppers, runners, and others on foot can be involved in any of the following types of accidents:

Crosswalk Accidents

A pedestrian is legally using a crosswalk at the time of the collision, and a vehicle doesn’t give the pedestrian the right-of-way, hitting them within the crosswalk.

Back-Over/Parking lot Accidents

A vehicle backs up, such as pulling into or out of a parking space, and hits a pedestrian while they are in reverse. Back-over accidents are frequent in parking lots where cars may be blocking a driver’s view to either side, and shoppers are quickly and constantly crossing the paths of the parked vehicles.

Loss of Control Accidents

Loss of control accidents includes hitting a pedestrian after losing control of a motor vehicle or sideswiping a pedestrian on a sidewalk. It’s common for these accidents to cause a pedestrian to be “run-over” and trapped under the car or truck or crushed between the vehicle and another immobile object, such as another vehicle, sign, post, or building. Unfortunately, these kinds of collisions are one of the most perilous to a pedestrian’s health and life.

Hit-and-Run Accidents

Often, pedestrian accidents turn into “hit-and-run” accidents, particularly if the pedestrian appears to have suffered severe injuries and traffic is light. Drivers frequently panic after hitting a pedestrian. They know that even a slight impact from their vehicle can cause severe pedestrian injuries. Michigan law mandates that the driver of a vehicle stay at the scene of the crash if they caused personal injuries to a pedestrian. If they don’t, it’s a hit-and-run accident which is a felony under Michigan laws.

Damages in a Michigan Pedestrian Accident

Compensatory damages represent the losses and inconveniences you’ve suffered as a result of your Michigan pedestrian accident. Generally, there are two types of damages, economic or special and non-economic or general.

Economic Damages

Economic damages represent your financial losses. They come with a predetermined value and are easy to calculate.

Depending on the circumstances of your accident, they can include the following:

• Medical expenses
• Lost income and wages
• Property damage
• Loss of future earning capacity
• Vocational rehabilitation
• Household services
• Out-of-pocket costs

Your pedestrian accident lawyer will add up all these costs to determine how much compensation you deserve for your economic damages. Saving all your related receipts and billing statements and providing a copy to your Bloomfield Hills pedestrian accident attorney can help ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages have subjective value. Unfortunately, they are often an area of disagreement regarding settlement negotiations. Naturally, attorneys for the at-fault party’s insurance companies will place a low value on these damages, even though you and your attorney know they are worth much more.

Depending on the specific details of your pedestrian accident claim, your non-economic damages may include the following:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish
• Humiliation
• Loss of enjoyment of activities and life
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Aggravation of prior injuries

In some cases, an injured person’s spouse can also recover non-economic damages for loss of consortium.

Bloomfield Hills Pedestrian Accident FAQs

When Should You Contact a Bloomfield Hills Pedestrian Accident Lawyer?

If you were involved in an accident as a pedestrian in Michigan, you must contact a seasoned Bloomfield Hills pedestrian accident attorney as soon as possible. Failing to do so can negatively impact your pedestrian accident claim.

While seeking medical treatment is the most important step you can take after being injured in such an accident, getting legal help is the next step. There are many reasons for this, but two of the most crucial are that you only have a limited amount of time to file your claim and the importance of evidence in proving your claim.

Michigan’s Statute of Limitations

You only have a limited amount of time to pursue your injury case. The statute of limitations for Michigan personal injury cases, such as a pedestrian accident, is three years from the date of the injury or the date that you discovered the injury.

In some accidents, the statute of limitations can be tolled or paused, for instance, if the victim is under 18. In other cases, such as those against a government entity, the statute of limitations can be less. If you miss the filing deadline, you no longer have legal standing to seek compensation for your damages.

You should always hire an attorney as soon as possible as they will know which statute applies to your specific claim and act accordingly. Your attorney needs time to collect evidence, investigate your incident, and build a strong case on your behalf. The more time they have, the more effectively they can maximize your financial recovery.

At Michigan Injury Lawyers, our pedestrian accident attorney has the time and the resources to begin working on your case right away.

Collecting and Preserving Evidence

You need evidence to prove a pedestrian accident claim. Your pedestrian accident attorney must provide substantial evidence establishing that your accident occurred due to the at-fault party’s negligence. They must also prove the accident caused your injuries.

If you wait too long to contact a pedestrian accident lawyer, you can lose the evidence you need to support your case. The sooner your pedestrian injury attorney can begin collecting and preserving evidence in your case, the better.

How Does Car Insurance Coverage Work After a Pedestrian Accident?

If you have your own auto insurance policy with medical payments coverage, also known as Med Pay, it may cover your medical expenses, even though you suffered an injury as a pedestrian. In Michigan, this coverage is called Personal Injury Protection (PIP).

The driver or other at-fault party’s insurance policy might offer to take care of your medical bills. However, before agreeing to a settlement from the at-fault driver’s insurance company, consult with our Bloomfield Hills pedestrian accident attorneys.

If you accept a settlement without consulting us, you may recover far less than you deserve. You can’t change your mind once you sign agreeing to their offered settlement. Even if you later learn that your injuries are much more serious than you thought they were, it will be too late. This is why you must discuss your claim with our experienced attorneys before proceeding with your injury claim. We can determine if you received a fair settlement offer.

What if an Accident Victim Didn’t Use a Crosswalk?

Crossing the street without using a crosswalk is necessary in many instances. Even when it’s not, not using one doesn’t mean the injured pedestrian is to blame for their injuries. No matter the circumstances of your injuries, you should discuss the details of your accident with a Bloomfield Hills pedestrian accident lawyer as soon as possible after the accident. Even if you failed to cross the street using a crosswalk, you still might deserve compensation for your damages.

Contact a Skilled Bloomfield Hills Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Today

If you or someone you love suffered injuries and losses in a pedestrian accident, our Bloomfield Hills personal injury attorneys are available to help. Preserve your rights by contacting Michigan Injury Lawyers today at (313) 438-4357 or online.

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Bloomfield Hills Office Location

2525 S Telegraph Rd, Ste 100,
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302

Telephone: (248) 454-0800
Toll Free: (888) 454-0801
Fax: (248) 456-8470

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