If you are a pedestrian and a car passes by, striking you that you get injured, you can receive the first legal aid by filing a complaint against the driver. Not only this, but you can also file a complaint against the municipality of the area in which you hit as you were not safe in that area. In pleasant weather, people move out of their houses to enjoy the weather, but then one should also take care of what is going on around and not walk blindly. Let’s have a look at essential points that will help you in such circumstances:
Let us talk about what you can do immediately when a car hits you. When a vehicle hits you and runs away, you can directly call the police. You can also take photographs of the location where the accident took place and the car that hit you as proof against the culprit. You should call your insurance company to get the claim against the injury you get because of the accident.
Does the question arise that who will pay your medical bills? If the accident occurs at a no-fault state, then the driver’s insurance company will have to compensate you with either full or some part of your medical bills. On the other hand, if the accident occurs at any other place besides the no-fault area, your insurance company has to compensate you for your medical bills, and you cannot ask the culprit driver to do so as it will not be legal. The next thing that usually comes into people’s minds is what if the victim doesn’t have health insurance? The answer to this is that in such a case, one has to pay his/her medical bills himself/herself. So, it is advisable to get the health insurance done because such uncertain situations don’t come to you with a notice.
The driver is usually considered to be at fault even if the pedestrian was walking in the wrong area. This is because the traffic rules and regulations in some states are not that strict. But then if a pedestrian is walking on the crosswalk and then a car passes by, hitting him/her, then obviously the driver will be at fault. If a driver hits a pedestrian on the crosswalk, he cannot save himself/herself from liability. Still, if the pedestrian is at fault, then he can have a good chance of moving away from this matter by winning the case and will not have to pay a penny to compensate the victim. So, a pedestrian can also be at fault for the accident in some cases.
As mentioned above, a pedestrian can file a case against the municipality of the area where he got hit. Such cases can be filed by the victim when the street is not adequately laid down, or the traffic rules and regulations of the city or state are not strictly followed by the residents, and also when the traffic control devices are not working correctly. Such negligencies can put the municipality in great trouble. For instance, if the victim notices that if it was a red light, still the car driver hits the pedestrian, he can file a complaint against the culprit and municipality and claim compensation. A well-experienced lawyer can guide one very well in such issues. One should take advice from the lawyer before taking action against anybody. This is because only a lawyer can guide one properly about whether he can win the case or not as if the lawsuit filed will not be as vital that it can be a winning one, he/she should not file as it will be a wastage of time and money.