Jaywalking Can Impact How Much Money You Get in a Pedestrian Accident Case
Fault is often a hotly contested issue in a pedestrian accident case. It is possible for both the driver and the pedestrian to share the blame for the accident. The pedestrian could bear some or all of the responsibility for what happened if they were jaywalking. However, the matter may be more complex than you think. Always contact an experienced pedestrian accident attorney if you or a loved one have been injured. Attorney Case Barnett and his team at Case Barnett Law can defend you when the insurance company wrongfully tries to point a finger at you. We work to get results for our clients.
How Jaywalking Can Affect Your Pedestrian Accident Case
The outcome of a pedestrian accident case depends on the facts and circumstances of the individual accident. It is crucial to know what both the driver and pedestrian were doing at the time of the pedestrian accident. The driver may not have been the only one who was breaking the law. The pedestrian may have been crossing the street when they did not have the right-of-way. They may have crossed when they had a red signal. The pedestrian may have been crossing the street outside of a crosswalk. Whenever the pedestrian violates the law, it is called jaywalking. This act can affect whether the pedestrian wins their lawsuit and how much they may receive in compensation.
In any personal injury case, you have a legal obligation to prove that the defendant’s actions were the cause of your injuries. If you were doing something wrong yourself, the driver’s actions may not have been fully to blame for the accident, if they were even responsible for your injuries at all. Thus, the driver may not have been entirely to blame for what happened to you, and they may not have to pay for the entire sum of your damages.
You Can Still Receive Compensation if You Were Partially to Blame
California law allows you to receive some financial compensation so long as you were not 100% to blame for the accident. The amount of your settlement would be reduced by the percentage of fault you bear for the accident. Thus, you can expect the insurance company to try to whittle away at your settlement by closely scrutinizing what you may have done.
The good news is that a comparative negligence state like California could still allow you to receive some compensation, even if you were crossing the street at a time or in a place where you should not have. You just need to gather evidence that the driver shares in the fault for the accident. However, the same law also opens the door for the insurance company to introduce complexity to your case and try to come after you. Any dollar that they succeed in reducing your settlement by is one less one that you have to cover your expenses or compensate you for the effects of the accident.
There is almost no such thing as a black-and-white pedestrian accident. The insurance company is often going to try to blame the pedestrian for the accident because they know that they can save money or even avoid paying a claim altogether. If a pedestrian accident was doing something wrong at the time of the accident, their ability to recover financial compensation could be jeopardized.
You Need to Hire a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Immediately
It is essential that you contact an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer as soon as possible to protect your legal rights. The insurance company may try to get to work practically immediately to gather evidence that they can use against you and discredit your case.
Never make any assumptions about a pedestrian accident case. First, you should never think that compensation is off-limits based on what you may have been doing at the time of the accident. Second, you should also not be complacent and assume that the insurance company is never going to make you the issue in a pedestrian accident case. An experienced attorney at Case Barnett Law can review your case and defend you from any allegations that the insurance company may make against you.