RICHMOND PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT LAWYERS

Not all drivers pay enough attention to where they are going, and those who don't can strike innocent pedestrians who are following all laws and rules of the road. Those drivers need to be held accountable, because most pedestrian accidents are entirely preventable! Attorney Joe Blaszkow and his team are experienced at fighting for the rights of injured pedestrians in Richmond and all over Virginia.

If you have been hit by a motor vehicle while crossing the street and a crosswalk, or you have lost a loved one who was injured and killed in a pedestrian accident, call Blaszkow Legal right away for help. If you or your loved one were not at fault for the accident, then you may be entitled to compensation!

The Richmond pedestrian accident attorneys at Blaszkow Legal are knowledgeable and experienced, and ready to fight for you. This is all that we do, - get justice for injured clients throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. call Blaszkow Legal today for a free consultation.

Richmond Office:
7824 Shrader Road, Richmond, Va. 23294
804-273-8929

What Should I Do After I Was Hurt in a Richmond Pedestrian Accident?

If you have been injured in a pedestrian accident, there are several things that you can do to protect yourself, and your case. These steps will be crucial in helping us to hold the negligent parties responsible:

• Get medical treatment. You have got to see a competent medical doctor right away. There are certain specialists, such as physical therapists and chiropractors, who may ultimately become part of your treatment team, but they have very limited practice areas under the law. You need to see a medical doctor, who can comprehensively evaluate you, diagnose your injuries, and prescribe the treatment that you need. After a pedestrian accident, you should always go to the emergency room!

• Make sure that the emergency room bills your health insurance. More often than not, when you are in the ER, someone from patient accounts is going to come around and ask questions. They are going to want to know about the car accident. This is because hospitals are attempting to go around your health insurance, and this is against the law in Virginia! Always give them your health insurance information - read this article for more information.

• Be careful speaking to insurance companies. If you have car insurance at home, even if you were a pedestrian, you may want to report the incident to them. But give them as little information as his humanly possible, until you have had a chance to speak to a lawyer. Remember anything that you say can and will be used against you, if the insurance companies can get some advantage out of it - and if the person who hit you doesn't have insurance, your own car insurance may now be fighting against you, because of an uninsured motorist claim.

• Call a Richmond Pedestrian Accident Attorney. After an accident, there are a lot of people who are going to want to talk to you, especially the insurance company for the person who hit you. Because of Virginia's negligence laws, they may be able to talk you into saying something that can drastically affect your claim. Always talk to a Richmond pedestrian accident lawyer first!

Contributory Negligence and Virginia Pedestrian Accidents

Virginia is a contributory negligence state, which means that if you are even 1% responsible for the happening of your accident, you cannot recover any damages for your injuries! This is sometimes called the 1% rule. So if you are found to have been in any way negligent, the insurance companies will deny your claim.

This is a very high bar, and some pedestrians do find that their cases are denied if they do not talk to attorneys immediately. Some of the more common arguments of contributory negligence include:

• Running into the roadway

• Crossing the street outside of the crosswalk

• Not waiting for the pedestrian lights

• Not looking both ways for traffic

• Assuming you have the right of way

There is a fallacy believed by many that pedestrians "always have the right of way." That is not the case in Virginia. Pedestrians have the right of way when they are in the crosswalk, obeying the pedestrian lights and crossing the street. However, if you are 100 feet away from the crosswalk, and you walk into the roadway, the insurance companies are going to argue that your failure to cross at the crosswalk was the proximate cause of the accident. That could be fatal to the claim.

Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in Virginia

It is possible that you do everything right, and still be hit by a car driver, truck driver, or bus. This is because some drivers do not watch where they are going. Over 90 pedestrians die every year in Virginia due to pedestrian accidents.

We find that there are several common causes of pedestrian accidents in Richmond and elsewhere throughout the Commonwealth. These include:

• Distracted driving

• Drunk driving or driving under the influence of drugs

• Speeding

• Failure to pay full time and attention to the roadway

• Failure to Yield

Investigating Richmond Pedestrian Accidents

As soon as you become a client, our Richmond pedestrian accident attorneys will set their teams to work and begin investigating the accident. It is vital for us to gather evidence and information, since we always have the burden of proof. We have to prove that the other driver was negligent, and that you were not.

We will immediately begin reviewing the scene of the accident to see if we can find any camera footage that shows the accident. Camera footage is the absolute best evidence in a pedestrian crash. It is objective, and neutral, and shows exactly what happened. Cameras can come in all shapes and sizes, and can often be found at banks, grocery stores, on buses, on other vehicles, on trucks, and in traffic cameras.

WARNING - Camera footage is not preserved forever. If you wait too long to speak to an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer in virginia, by the time the investigation begins, the footage may have been overwritten. Great camera systems will record the footage for 30 days or more, but smaller systems such as dash cameras and some small stores' systems may only retain their footage for 72 hours. It is extremely important to talk to a lawyer as soon as possible after an accident!

We also set our team to work in locating any witnesses to the crash. Witnesses can give important testimony, such as confirming that a traffic light was red, and at the driver who struck you ran the red light. Like camera footage however, witness testimony has to be developed sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the more likely it is the people will forget salient details.

What Damages You Can Claim After a Richmond Pedestrian accident

Pedestrians can be very seriously hurt as a result of pedestrian accidents. This is not surprising since a pedestrian has absolutely no protection from the 2000 lb machine that they have just been hit by. Some of these injuries can even be life-threatening and catastrophic. Some common injuries include:

• Cuts and lacerations

• Contusions or bruises

• Broken bones and ribs

• Traumatic brain injuries

• Concussions

• Internal organ damage

• Spinal cord injuries

• Post traumatic anxiety

• Mental anguish

You have the right to file a claim for these injuries. Your claim for damages is going to include many different elements. At Blaszkow Legal, we will work to develop and prove all of these elements, to get you the fair value for your case. Some of these elements include:

• Expenses for medical treatment

• Future medical treatment

• Lost wages

• Future lost wages

• Diminished earning capacity

• Pain and suffering

• Emotional trauma

• Inconvenience

• Loss of enjoyment of life

• Impairment and activities of daily living

Settlement in a Pedestrian Accident Case

Many pedestrian accident cases will settle, and some will not. There are two reasons that a pedestrian accident lawyer will push a case to trial - either the insurance company is denying liability, or they are refusing to give our client fair value for his or her damages.

It is important to remember, however, that when a case is settled, that means it is over. Additional claims cannot be advanced. This is one of the biggest ways that insurance companies take advantage of people who are not represented by lawyers.

It is a very common tactic for insurance companies to reach out to people who have been hurt in accidents, and to offer them money, sometimes more than the other person thinks they are entitled to. However, the insurance companies know what can be claimed in a pedestrian accident, and unrepresented people often do not. The early settlement offers always devalue the case, because the insurance companies want you to go away. Their goal is to pay you as little money as possible.

Never accept a settlement offer without speaking to a lawyer, and that means never ever signing any papers that an insurance company sends to you!

Call a Richmond Pedestrian Injury Lawyer Today

Blaszkow Legal is dedicated the fighting for our clients all over the Richmond Metro area, and beyond. There are some law firms that push cases to settle, and the insurance companies know that.  If a law firm is not willing to fight the insurance companies for fair compensation, the insurance companies know that, and they will devalue the case as a result. Blaszkow Legal has a proven track record of pushing the insurance companies, from beginning of a case to the point of going to trial. While we are happy to settle cases, we won't let the insurance companies take advantage of our clients.

If you have been involved in a pedestrian accident anywhere in the Richmond Metro area, or anywhere in Virginia, call us today for a free consultation - 804-273-8929