Pedestrian accidents are frequently catastrophic. Severe injury or death can occur even at supposedly low speeds.
If you or someone you love has been struck by a vehicle, you may be entitled to recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. At Crosley Law, our average personal injury case settles for about $250,000, and we’ve won multiple six- and seven-figure pedestrian accident settlements over the years—including a $9 million settlement for a young man hit by a delivery driver.
However, serious injuries don’t always mean significant settlements. Calculating the value of a pedestrian accident case in Texas is a complex process. Unfortunately, innocent victims sometimes must overcome unfair obstacles to get the fair treatment they deserve.
In this blog post, we’ll look at the key factors that drive pedestrian-car accident settlement amounts in Texas, as well as share some examples from our own case files.
Selected Crosley Law pedestrian accident case results
If you or someone you love were a pedestrian hit by a car, the best thing you can do right now is contact an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Here are a few real client stories from some of our previous pedestrian accident cases.
- $9 million. A young man was walking home from his job at a grocery store when he was struck from behind by a delivery driver. He broke both his legs and also suffered a traumatic brain injury. And the responding officer didn’t even give the at-fault driver a ticket! We were outraged on behalf of our client and poured our resources into this case. We secured a significant settlement in mediation in only 18 months. Read more.
- $275,000. Our client was crossing the street at a crosswalk when a stopped vehicle suddenly accelerated and knocked her over. She hit her head hard on the pavement and struggled with migraines and post-concussive symptoms for months after the crash. Her insurance company refused to acknowledge her traumatic brain injury and only offered $10,000. Thanks to our hard work, we got her more than 24 times that initial offer plus a settlement from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Read more.
- $178,000. Our client was visiting San Antonio on business when he was hit by a delivery driver who ignored a stop sign. First, the insurance company tried to deny any responsibility at all for the crash. Then, they tried to argue that our client’s medical treatment expenses were excessive and unnecessary. But thanks to our detailed investigation and aggressive tactics, they eventually agreed to settle before trial for the full amount Crosley Law had demanded. Read more.
Key factors that determine pedestrian accident settlements
Amount of economic damages
It doesn’t take a lot of speed for a two-ton (or more) vehicle to cause catastrophic damage to an unprotected human body.
A study by AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety found that a pedestrian is likely to be severely injured by a car traveling at 31 miles per hour and likely to be killed if the vehicle is traveling at 42 miles per hour. But even at speeds as low as 16 miles per hour, the risk of serious injury is still 10 percent. That risk increases when the victims are younger or older, or are hit by heavier vehicles.
Your personal injury claim should demand compensation for past and future medical bills, past and future lost wages, and any other out of pocket costs (therapy, medications, home modifications, etc.) that you pay (or would be expected to pay) because of your injuries.
Impact on quality of life
Crashes usually cost injured pedestrians more than the sticker price of their medical expenses, car repairs, and lost income. There are non-economic losses, too—and for a pedestrian hit by a car, these losses are frequently long-lasting or permanent. Examples include:
- Chronic, ongoing pain and suffering (headaches, back pain, etc.)
- Permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Anxiety, mood swings, cognitive impairment, and other mental or psychological trauma
- Loss of ability to do the things you used to love
The more severe your injuries, the longer lasting they may be. And the more they impact your day-to-day life, the greater the non-economic damages. Insurance companies usually calculate non-economic damages by taking the total amount of economic damages and multiplying it by a factor between 1 and 5, depending on how severe the injury is. But remember: the insurance company is not on your side, and they frequently underestimate and undervalue non-economic damages to save money.
RELATED POST: What is an average settlement for pain and suffering after a car accident? | Crosley Law
Whether the driver was clearly at fault
Sadly, even though the vast majority of pedestrian accidents are caused by negligent drivers, they often don’t get the benefit of the doubt. Drivers often try to blame pedestrians for accidents, and it can be very hard to overcome the accusations if there were no other witnesses or you don’t have an experienced personal injury attorney to defend you.
For example, in the $9 million case referenced above, the delivery company said our client was to blame for walking along the side of the road, at night, without a reflective vest. (Of course, they conveniently left out the fact that their driver was speeding and had a known problem with unsafe driving that they took no action to correct.) We didn’t let them get away with it, but we had to review thousands of pages of documents, talk to more than 20 people under oath (including company executives), work with an accident reconstructionist, and even conduct extensive focus group testing to ensure we had the strongest possible case.
Establishing clear liability is important for two reasons.
The first is comparative negligence. If your case goes to trial, a jury can divide the fault between multiple parties – for example, 70% to the driver for speeding and 30% to the pedestrian for not yielding the right of way. In this case, the pedestrian accident victim would only be able to recover 70% of their damages (i.e., the percent they are not at fault). If the pedestrian is held more than 50% responsible, they cannot recover anything.
The second is simply a matter of jury psychology. When all else is equal, juries tend to award more damages to victims (and insurance companies will pay more to avoid trial) when the facts are indisputable about who was responsible. They also tend to award larger judgments if there are any upsetting “aggravating facts” in the case. For example, an at-fault driver who was drinking or had a long history of traffic violations is likely to get a larger judgment against them than a driver with a clean record who was momentarily distracted.
RELATED POST: Car vs. Pedestrian: Who Is at Fault for the Accident? | Crosley Law
Available insurance coverage
In Texas, you only need to carry $30,000 per person (and up to $60,000 maximum per accident) in liability insurance coverage per vehicle to legally operate it on the road. Considering that pedestrian accident victims often have catastrophic injuries, this is usually nowhere close to enough—even for the medical bills alone.
One bit of good news is that if you own a car with auto insurance, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) and personal injury protection (PIP) can apply even if you are hit by a car as a pedestrian. This was the case for our client Lauren. The driver who hit her only had the minimum legal coverage. But since she had purchased a substantial amount of UM/UIM from her own provider, we were able to collect an additional $245,000 on her behalf.
Car Crash? Call Crosley
Don’t assume that an insurance company or jury will take your side just because you were badly hurt or the facts seem clear to you. The best way to protect your legal rights and fight for proper compensation is to work with an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer as soon as possible.
To schedule your free consultation with a San Antonio pedestrian accident lawyer, call us today at (210) 529-3000.
References
Foundation for Traffic Safety (2011 September). Impact Speed and a Pedestrian’s Risk of Severe Injury or Death. AAA. Retrieved from https://aaafoundation.org/impact-speed-pedestrians-risk-severe-injury-death/
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
