Thousands of pedestrians die every year in Illinois, and thousands more are left with debilitating injuries from traffic accidents. Many of these crashes occur at night and when a pedestrian is trying to cross their local street or the highway.
Moreover, other factors such as poor maintenance, parking lot defects, and debris on walkways have also caused pedestrian accidents. This article provides a brief but concise overview of pedestrian accidents, explaining your rights to compensation as a pedestrian.
Duty of Care in Pedestrian Accidents: Elements for Proving Negligence
When a pedestrian has been injured by a vehicle or due to a product defect, they may recover damages. Illinois personal injury law allows such a person to recover damages if they can prove negligence on the other party’s side.
For there to be negligence, it means the person must owe the injured individual a duty of care. Let us see the different duties of care that exist in a pedestrian personal injury case:
Pedestrian Duty of Care
It is vital to note that a pedestrian also owes a duty of care and must exercise utmost caution when using the road. Two systems are often used to determine who is at fault in an accident: comparative and contributory negligence.
In a contributory negligence system, the injured party may be barred from recovering damages if found even slightly responsible for their injury. In a comparative negligence system, they can still recover damages even if they are 40 percent responsible for their injury. Some factors that contribute to a pedestrian’s contributory negligence include jaywalking, entering traffic, disrupting the flow, and not using marked crosswalks.
Motorist’s Duty of Care
A driver must exercise reasonable care and always give the pedestrian the right of way under the circumstances. If they fail to do that, they are considered negligent under Illinois personal injury law.
Some factors that contribute to driver negligence include distracted driving, speeding, failure to signal while turning, and disregarding traffic signals. Other factors include driving under the influence, not yielding the right of way to pedestrians at crosswalks, and disregarding traffic conditions.
Duty of Care Owed Children
Children, especially those between ages five and nine, are smaller, less visible, and, therefore, unpredictable. As such, they are at greater risk of being hit, which is why Michigan law imposes a higher duty of care on drivers for children. If children are around the area, for instance, schools, parks, and residential areas, drivers must exercise a greater degree of care.
Your Rights as a Pedestrian
Under Illinois personal injury law, a pedestrian can seek compensation for their injuries from the at-fault party in a pedestrian accident. You can seek compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and many more.
However, to receive these damages, you must file a claim within the timeline stipulated for filing personal injury cases. “You can help preserve your legal rights if you keep to the statute of limitations, which is two years in Illinois,” says Arlington Heights Personal Injury Lawyer Ron Wittmeyer.
Knowing When to Contact a Lawyer
You may wonder if you need a lawyer or if you can handle your pedestrian accident case yourself. To increase your chances of recovering compensation, you can call a lawyer if fault is contested or you have serious injuries. Also, you can call a lawyer if the insurance company is lowballing you to accept a quick settlement.
Conclusion
If you or a loved one were injured in a pedestrian accident, you may not know what to do next. Meanwhile, Illinois gives you about two years to file a compensation claim, after which you lose that opportunity. A qualified Illinois personal injury lawyer can offer free consultations to assess your case and see if you have a chance.
