Atlanta Pedestrian Injury Lawyers Help You Get Compensation
Pedestrians have no protection when struck by a vehicle. As a result, pedestrian injuries are often very serious, resulting in extreme pain and disabilities that require extensive medical treatment and ongoing care, and they may even lead to death. Survivors must deal with mounting medical bills and expenses at a time they are unable to work.
Many pedestrian collisions are preventable and are the tragic result of human error. If you or a loved one was injured or someone has died in a pedestrian accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence or fault, you can take legal action to receive compensation for your losses that can help you rebuild your life.
However, the road to compensation is not easy. Georgia personal injury law is complicated; insurance companies will try to deny claims or get you to settle for as little as possible; there are time limits for filing, and making mistakes can be costly. Fortunately, at this difficult time when you are trying to recover from the accident, you do not have to fight for fair compensation alone.
The experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyers at The Stoddard Firm are here to help. We represent clients in personal injury claims to make sure they do not have to pay the price for a careless driver’s mistakes. We have a long record of success with personal injury cases, such as winning a $15,950,000 verdict for a young man who lost his eye from a defectively manufactured firework.
Matt Stoddard, the founder of The Stoddard Firm, worked for years defending the world’s largest appliance manufacturers in serious injury and wrongful death product liability cases. As a result, he knows how companies and their insurers operate and how to negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf. Our firm will take the time to carefully examine the details of your accident and ensure that you are justly compensated for your losses. We have an aggressive approach which, combined with personal attention, gets results.
We offer a free, no-obligation case evaluation to discuss the circumstances of your case and determine the best way to move forward. There are no costs to you until and unless we win your case, so call us today at 470-467-2200 to get started.
How Our Pedestrian Accident Lawyers Work for You
While pedestrian accidents are often the fault of a careless driver, this is not always the case. When you have The Stoddard Firm on your side, we will get to work immediately to show that another party was negligent and at fault for causing your accident and, therefore, should be held liable.
We will:
Meet with you to discuss what happened and who the negligent parties may be, and to evaluate your case to determine what it may be worth
Investigate the accident by gathering evidence from surveillance cameras, interviewing witnesses, and examining police and medical reports
File all paperwork according to Georgia deadlines and court requirements
Hire experts to reconstruct the crash scene and provide testimony as to fault and how your injuries negatively impact your life
Negotiate with insurance companies for a fair settlement
Build your case and take it to trial if necessary.
Let us handle all legal requirements and dealings with insurers and their attorneys, so you can concentrate on your recovery. Call today at 470-467-2200.
Compensation Our Atlanta Pedestrian Injury Attorney Can Help You Receive
There is a wide range of settlement amounts that can be awarded in a successful pedestrian injury case, depending on the circumstances and injuries involved. Cases that cause severe injuries, such as brain injuries and spinal cord damage that lead to paralysis or death, may be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
Georgia law allows you to be compensated for both your economic losses as well as non-economic damages, as follows:
Economic damages – these are for your costs such as:
Current and future medical and rehabilitation expenses
Past and future lost wages
Any property-related damage.
Non-economic damages do not have a specific dollar value but are restitution for:
pain and suffering
mental and emotional anguish
disfigurement
loss of enjoyment of life or consortium.
In some rare cases where there was gross or willful negligence, you may also be awarded punitive damages, meant to punish a defendant and deter such behaviors in the future.
The Atlanta pedestrian injury lawyers at The Stoddard Firm will evaluate your individual situation to determine what a fair settlement would be and fight for maximum compensation.
Pedestrian Injury Lawyers Must Prove Negligence
In order to win a fair settlement, our pedestrian injury lawyers will have to prove fault for your accident and show that the other party (the defendant in the case) was negligent in their actions. Proving fault legally means showing the existence of the following elements:
Duty: The defendant owed you a duty of care not to cause harm.
Breach: The defendant breached this duty by actions or failure to act.
Cause: This breach caused your injuries.
Damages: You suffered damages as a result.
Georgia statutes require drivers to do everything possible to warn a pedestrian of a potential accident and to use particular care when driving near the elderly and children. According to the law (Georgia statute §40-6-93), “Every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway, shall give warning by sounding his horn when necessary, and shall exercise proper precautions upon observing any child or any obviously confused, incapacitated, or intoxicated person.”
However, pedestrians have responsibilities as well. According to Georgia statute (§40-6-92):
Pedestrians must yield to traffic unless the person has already entered the road.
Unless directed otherwise, pedestrians may not cross in a diagonal direction.
Pedestrians must use crosswalks when they are in between traffic signals.
While both pedestrians and drivers have a duty to be careful and follow the law, drivers still must stop or slow down for pedestrians, even if they’re on the road illegally. So, while there are cases where a pedestrian can be at least partially at fault in a pedestrian accident, it’s likely that the driver was either partially or fully at fault. If the driver is found to be at fault, they or their car insurance company is liable for costs, according to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) §51-1-6.
After an accident, you are bound to have questions and concerns. The best place to get answers is at your free consultation, but to get you started, here are answers to some questions our lawyers are often asked:
Should I speak to the insurance company?
Insurance companies are concerned with their bottom line, not your well-being. They have high-powered lawyers on their side and use tactics such as trying to get you to accept the lowest amount possible or asking leading questions to try to get you to admit that the accident was somehow your fault. It’s best to say nothing to the insurance company and tell them to speak to your attorney instead.
What if the pedestrian is at fault?
If the pedestrian is entirely at fault for the accident, they will likely not be entitled to compensation, and a driver might even try to sue the pedestrian for injuries or damage to their vehicle. However, in most cases the driver is at least partially at fault. Georgia has a modified comparative negligence law (Georgia Code § 51-12-33), where the negligence of all parties involved in the incident is taken into consideration. As long as you are less than 50 percent at fault, you can still collect the portion of a settlement that the other party is found to be at fault. For example, if you were 25 percent at fault for the accident and the settlement was for $100,000, our attorneys could still recover $75,000.
What are common causes of pedestrian collisions?
There are several factors that lead to a high rate of pedestrian collisions. Poor infrastructure is often associated with higher rates of pedestrian injuries. Inadequate lighting is another contributing factor. But human error is usually to blame for pedestrian accidents. This includes:
Distraction, such as from texting while driving
Impairment from drugs or alcohol
Reckless driving
Running a red light
Fatigue.
What if a pedestrian dies from their injuries?
In cases where a pedestrian is killed at the hands of a reckless driver, the surviving family members can file a wrongful death claim to receive compensation for the loss. Wrongful death claims can help a family pay outstanding medical bills, funeral bills and other end-of-life costs. They also offer a family the chance to receive compensation for income that might have been lost by the passing of a family member.
What does it cost to hire an Atlanta pedestrian accident lawyer?
The good news is that there are no upfront costs when you hire our experienced accident lawyers. Your initial consultation is free, and fees are paid out of any settlement we win for you. If we do not win, you do not pay anything. It pays to have our lawyers fight on your behalf for a fair settlement that covers all damages you sustained.
Call for Help With Your Pedestrian Accident in Atlanta
If you or a loved one has been injured in a pedestrian collision in Atlanta or its surrounding area, contact The Stoddard Firm today. We can help, whether you were hit by a car, a truck, a motorcycle, or any other vehicle. Our firm focuses on cases involving severe injuries, and we dedicate our full resources to making sure our clients get the compensation they deserve and hold the negligent driver accountable for the harm they have caused.
Don’t delay. Call us at 470-467-2200 now to get started while evidence is fresh and witnesses can be found.
Attorney Matt Stoddard
Matt Stoddard is a professional, hardworking, ethical advocate. He routinely faces some of the nation’s largest companies and some of the world’s largest insurers – opponents who have virtually unlimited resources. In these circumstances, Mr. Stoddard is comfortable. Mr. Stoddard provides his strongest efforts to his clients, and he devotes the firm’s significant financial resources to presenting the strongest case possible on their behalf. Matt understands that his clients must put their trust in him. That trust creates an obligation for Matt to work tirelessly on their behalf, and Matt Stoddard does not take that obligation lightly. [ Attorney Bio ]
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When you’re traveling without a personal car, road safety probably isn’t high on your list of concerns. Cities like Atlanta, with a high volume of tourism and business travelers, have services available to get you where you’re going, especially to and from hubs like Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Other than figuring out budgeting and scheduling, most visitors don’t think twice abo...
Matt Stoddard is a professional, hardworking, ethical advocate. He routinely faces some of the nation’s largest companies and some of the world’s largest insurers – opponents who have virtually unlimited resources. In these circumstances, Mr. Stoddard is comfortable. Mr. Stoddard provides his strongest efforts to his clients, and he devotes the firm’s significant financial resources to presenting the strongest case possible on their behalf. Matt understands that his clients must put their trust in him. That trust creates an obligation for Matt to work tirelessly on their behalf, and Matt Stoddard does not take that obligation lightly. [ 
