Hit By a Car While Walking? How to Navigate the Personal Injury Claim's Process
Being hit by a car while walking can leave you dealing with much more than physical injuries. There may be medical bills, missed work, insurance calls, and questions about who is responsible for what happened. The situation can feel even more difficult when you are trying to figure out what to do next.
Pedestrian crashes remain a serious concern in Philadelphia. The city's 2024 Vision Zero report found that deaths among people walking and rolling were 65% higher than the 2015 to 2019 average.
If you have been injured, understanding how a personal injury claim generally moves from the accident scene to a possible settlement or lawsuit can make the process easier to follow.
1. Start With Medical Care and Documentation
Your health should come first after a pedestrian accident. Some injuries are obvious immediately, while others may take time to become noticeable. Getting medical attention also creates records that can help document the nature and extent of your injuries.
If you can safely do so, keep other information from the accident as well. This may include photographs of the scene, your injuries, damaged clothing, traffic signals, nearby vehicles, and anything else that may help explain what happened. Get the driver's information and contact details for anyone who witnessed the crash.
A police report can also become an important part of the record. Try to keep copies of medical bills, treatment records, prescription costs, and documents showing time missed from work.
The more organized these records are, the easier it can be to explain what happened and how the accident affected your life.
2. Find Out Who May Be Responsible
A pedestrian accident claim is not always as simple as proving that a driver hit someone.
The driver may be responsible if they were speeding, distracted, failed to yield, ignored a traffic signal, or otherwise drove carelessly. But other parties may sometimes be involved. For example, a rideshare or delivery company, property owner, or government entity could potentially have a role depending on the circumstances of the accident.
Pennsylvania also uses comparative negligence rules. If an injured person is partly responsible for an accident, that does not automatically prevent recovery when their negligence is not greater than the causal negligence of the defendant, although damages can be reduced according to the person's share of fault.
That is why the circumstances of the crash need to be examined carefully rather than relying on assumptions about who was at fault.
3. Preserve Evidence Before It Disappears
Evidence can become harder to find as time passes. A nearby security camera may record the crash but overwrite its footage later. A witness may move away or forget important details. Vehicle damage may also be repaired before photographs or inspections are completed.
This is one area where getting legal help early can be useful. A pedestrian accident attorney in Philadelphia can investigate the circumstances of the crash and work to preserve evidence such as surveillance footage, witness statements, and police reports. Kwartler Manus's pedestrian accident practice specifically describes moving quickly to secure evidence and investigate potentially responsible parties.
This early work can help establish a clearer picture of what happened before important information becomes difficult to recover.
4. Work Out the Full Cost of the Injury
Once the circumstances of the accident are clearer, the next question is usually how the injury has affected you financially and personally.
Medical treatment is an obvious part of the calculation, but it may not be the only loss. Depending on the circumstances, a claim may involve rehabilitation costs, lost income, reduced future earning ability, pain and suffering, emotional distress, permanent disability, or disfigurement.
This is why it can be risky to accept an insurance payment simply because it arrives quickly. You may still have medical treatment ahead of you or not yet know how long you will be unable to work.
In practice, understanding the full impact of an injury before evaluating a settlement can help you avoid making a decision based only on the expenses you have already received.
5. Deal With the Insurance Company Carefully
After a pedestrian accident, an insurance company may contact you to ask questions or discuss a settlement. It is important to remember that the insurer is evaluating the claim from its own perspective.
You do not have to guess what your claim is worth or rush to accept an offer before you understand your injuries and losses. A lawyer can communicate with the insurer, respond to questions, and negotiate on your behalf while the claim is being developed.
Kwartler Manus describes preparing its pedestrian accident cases with litigation in mind from the beginning. That does not mean every case goes to court. Many personal injury claims are resolved through settlement, but having the evidence and legal arguments developed early can be useful if negotiations do not produce an acceptable result.
6. Keep the Filing Deadline in Mind
There is also a legal deadline to consider. Under Pennsylvania law, an action seeking damages for personal injuries caused by another person's negligence generally must be commenced within two years. That may sound like plenty of time, but waiting can create other problems long before the deadline arrives. Evidence can disappear, memories can fade, and medical issues can become more difficult to document.
The exact deadline can also depend on the circumstances of a particular claim, so it is better to find out what rules apply to your situation rather than assuming the standard period covers everything.
Conclusion: Moving Forward After a Pedestrian Accident
A pedestrian injury claim can involve several steps, from medical treatment and evidence collection to determining liability, calculating losses, negotiating with insurers, and potentially filing a lawsuit.
You do not need to understand every part of the legal process immediately. Start by getting the medical care you need, preserving important information, keeping records of your losses, and finding out what deadlines apply.
Having a clear record of what happened and how the accident affected you can give you a stronger foundation as you decide what to do next.
