Walking near one of the beachfronts in Newport Beach can be an extremely pleasurable experience on a sunny day. However, this area’s roadways and traffic intersections regularly see heavy traffic, especially on the weekends. Unfortunately, this often means an increase in pedestrian accidents.
Pedestrians are at a significant disadvantage compared to motor vehicle operators and passengers. Unlike car occupants, pedestrians do not have a thick metal shell surrounding them if they become involved in an accident. And when a large motor vehicle hits a pedestrian, the pedestrian usually suffers injuries in the accident. If the collision force knocks the pedestrian onto the ground, they may suffer debilitating and sometimes deadly injuries.
If you or someone you love recently suffered injuries in a pedestrian accident, you should retain an experienced attorney to represent you in your case as quickly as possible. Waiting too long to seek the legal representation you need may jeopardize your right to recover any monetary damages whatsoever in your case.
The experienced Newport Beach pedestrian accident attorneys at Bentley & More LLP understand the seriousness of pedestrian accident injuries and losses. Our legal team has the knowledge and experience necessary to file your pedestrian claim or pursue a lawsuit in the California Court System.
Furthermore, if the insurance company does not offer you fair monetary damages for your pedestrian accident injuries, we can take your case to a jury trial and pursue a favorable result there.
Our experienced lawyers have recovered millions of dollars of compensation for our clients. Because our firm primarily represents pedestrian accident victims with catastrophic injuries, other law firms frequently refer those cases to us.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a Newport Beach pedestrian accident attorney, please call or contact us online to learn more.
Common Locations for Pedestrian Accidents in Newport Beach
Newport Beach, including the beachfront area, regularly sees numerous pedestrians daily. Pedestrians are often present near crosswalks and in other designated locations. However, negligent motor vehicle drivers still routinely strike pedestrians all too frequently. When these accidents happen, pedestrians may suffer devastating and sometimes deadly injuries.
Some of the most common locations for pedestrian accidents in Newport Beach include:
- Pedestrian crosswalks at traffic intersections, including Campus Drive and Bristol Street
- Sidewalks near the beach
- Parking lots and parking garages near the beach
If you or someone you love suffered injuries in a pedestrian accident resulting from a driver’s negligence, the experienced pedestrian accident attorneys at Bentley & More LLP are ready to assist you.
Our legal team can first discuss the circumstances of your accident with you and determine your eligibility for pursuing a personal injury claim or lawsuit. We can then begin working on your case and help you pursue the maximum amount of monetary damages available to you in your case.
Pedestrian Accident Injuries
When a pedestrian strikes the ground in an accident, they are likely to suffer severe injuries. The specific injuries that an accident victim may suffer will depend upon the accident circumstances, the speed of the vehicle that hit the pedestrian, the force of the collision, how the accident victim hits the ground, and the body part or parts affected.
Some of the most common injuries that a pedestrian accident victim may suffer include:
- Traumatic head and brain injuries
- Internal organ injuries
- Rib fractures
- Broken bones
- Crush injuries
- Road rash and burns
- Spinal cord injuries, and paralysis injuries (both full and partial)
If you suffered any of these injuries in your pedestrian accident in the Newport Beach area, go to a hospital emergency room or urgent care center for X-rays, MRIs, and other medical treatment. The medical provider on duty can also make recommendations for future care if you require it. For example, if you broke a bone in your pedestrian accident, you will likely need to consult an orthopedic doctor and undergo one or more surgeries.
While you focus on getting the medical treatment you need and fully recovering, the experienced Newport Beach pedestrian accident lawyers at Bentley & More LLP can start advocating for you. Our legal team can gather your medical treatment records, medical bills, police reports, and lost income statements.
Once you have finished all of your medical treatment, we can then forward these documents to the insurance company and open a claim on your behalf.
How Do Pedestrian Accidents Happen?
In most cases, pedestrian accidents occur when drivers are careless and reckless under the circumstances. One common cause of Newport Beach pedestrian accidents is distracted driving.
When a driver fails to pay attention in a parking lot, parking garage, or traffic intersection, they will likely cause their vehicle to strike a pedestrian. Distracted driving takes many forms, but it usually involves using an electronic device while driving, programming a GPS navigation system, or roughhousing with vehicle passengers. When a driver takes their eyes off the road, it is very easy to miss seeing a pedestrian, even when the pedestrian is lawfully present in a crosswalk or other designated area.
At other times, pedestrian accidents happen when people drive while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs. Alcohol intoxication may bring about various physical symptoms, including blurred vision, which may prevent a driver from seeing a pedestrian in the first place.
Moreover, alcohol can delay a driver’s reflexes and reaction time, preventing them from stopping their vehicle in time to avoid hitting a pedestrian. When a police officer arrests a drunk driver for DUI, and the court convicts the driver, they can face criminal fines and other penalties. In addition, an injured pedestrian can hold a drunk driver who causes an accident may be financially liable, along with the drunk driver’s insurance company.
Other pedestrian accidents happen when drivers engage in risky driving maneuvers, such as speeding and weaving in and out of traffic—especially near busy Newport Beach traffic intersections. Accidents may also occur when drivers fail to use their rearview and side view mirrors appropriately.
For example, when drivers fail to check their mirrors before backing out of a parking space, they may not see a pedestrian behind them, causing a severe accident. Similarly, when drivers engage in aggressive driving maneuvers, called road rage, they may not see a pedestrian lawfully crossing the street at an intersection.
Finally, some pedestrian accidents result from fatigued driving. A drowsy driver may experience a lack of concentration or inattention. Moreover, the driver might fall asleep at the wheel, causing their vehicle to careen out of control and strike a pedestrian.
If you or a person you care about sustained injuries in a recent pedestrian accident, you are not alone. The experienced Newport Beach pedestrian accident attorneys at Bentley & More LLP can review your legal options with you and take the appropriate steps to pursue and recover the compensation you need.
Personal Injury Claims in Pedestrian Accident Cases
If you suffered injuries in a pedestrian accident, you can file a legal claim with the responsible driver’s insurance company, seeking various monetary damages for your injuries.
To begin the claim, our legal team can gather important documents about your case, including police reports, camera footage (such as from a traffic camera or nearby business), witness statements, medical treatment records, medical bills, and lost income documentation from your employer.
Once we assemble these documents, we will draft a settlement demand letter that makes a monetary demand for compensation from the insurance company. When the insurance company receives these documents, they will decide whether to admit or deny fault for the accident. If they admit fault, we can begin negotiating a fair settlement offer in your case.
Most of the time, settlement negotiations take several weeks or months. Insurance companies and their adjusters do not make matters easy because they want to try and settle cases for as little money as possible.
Therefore, personal injury lawyers must typically negotiate with an adjuster several times before they will increase their offer sufficiently. If an improved offer is not forthcoming in your case, we can threaten the insurance company with litigation—or even file a lawsuit in the court system if that step becomes necessary.
Once your pedestrian accident case is pending litigation, it can still resolve at any time. However, once the case is in the court system, the court will likely schedule dates for the case, including a settlement conference date along with a trial date. If the case settles during litigation, you will no longer need to worry about a trial since your legal matter will be complete.
Our experienced legal team can assist you during all settlement negotiations and with every step of the litigation process. We can also help you make informed decisions as your case proceeds through litigation and represent you at all courtroom proceedings that occur during the process.
Recovering Monetary Damages in Pedestrian Accident Cases
To recover monetary damages in a pedestrian accident claim or lawsuit, the accident victim has the sole legal burden of proof. Therefore, they must establish various legal elements to even be eligible for monetary recovery. First, the pedestrian accident victim must show that the other driver owed them a legal duty of care.
Many insurance companies will concede this duty since all drivers must drive safely and carefully. Moreover, an accident victim must demonstrate that the driver deviated from their duty of care somehow. For example, the driver might have been looking at their cellular device, speeding, or operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Next, the pedestrian accident victim must show that the driver’s negligence actually and foreseeably caused the accident. Finally, the accident victim must prove that as a direct result of their accident, they suffered at least one physical injury.
To help establish your legal burden, our legal team can retain experts to testify on your behalf. For example, if the insurance company is disputing fault in the pedestrian accident or alleging that you contributed to the accident in some way, we can retain an accident reconstructionist to draft a report or testify in your case. Moreover, we can work with a qualified medical expert to establish that you suffered a permanent injury—or to simply causally relate your injuries to the pedestrian accident.
Accident victims who can prove these legal elements may recover various types and amounts of monetary damages, including compensation for lost earnings, related medical expenses, anticipated medical costs, permanent disfigurement or disability, long-term care costs, loss of life enjoyment, mental distress, loss of the ability to use a body part, and loss of spousal companionship.
Call a Newport Beach Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Today for More Information
Greg Bentley & Keith More, Pedestrian Accident Lawyers
Injured pedestrians have a limited amount of time to file their personal injury claim or lawsuit seeking monetary redress. In personal injury cases, California utilizes a two-year statute of limitations. Therefore, a pedestrian accident victim has at most two years from their accident to file a lawsuit in the court system. If an accident victim does not file their lawsuit on time, they forever waive their right to receive monetary damages. Reach out to a Newport personal injury lawyer.
Given the concise timeframe for pedestrian accident victims to file suit, it is essential to take prompt legal action as quickly as possible in your case. At Bentley & More LLP, we can move swiftly to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit on your behalf.
Our legal team will help you with every aspect of the claims filing and litigation processes. Moreover, if your case needs to go to court, we will aggressively fight for your legal interests at a civil jury trial or binding arbitration proceeding. When you allow us to handle your pedestrian accident case, you can rest assured that we will zealously fight to maximize your total monetary recovery.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a Newport Beach pedestrian accident attorney, please call us at (949) 870-3800 or contact us online as soon as possible.
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Bentley & More LLP – Newport Beach Office
4931 Birch Street
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: (949) 870-3800