Hurt Victims Too Often Find Themselves Held Responsible For The Accident By The Defendant

Accidents occur

Accidents occur. That is also true for accidents in which a motor vehicle hits a pedestrian. Attorneys skilled in taking on pedestrian injury cases are adept at understanding not only the mechanics of the accident, the insurance challenges, and the medical issues with the injuries to the pedestrian, but also the psychology of the people involved. Attorneys realize that people sometimes recall situations in keeping with their own self-image, an image of a person who is a mindful driver, of a person not able to be responsible for causing an injury to others. It is up to the lawyer who assesses the claim for the hurt person to figure out what evidence, if any, exists that they can use to rebut the story of the incident told by the would-be defendant.

In this accident a seventy five year old male pedestrian was hit while crossing the street to get back to his double-parked car. The driver was driving a van at the time of the accident. He said that the man came out abruptly from the middle of two cars that were parked at the side of the road and that the man actually ran into the car causing damage to the its side. The victim sustained multiple fractures including fractures to his shoulder, collarbone and to his ankle for which he needed surgery that consisted of the insertion of screws and a metal plate. The 75 year old man had been an active person before the accident. He was even working as a messenger. Following the accident his lifestyle changed substantially.

The law firm that represented the pedestrian asked that the defense produce evidence of the damage to the side of the van professed by the driver. No such evidence was ever supplied by the defendant. The only damage that was documented was a cracked windshield - consistent with the front of the van striking the pedestrian and inconsistent with the pedestrian hitting the side of the van. Yet, the defendants insurance company refused to settle the case. The law firm that handled this claim took it to trial and obtained a verdict of $475,000 for the victim.

The above displays how hard defendants will attempt to avoid responsibility for an accident, even when they have sufficient insurance to cover them. From time to time they just look at the facts from a viewpoint that clears them of fault. At times they recall the accident in a different way from how it actually happened. Sometimes they lie.

To complicate things, insurance company adjusters appear all to willing to take their insureds version of the accident at face value and to entirely discount the injured victims version. In general, this reasonable from a business point of view especially when there are no witnesses. Refuse a large number of claims and some of them will settle for nuisance value. Of those that do not, if the defense wins even just half those claims at trial the insurance companies will save millions each year.

Choosing whether to retain an accident reconstruction expert for a claim is a matter of judgment. There are times when the use of an expert is really essential but experience ought to help the attorney in deciding when to use that expert. There are factors that can make a difference in the way motor vehicles move that cannot be taken into account merely using the average persons experience and common sense. An accident reconstruction expert is required if without the testimony of one the jury would not be able to determine how the accident actually happened and the value of the case merits the expense. If it is not necessary it might be better to let the jury go through the evidence and see through the account told by the defendant.

by: Joseph Hernandez

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