Have you or a loved one been hit while walking? Read these 3 pedestrian accident tips for guidance, then call our Boise lawyers for help.
Pedestrian Accident Case Value
How do you determine the value of a pedestrian injury claim in Idaho? Pedestrian injuries are really not terribly different than other types of negligence caused or at-fault injuries. The question is, what are your damages? Damages are made up of different components.
Your medical bills, of course, are part of your damages. To the extent you lost work in the past from the time of the wreck forward until we resolve the case, those wage losses are a part of your damages. To the extent you are going to or it is more likely than not that you are going to lose work into the future, those costs make up part of your damages. To the extent it’s likely that you’re going to incur medical expenses in the future, those costs are also part of your damages.
To the extent you had to get help performing tasks around the house, those are part of your damages. To the extent you’ve suffered pain at the time of the wreck or chronically thereafter, a value for that pain is part of your damages. To the extent you suffered worry, concern, anxiety, uncertainty, all the things that you might expect after an injury accident in Boise, Idaho, the jury or those who resolve the case are expected to place a fair value on that. Your damages can be made up of many other things, but those are the basic items that make up a standard damages claim.
If you’re hit as a pedestrian through the fault of someone else, through their negligence, their inattention, their inability to follow the rules of the road, the lawyers at Hepworth Holzer can help you get the recovery the law allows you. This is not some free ride, not some unfair windfall; this is exactly the damages the law says that you get when someone causes you injury. At Hepworth Holzer we can help. Give us a call.
Choosing a Pedestrian Accident Attorney
If you’ve been injured as a pedestrian in Idaho, how do you pick the best lawyer? The answer is really quite simple. You pick the best trial lawyer you can. You pick the best injury trial lawyer that you can. At Hepworth Holzer, we are those lawyers.
A while back, a nice woman was crossing the crosswalk here in Boise, Idaho. It was almost two years ago because we just settled her case the other day. She was crossing in a crosswalk here in Boise, Idaho. She entered the crosswalk lawfully and was on her way when a driver who had been on her right wanted to turn left on the road that she was in. The road she was in was a one-way coming from her right.
The driver looked to his right to make certain that he wouldn’t hit anybody, any other cars, or wouldn’t get struck himself, but did not check to see if the crosswalk was clear. He accelerated hard onto the one-way street. As he did so, he went through the intersection and through this nice young woman. She was terribly injured.
She called, explained the facts of her case, and asked whether we could help. Our answer was yes. She also told us that her father’s business lawyer in Sandpoint, Idaho thought that maybe he could help her. She originally talked to him and realized that this isn’t what he does. It’s not his field of work. She hired the lawyers here at Hepworth Holzer instead. We saw her through to the end.
It’s important that you hire the right lawyer, the right trial lawyer, for your pedestrian accident. Spend time, interview lawyers, and find one that has done these types of cases hundreds if not thousands of times. We look forward to hearing from you.
Differences Between Pedestrian Accidents and Auto Accidents
How is a pedestrian injury claim different than an automobile collision claim in Idaho? The answer is there are many things that are the same and many things that are different, as you know from the fact that it’s a pedestrian claim. There’s generally only one car involved. That’s the car that runs somebody over.
In pedestrian cases, the insurance companies that defend negligent, dangerous drivers are almost universally looking for an out. They will claim that somehow the collision is a result of the pedestrian’s failure to do what they should have done. They’ll claim that a pedestrian wasn’t in a crosswalk. They’ll claim that a pedestrian wasn’t in a crosswalk legally; in other words, that they entered the crosswalk after the sign had changed. They will argue that as a matter of law, certain intersections are not crosswalks and misstate the law when doing so.
Just two years ago, we had a case involving a woman who is now deceased. She was walking to her local 7-1-1 from her neighborhood. Her road made a tee intersection with a busy road here in Boise.
When she came to the sidewalk at the end of her road, she checked both ways. It was clear. She proceeded across the street. As she did so, a young woman just off work, as a waitress in a bar as fate would have it, came up the hill, over the top, and right through this lady who had already cleared three of the four lanes of traffic.
The insurance company claimed that they weren’t going to pay because this sweet, old, now deceased woman was not in a crosswalk. Now, they were right; she was not at a crosswalk that was lined out with white paint and little strips, but as experienced pedestrian injury lawyers would tell you, in Idaho, anytime there’s an intersection of two roads at the corner, there is a presumed crosswalk for pedestrian crossing. We brought that case and put it to them. Experienced trial lawyers like those at Hepworth Holzer can help you recover in your pedestrian injury claim.
Were you or a loved one severely injured after being hit by a vehicle in Boise and have questions about these 3 pedestrian accident tips? Contact experienced Boise Pedestrian Accident Attorneys at Hepworth Holzer today for a free legal consultation and case evaluation.
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