Walking is a great form of exercise and a way to commute, particularly under the sunny skies of Largo, FL. Unfortunately, pedestrians are particularly vulnerable to getting hurt by drivers and bikers. Even minor accidents can be severe for a pedestrian.
If you’ve been hurt while walking around Largo, you may be entitled to compensation for your damages. A Largo pedestrian accident lawyer can help you hold the person who caused the accident responsible and get you paid for your expenses and pain and suffering.
Call Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers at (727) 787-2500 or contact us online to learn more about your options and to set up a free consultation.
How Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You After a Pedestrian Accident In Largo
Once you’ve been hurt in a pedestrian accident in Largo, Florida, you only have a limited time to seek compensation. This might feel overwhelming, particularly when dealing with severe injuries or intensive recovery.
Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers can help you manage your legal case while you focus on healing. Our team has recovered over $100 million for our clients since 1996. We pride ourselves on giving each client individualized attention and helping them take back their dignity.
When you hire us to handle your case, we take charge of every detail, including:
- Identifying how the accident happened
- Finding out who is responsible
- Filing insurance claims and negotiating with insurance companies
- Consulting with expert witnesses
- Collecting and organizing evidence
- Requesting your medical records and speaking with your doctors when permissible
- Protecting you from wrongful blame
- Filing a lawsuit and going to trial, if necessary
Our goal is to get you the money you deserve after suffering a traumatic accident. If we can’t settle outside of the courtroom, we will get what you deserve inside the courtroom.
Don’t worry about the cost, our consultations are 100% free. Contact us to speak with a Largo personal injury attorney today.
What Causes Pedestrian Accidents In Largo, FL?
There’s no singular cause of pedestrian accidents in Largo. Instead, there are many different contributing causes and trends that we have identified over the years.
In our experience, most pedestrian accidents in the city are caused by:
- Distracted driving
- Drunk driving
- Aggressive driving
- Speeding
- Ignoring crosswalks or signage
- Improper signage
- Running a red light
- Poor road visibility
- Failing to stop at a stop sign
- Failing to yield
- Unsafe turns
Sometimes pedestrian accidents are caused or exacerbated by multiple different factors, such as speeding and running a red light. Our team will conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident. Then we can understand exactly how it happened and how to win your case.
Who Is Responsible for a Pedestrian Accident In Largo?
It’s rare that a pedestrian accident is purely an accident. Usually, someone acted negligently and created a dangerous situation that caused the crash. In general, the negligent party is the person who is responsible for the damages.
When it comes to pedestrian accidents, the responsible party may be:
- A driver or multiple drivers
- A motorcyclist
- A bicyclist
- A government body
- A car manufacturer
However, Florida has no-fault laws and PIP insurance requirements. This means that you must generally file certain claims before you can seek compensation from the responsible party.
PIP Insurance & No-Fault Laws
Florida law requires all drivers to carry a minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. If you have PIP insurance, you can use it after a pedestrian accident, as well as a traditional car accident.
You must file a claim under your PIP insurance policy before seeking compensation from the responsible party, even if you didn’t cause the accident. However, PIP insurance is usually limited.
PIP insurance only covers up to 80% of your medical expenses and lost wages after your car accident. That is, up to your policy limit. If your damages are more than your policy maximum, you’ll need to file a personal injury lawsuit against seeking the remainder.
Common Injuries Resulting From Pedestrian Accidents
Pedestrian accidents are particularly dangerous. The average weight of a car is over 4,000 pounds. Pedestrians don’t have the benefit of airbags, helmets, and safety features like drivers and bikers on the road. Most pedestrians will suffer severe injuries or even death after getting hit.
For those who survive pedestrian crashes, they will likely experience catastrophic injuries like:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Head injuries
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Internal injuries and organ damage
- Broken and fractured bones
- Amputations
- Burns and severe road rash
Some of these injuries may cause permanent disability or require years of therapeutic recovery. Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers works to help clients get money to access resources and medical treatment to heal after a crash.
How Long Do I Have To File a Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit?
Unfortunately, you can’t wait forever to file a pedestrian accident lawsuit. Florida has a statute of limitations for civil lawsuits. This applies in personal injury cases.
If your accident happened on or before March 23, 2023, then you have a four-year statute of limitations. If your accident happened after March 23, 2023, then you have two years to file your lawsuit.
The purpose of the statute is to make sure that lawsuits are brought promptly. It helps to ensure that you get justice faster, but also that the defendant can prepare to defend themselves. The more time that passes after an accident, the less evidence exists and the harder it is for both parties to prove their case.
Can I Still Recover Money If I Am Blamed For My Injuries?
Sometimes pedestrians are blamed for causing an accident. For example, if a pedestrian is hit while jay-walking or unexpectedly jumping into the road. Fortunately, you can still recover damages for your injuries even if you are blamed for part of the accident.
Florida used to follow a pure comparative negligence law. That meant that you could recover compensation for your injuries no matter how much responsibility you bore for causing an accident. For example, if you were 80% responsible, you could still recover 20% of your damages.
In 2023, Florida switched to a modified comparative negligence law. Under this theory, you cannot recover any money if you are 51% or more responsible for causing an accident. If you are less than 51% responsible, your damages are reduced by your percentage of responsibility.
Our goal is to ensure that you are not blamed for the accident, and if you are, to keep your portion of the blame below 51% so that you can recover damages.
What Damages Are Available in a Pedestrian Accident?
There are many different types of damages available in a pedestrian accident in Largo. Generally, the damages fall into three categories: economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages.
Economic damages are monetary losses associated with an accident. These are easy to calculate because there is a known value and dollar figure. This type of compensation includes:
- Emergency medical bills
- Doctor’s visits
- Cost of surgeries
- Transportation to and from medical care
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Long-term care or in-home care
- Medicine and cost of medical devices (like prosthetics)
Non-economic damages are emotional or psychological losses that happen after an accident. These are harder to calculate because they are not as visible and don’t have a bill associated with them. Examples of non-economic damages are:
- Pain and suffering
- PTSD
- Emotional anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
This type of damage is just as significant as economic damage but is harder to prove.
The last type of damage is punitive damages. These are far less common in pedestrian accident cases. Punitive damages punish the person who caused the crash instead of compensating you for a loss. While you still get the money, its purpose is different.
In Largo, you can only ask for punitive damages if you can prove that the defendant engaged in gross negligence or intentional misconduct. This means that they actually knew that their actions would hurt you, or they acted with a conscious disregard for the safety of others. This is a higher bar than negligence.
A personal injury lawyer can help you determine if you might be able to ask for punitive damages in your case.
Call Us To Speak With a Largo Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
Pedestrian accidents can cause life-altering injuries and financial damage. Our goal is to get you compensation to cover the costs of your treatment and recognize the pain and suffering that you have experienced. You shouldn’t have to pay for the damage that someone else caused.
Since you may only have two years to file a lawsuit, you should call Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers to speak with a Largo pedestrian accident attorney as soon as possible.
Our consultation is 100% free with no strings attached. There’s no risk in hiring us because you don’t need to pay a dime unless and until we win your case. Contact us to learn more about how we can help.
