Have you been injured or lost a loved one in a pedestrian accident in Boston, MA?
You may have the right to pursue compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and the suffering you’ve endured. An experienced Boston pedestrian accident lawyer at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP can help you fight to maximize your settlement or award.
It’s important to begin your pursuit of compensation as soon as you can after you get hurt.
So, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Boston, MA law offices at (774)-214-2515 to arrange a free consultation. We’re always standing by to take your call – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
What Can a Boston Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Do for Me?
While it may be evident to you who is to blame for your pedestrian accident, it is prudent to carefully examine the details of each case to uncover other parties who may be liable for your damages. Looking deeper into your case to establish liable parties is one of the many advantages of hiring a pedestrian accident lawyer.
To ensure your claim has a positive outcome, a Boston pedestrian accident lawyer also:
- Works closely with you to accurately assess the extent of your damages and estimate the maximum compensation that you can recover
- Mediates interactions between you, your insurance company, and other parties involved in the accident
- Defends against attempts to blame you for your injuries and other losses
- Knows what to say and what questions to ask to improve the success of your claim
- Settles your claim before it goes to trial, sparing you a great deal of time and stress
- Listens carefully to your story and provides you with reliable legal advice
- Organizes an independent investigation to evaluate the circumstances surrounding your accident and collect evidence
- Consults experts about the technical aspects related to your case
When you’re trying to put your life back in order following an accident, securing full compensation as quickly as possible is of the utmost importance. Hiring an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer in Boston, MA can help you accomplish this while alleviating some of your burdens.
Our attorneys have more than 100 years of combined experience helping injury victims and their families across the great city of Boston. We have a reputation in New England for being serious and fierce advocates. Insurance companies, opposing counsels, and judges know we take our pedestrian accident cases seriously.
How Our Boston Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help After a Pedestrian Accident
At Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP, our Boston pedestrian accident attorneys have more than 100 years of combined experience helping injury victims and their families across the great city of Boston.
We understand just how important a full and fair financial recovery can be as you work to get back on your feet after being struck by a car.
When you hire our Boston pedestrian accident lawyers to represent you, we will:
- Listen carefully to your story and provide you with the support and legal guidance you need
- Arrange for an independent investigation to evaluate your pedestrian accident from all angles
- Collect evidence to establish your injuries were not your fault
- Consult with legal, accident, and injury experts to ensure we understand the complex and technical aspects of your case
- Negotiate with insurance companies and defend against attempts to blame you for your injuries
We have a reputation in New England for being serious and fierce advocates. Insurance companies, opposing counsels, and judges know we take our cases seriously. If a fair settlement cannot be reached, our award-winning trial lawyers will take your case to trial. Because trials are expensive and unpredictable, insurance companies will want to avoid going to court and will be more likely to negotiate fairly.
Ready to get started? Contact our personal injury lawyers in Boston to arrange your free case evaluation.
How Common Are Pedestrian Accidents in Boston, MA?
According to Vision Zero Boston, there were 56 pedestrian fatalities in 2020, 78 pedestrian fatalities in 2019, and 71 pedestrian fatalities in 2018.
It is difficult to gauge whether 2020 was a true downward trend for pedestrians, as many people were quarantined and not walking during much of the year. Of course, many more people survive pedestrian accidents and suffer serious injuries.
If you know of an area that is dangerous to pedestrians, such as intersections where people are not given enough time to cross the street, or where sidewalks or crosswalks need maintenance, you can report your concerns to the Vision Zero Boston Safety Issues map.
What is My Pedestrian Accident Case Worth?
There are dozens of unique factors that determine the value of a pedestrian accident case.
This includes:
- How much it will cost to treat your injuries – now and in the future
- If your injury interferes with your ability to work and generate an income
- The degree to which your injury and the trauma of the accident affect you emotionally
- How your injury changes the way in which you live your life.
Insurance companies can easily spot a scenario where injuries are serious. They will want to settle a case quickly and may offer a settlement that is the lowest amount that they believe you will accept.
It may be tempting to accept an offer, especially if you are under financial strain. However, you should not accept any compensation without knowing your injuries will affect you for the rest of your life.
How the Value of a Pedestrian Accident Settlement Is Determined
Your total losses determine the value of your settlement. These losses, also referred to as damages, may include economic and non-economic losses you have suffered. Economic losses are those that can be easily measured in dollars. Non-economic losses are difficult to quantify since they include losses that aren’t always monetary.
After your accident, your legal team may include the following losses in an estimate of your settlement’s value, which a jury could award you following a successful trial:
- Medical care
- Mobility aids
- Physical therapy
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of income of future earnings
Depending on the nature of your case, there may be more losses to consider. Suppose the pedestrian accident victim died due to their injuries. In that case, their family might be eligible to file a wrongful death claim to also recover compensation for funeral and burial costs.
When attempting to determine the worth of their case, many pedestrian accident victims fail to examine how extensively the event has affected them. An experienced pedestrian accident lawyer will be able to talk you through all the current and potential expenses you need to consider when estimating your total possible settlement.
What Kind of Damages Are Available to Boston Pedestrian Accident Victims?
Generally, damages available for a pedestrian accident personal injury claim in Massachusetts can include both economic and non-economic awards.
Economic damages are paid to help make you financially whole again after you get hurt, while non-economic damages help to compensate for the intangible, subjective losses you encounter.
This can include money for:
- Medical bills
- Future medical care
- Rehabilitation expenses
- Loss of earnings
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Physical pain and emotional suffering.
If a pedestrian accident in Boston results in a fatality, damages available in a wrongful death claim may include final medical treatment related to the accident, funeral and burial expenses, loss of financial support the victim would have provided their family, and loss of companionship and love.
Can I Recover Compensation If I’m Being Blamed For a Pedestrian Accident in Massachusetts?
Blaming other parties for accidents is a common insurance company tactic. Different states have different rules for how personal injury claims work when more than one party is at fault. These laws are referred to as “comparative fault” or comparative negligence. In the commonwealth of MA, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 231, Section 85 governs contributory negligence.
Recovering compensation is not barred as long as the plaintiff’s negligence is not greater than the defendant’s negligence. This type of rule is known as a 51% rule or “Modified Comparative Fault Rule.” In other words, as long as your share of the blame is equal or less than the other party’s, you may file a claim.
However, keep in mind that your damages will be adjusted to reflect your share of the blame. If you’re 10% at fault, your damages will be reduced by that same amount.
It is likely that the insurance company will try to shift blame to you. An experienced Boston pedestrian accident attorney from Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP, can defend you from blame and advocate for the maximum compensation available.
We’ll Fight to Recover Compensation For All Of Your Boston Pedestrian Accident Injuries
Without a helmet and or any form of protection, pedestrians frequently suffer severe injury when struck by a car, truck, motorcycle, or even a bicycle.
Some of the injuries that may occur after a Boston pedestrian accident include:
- Brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Broken bone injuries
- Blunt force trauma injuries
- Internal injuries
- Abrasions and lacerations.
Our pedestrian accident lawyers in Boston will fight to recover maximum compensation for your injuries. We offer a contingency fee arrangement that allows us to represent you with no legal fees unless we recover money for you. We advance all costs and fees related to your case, and we are only paid for our services if we recover a settlement or verdict.
What Causes Most Pedestrian Accidents in Boston, MA?
Pedestrian accidents often have a number of contributing factors, for example, simultaneously speeding while driving intoxicated. These are not always identifiable on the initial police report.
Some of the main causes of pedestrian accidents include:
- Driving while distracted
- Driving while intoxicated
- Impatient drivers
- Red-light runners
- Failing to look, stop, and yield to pedestrians entering a crosswalk or intersection
- Left-turns into driveways or intersections without looking
- Back-up accidents (often involving young children)
- Disoriented elderly drivers.
Sometimes pedestrians are struck by a motor vehicle when visibility is reduced due to fog, rain, snow, sun glare, or darkness. Drivers must exercise caution when driving in reduced visibility or when roads are contaminated by water, ice, or snow.
A skilled pedestrian accident attorney at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP, can help you review the cause of your accident and determine the cause. We often work with accident reconstructionists, engineers, and other experts to determine the cause of the crash. We handle liability claims for all types of pedestrian accidents, including hit and run accidents.
How Do I Prove Negligence After a Pedestrian Accident in Massachusetts?
Pedestrians are extremely vulnerable to injury or death on the streets and neighborhoods of Boston. In order to successfully recover compensation if you are involved in a pedestrian accident, you must establish that someone else was responsible. This typically involves establishing that another party – a driver, another pedestrian, or a government agency, for example, was negligent.
Negligence involves showing:
- A duty of care was owed to you
- This duty of care was breached
- You suffered an injury or damages
- The defendant’s conduct was a direct and proximate cause of your harm.
Proving negligence is sometimes done by the police report, but not always. When you hire our attorneys, we will arrange an independent investigation into the cause of the crash to determine negligence and liability.
After an accident, insist that police come and take a report. You should never, under any circumstances, agree not to call the police. As soon as possible, after the police have taken a report and you have sought treatment for your injuries, call the personal injury attorneys at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP.
How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit After a Pedestrian Accident in Massachusetts?
Every state has statutory limits, called a statute of limitations, which govern the amount of time you have to file a claim for negligence. In most situations, you have three years following an accident to file a personal injury or wrongful death claim.
You should not wait to file a claim.
Preserving important evidence becomes increasingly difficult as time passes. The best scenario after an accident is to contact a knowledgeable pedestrian and car accident lawyer as soon as possible.
Contact Our Boston, MA Pedestrian Accident Lawyers for a Free Consultation
The Boston pedestrian accident lawyers at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP offer a free consultation to review your case and evaluate your legal rights. We have recovered millions in a car accident and personal injury cases, and are ready to help you. Contact our Boston pedestrian accident attorneys to discuss your case with one of our lawyers.
