Huntsville Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

When a pedestrian and a car collide, it goes without saying that the pedestrian is likely to suffer devastating injury or even death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a pedestrian is killed by a motor vehicle approximately every 75 minutes in the United States. If you’ve been hurt in a pedestrian accident, you deserve to find out if you are owed compensation for your damages. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably been injured in a pedestrian accident. You’ve most likely lost pay due to being out of work. You may still be in pain as you struggle to heal. You are probably searching for the right person to help with a pedestrian accident claim. We are here to help. Our firm offers free legal advice. Call our Huntsville pedestrian accident attorney today. Don’t shortchange yourself of the answers you need because you’re concerned you’ll need cash to pay a lawyer up-front. Reach out as soon as you’re able and schedule a free legal consultation.

The Right Attorney Will Help Protect the Value of Your Claim

There are many ways our experienced pedestrian accident attorney can help you protect the value of your claim:

• By identifying all at-fault parties in your claim through a thorough accident investigation
• By finding the proof necessary to connect the responsible party’s negligent behavior and the damages that resulted
• By accurately valuing your claim to ensure you don’t leave money on the table when requesting compensation for your damages
• By handling all communications with the insurance company, to prevent an adjuster from twisting your own words against you to drop the value of your claim
• By helping you review settlement offers, so you can separate the offers worth considering from those that aren’t worth your time
• By putting the insurance company on notice that you can’t be taken advantage of through delay tactics and denials
• By being capable of winning you the award you deserve in court if an adequate settlement is not possible

Having the Right Lawyer Gives You the Gift of Rest and Recovery

When you’ve got the right lawyer handling your claim, you can hand off your claim and get the rest you need, knowing your case is in competent, professional hands. This is crucial when you’re injured because even if you’re normally skilled in handling complex negotiations, right now you need someone to guide you and stand up for you.

How You Can Help Your Claim Succeed

From the moment of your accident there are steps you can take to help protect the value of that claim.

Seek Treatment from a Medical Professional

Make sure that you get to a doctor, no matter how injured or uninjured you feel. Expect your body to be overloaded with adrenaline right after any traumatic event. This is nature’s way of trying to protect you, but it can be counterproductive, if it keeps you from feeling enough pain to realize you need help. If you’ve got internal injuries you are unaware of, such as a head injury or internal bleeding, putting off medical care can put your life at risk. Get checked out no matter how silly you feel for doing so. It can save your life and will protect the value of your claim. If you don’t get an exam and later file a claim, the insurance company is going to point to your failure to seek medical care as proof you weren’t as injured as you claim. If you delay getting checked out, they can suggest any injuries discovered later were from an unrelated injury. Either way, the insurance company ends up with an opportunity to try and lower the value of your claim. Don’t give them the chance; get an exam no matter how you feel after a pedestrian accident.

Make Sure You Stick to Your Treatment Plan

Once you get medical treatment and are released to continue healing as an outpatient, you’ll be given a treatment plan. This is going to consist of all the ways you can help with your own recovery. It might involve medication that you must take, such as antibiotics. It might require stretching, icing, or heating the injury. It could involve physical or occupational therapy. There are many things that may be involved in your treatment plan; likely, it will include a combination of therapies. The important thing is to follow it. Do the things your doctor advises to help you heal, and just as importantly, do not do the things you are advised to hold off on. Avoiding overexertion is very important, because it’s one of the main ways insurance companies succeed in devaluing claims. You may not realize that insurance companies still employ investigators. Until you’ve recovered, assume they may follow you out in public to take video of you doing something you aren’t supposed to be doing. If you’ve got an ankle fracture and they catch you jogging, for example, you’re going to have a problem with your claim. Take your treatment plan very seriously. The insurance company is likely to check up on your social media accounts as well, so even if you end up running that forbidden 5K race in another city, if you put it out on social media, they’ll have proof. Your best bet is to simply stick to the plan. Get the rest you need and don’t overdo it. This will help you recover and maintain the value of your pedestrian accident claim.

Don’t Try and Navigate the Interview with the Insurance Company without Your Lawyer

When the accident report is filed, you should expect a call from the insurance company asking to provide a recorded statement. They may tell you it’s routine and lead you to believe the purpose of the interview is to speed your claim along. The truth is that yes, this interview is “routine;” it’s a routine tactic used by the insurance company to try and obtain damaging information from you that they can use against your claim. It’s not going to help your claim, but it may help the insurance company save money. You are not required to take this call without the guidance of your attorney. Remember that anything you say in this conversation will be turned against the value of your claim, if possible. Your best course of action is to turn over all communications to your Huntsville pedestrian accident attorney. This will ensure that the case is communicated through one consistent voice and that you don’t accidentally provide contradictory or confusing input that can damage your claim.

Don’t Wait to Look for an Attorney

You may not feel up to looking for an attorney. This is understandable, as you’re likely dealing with serious injuries. But the fact remains that you still need to find the right attorney as quickly as possible. Long before you’re at risk of missing the deadline for filing a pedestrian accident claim, you’ve got to be careful not to lose out on critical evidence to support your case. Accident scenes are temporary, and when they get cleared away, evidence can be accidentally misplaced or overlooked. Witnesses will forget details over time, or they may move and become impossible to find. Make sure your attorney can build the strongest possible foundation for your case by beginning their own investigation as quickly as possible. The good news is, finding a lawyer is something you can ask a loved one to help with. They can search online, reviewing websites to find Alabama lawyers with expertise in handling pedestrian accidents. They can then read reviews and check ratings and come back to you with recommendations. You can decide whom they should call to request a free legal consultation on your behalf. Chances are the friend or family member you turn to for help with this will be happy to have a way to help you with your recovery.

Hire the Right Attorney for Your Claim

It’s not enough to hire “an” attorney for your claim. You’ve got to make sure you hire the right attorney. You wouldn’t indiscriminately pick a doctor to perform surgery without making sure that doctor had the right experience to succeed, would you? Though people don’t make this mistake with doctors, they sometimes make the mistake of hiring the first lawyer who’s recommended to them, without regard for whether their experience matches their needs. The fact that all pedestrian accident attorneys are lawyers doesn’t mean all lawyers are pedestrian accident attorneys. Make sure the person you hire is a personal trial injury attorney with experience handling pedestrian accident claims. In addition, trial experience is important. Even though most claims settle before they reach the courtroom, some of them settle because they are being handled by a trial attorney. When the insurance companies see that a claim is being handled by an experienced trial attorney, it’s not uncommon for them to reconsider refusing to settle. No matter which way your claim goes, it’s in your best interests to make sure you’ve got a skilled trial attorney handling your claim. The last thing you want is to be forced into a lowball settlement because you’ve hired a lawyer at a “settlement mill.” Attorneys in settlement mills don’t do trials. Instead, they accept lowball settlement offers and make their money through the sheer volume of transactions, at the expense of accident victims. Attorney Jacob Maples is on a mission to protect accident victims from insurance company abuses. He’s got the experience to know what you’re up against and to help you succeed in your claim.

Alabama Pedestrian Accident Client Story

We are providing the following client story to help give you additional information about pedestrian accident claims. Please read  through it to the end. We’ve changed the client’s name and story details to protect their privacy, but the information is helpful. When you’re finished, please give us a call. We’d love to answer the questions you have about your specific claim in a free legal consultation. Not so long ago on a warm morning in late August, Margaret Dean sat on a bench in the garden of her parents’ Huntsville home, her tiny Yorkie, “The Big Guy”, by her side. “What do you think, Big Guy? Am I doing the right thing?” Margaret asked with a heavy sigh. The minute fireball cocked his head, looking at the house in silence. “I know,” she said. “But what else am I going to do? I knew it was going to need updating, but now it needs a new roof. We just can’t swing it after the lay-off.” They sat for another ten minutes, just looking. It was a lovely house. Margaret had grown up there and had many fond memories. Though she’d gone off to New York to work as an editor after college, she’d returned to Huntsville a few years ago after her divorce. Her return gave her a fresh start and the opportunity to be near her aging parents. The fact that her son Rory was also under four hours away in Atlanta had made the move even more attractive. She’d temporarily moved in with her folks while looking for a job in town. When nothing in town opened up, Margaret ended up accepting a remote position as a contract employee for a publishing firm. The pay was excellent, though she’d had to pay her own health insurance. She took the job, deciding she could continue looking. In the meantime, she was saving on rent by living with her parents. Things went well for almost a year, until her father died suddenly, and her mom’s health quickly went downhill. She remained in their home, grateful the remote work allowed her to care for her mom until she, too, had passed three months ago. Now they were both gone, and she was faced with selling a house she desperately wanted to keep. As she sat with her dog, looking at the crisp, white, clapboard, wrap-around covered porch and Victorian detailing, she couldn’t help but laugh at how she couldn’t wait to leave when she was 19, and now she wished she could stay. When she discovered the amount of repair the house required, Margaret had hoped to make the numbers work through her small inheritance and remote job. And then she’d been laid off. When it rains, it pours. The lay-off hadn’t just shut the door on her dream of keeping her parents’ home. It had knocked it off its hinges. She didn’t have a path forward. Though she’d found freelance work over the past year, she hadn’t found a full-time replacement for her prior income—at least, not in town. A publisher in Atlanta had made an offer that would have been perfect, had it been in Huntsville, or even within commuting distance. But almost three hours each way was out of the question. At least her son was in Atlanta. Hopefully, he’d stay for at least a few years. At 25-years-old, that was far from a sure thing, but it gave her direction. Margaret had finally “called it” the evening before, sending an email in acceptance of the Atlanta job and making an appointment for a realtor to come see the house. He’d been jazzed, telling her he was pretty sure he already had a buyer. Great. “Let’s get moving,” Margaret said, lowering the dog to the ground. “You get to go to doggie daycare for the rest of the week while I pack up the house.” She and The Big Guy headed northeast on Holmes, making their way to the pet sitter. She took a right at White Street, winding around to Clinton, enjoying the mature shade trees and Craftsman and Victorian houses on her way to Andrew Jackson Way. She was taking The Big Guy through the crosswalk at Andrew Jackson when a silver Hyundai made a right turn off Clinton and struck her. Margaret woke up in the hospital with a broken hip, a fractured wrist, and a concussion. She was confused to find her son beside her. “Rory? How’d you get here?” Margaret asked. “The pet sitter called me. Good thing I’m on your emergency call list. You were late arriving, and she called your phone first. The EMT found it in your purse while they were loading you into the ambulance. You kept asking for The Big Guy, and they didn’t know if it was your husband or what,” said Rory with a smile. “When they learned you had a dog with you, they looked around and found him hiding in the bushes. I bet they were surprised The Big Guy was a 3lb Yorkie. He’s okay, by the way. The pet sitter walked over and got him before she called me. I’ll pick him up later.” “Oh, thank God,” said Margaret, exhaling. “I have no memory of the accident. Just crossing the road and then waking up here.” “Well, I’m here now.” Rory smiled, taking her uninjured hand. “We’ll figure it all out, Mom.” A week later, Huntsville pedestrian accident attorney Jacob Maples met with Margaret and Rory in the hospital room. They’d been overwhelmed by Margaret’s injuries and what would be a lengthy recovery. It would be weeks, at least, before Margaret could work again. As a freelancer, her pay had stopped abruptly when she’d been injured, but her bills were piling up. They needed answers.

How much will it cost to hire a lawyer?

When Attorney Maples pulled up a chair, Margaret said, “I’m sorry if I seem rude, but I’ve got to know how much you charge before we move forward. As you probably have guessed, I’m going to be unable to work for a while. I’ve got serious physical therapy to do before I can be mobile again, and I won’t be able to type for at least several weeks.” Attorney Maples nodded reassuringly. “There’s nothing rude about asking that question. I get it all the time because people need to know. The answer is that this legal consultation truly is free, so ask me all your questions. “In addition, it won’t cost you anything out-of-pocket should you choose to retain the firm. We work on a contingency-fee basis, so we front all your case expenses from start to finish. When your case wraps up, you only pay us when we successfully resolve your case.” Rory leaned in. “By ‘front,’ you mean, you cover all the expenses during the case?” he asked. “That’s correct,” said Attorney Maples. “We pay for whatever the case needs as we go, so things like the accident investigation— calling in any accident recreation experts, for example, research, administrative costs, communications with the insurance company. Whatever comes up as we move through the case. Even litigation, should it come to that.” Rory looked at his mom, hitching his brows. “Sounds good to me.” Margaret nodded her agreement.

How much is my pedestrian accident claim worth?

“How much is a claim like this worth?” she asked. “While your accident falls into the area of a pedestrian accident claim, that’s as far as we can generally categorize it. To give you a reliable estimate of your claim’s value, I’ll need to do a thorough accident investigation to determine exactly what happened. “We’ll also need to be crystal clear on your damages. To achieve this, you’ll need to reach maximum medical improvement. This is a fancy way of saying you’ll need to recover as much as you possibly can back to the level of health you were at before the accident. “Reaching maximum medical improvement will also mean you’re through with any surgeries you may need, and the doctors have a clear idea of what any future impact your injuries will have on your life. We’ll be in close communication with your doctors in determining how it’s going and when you’ve reached maximum medical improvement. “When you get there, we’ll know your damages,” said Attorney Maples. “Between the results from the investigation and your damages, we’ll be able to give you a value for your claim that you can believe in.”

How long will my pedestrian accident claim take?

“It’s going to be a while before Mom reaches maximum medical improvement,” said Rory. “Am I right, this means her claim will take at least until she gets to that point?” “Yes,” said Maples, turning back to Margaret. “Once you’re at maximum medical improvement and we determine the value of your claim, we’ll send a demand letter to the insurance company. From that point onward, the way the insurance company responds will determine the case timeline. If they work with us toward a full and fair settlement, we’ll be on our way to wrapping up your claim. But if they refuse to negotiate in good faith, we’ll sue. As you may imagine, going through a trial will draw out the timeline of the claim. “Please try not to worry yourself too much about this possibility, though. I have a great deal of experience in pedestrian accident claims and a record of success both in court and via settlement. I’ll be ready to take this wherever it needs to go to bring you the compensation you deserve. That’s why I must recommend that no matter whom you choose to retain, you hire a personal injury trial lawyer with a winning record in pedestrian accident claims,” said Attorney Maples. “Not all claims end up in court,” he continued. “In fact, most settle. But people who have experienced trial attorneys handling their claims are automatically afforded more respect by the insurance company. They get better negotiation outcomes, which means more compensation. “Having a good trial lawyer makes the insurance company think twice before pushing your claim into a trial. And if you do end up at trial, you’ll know your lawyer is up to the task of taking on the insurance company in the courtroom.” Satisfied with what they’d learned in their free legal consultation, Margaret thanked Attorney Maples for his time and assured him she’d let him know her decision shortly. “Seems like the best way to go,” Rory said after Attorney Maples left. “I don’t know. Everything is so up in the air right now,” said Margaret, shaking her head. “I haven’t even contacted the new job in Atlanta to tell him I’ll be delayed. It’s all mixed up.” “About that,” said Rory. “There’s something I’d planned to call you about the day of the accident, only I ended up coming out and it became secondary to making sure you were okay.” Margaret closed her eyes. “You’re moving out of Atlanta, aren’t you?” she asked. She just couldn’t catch a break. “I am,” said Rory. “I got an unexpected job offer that’s too good to pass up,” he said with a tiny smile. “It’s in Huntsville. I was going to surprise you, but then you said you were taking a job in Atlanta…” “Rory! You little—” Margaret laughed. “I’m going to need a place to stay. Do you think I could rent a room from you?” he asked as she swatted him with her uninjured hand, and they laughed until they cried. Margaret decided to move forward with her pedestrian accident claim. She retained Attorney Maples, and he got her over six times the amount initially offered by the insurance company.

Call our Huntsville Pedestrian Accident Attorney Today

We hope you’ve gained insight from the information we’ve shared. No two claims are the same, however, and we urge you to contact us as soon as you can to schedule your free legal consultation. You deserve compensation for your pedestrian accident damages. We’d like to help you get it.  Let Huntsville pedestrian accident attorney Jacob Maples fight for you.