What To Do After You’re Injured In A Pedestrian Car Accident
Monty Desai | Partner & Attorney
Over 5,000 pedestrians are killed in car accidents every year across the U.S., and another 130,000 are injured, according to the CDC[1]. South Carolina was ranked #3 most dangerous state for pedestrians according to 2014 data from the NHTSA. With the number of pedestrian-car accidents so high, it is smart to know what steps you should take if you or a loved one are ever hit by a car in South Carolina.
What to do if you’re hit by a car
As in a car-car accident, in a pedestrian-car accident you should take the following steps:
- Get immediate medical help. If you are incapacitated, ask a bystander to call 911 to the scene.
- Call the police. They will collect information and write a report. In your statement to police officers, stick to the facts. Do not say that you feel fine, even if you do.
- Collect the driver’s information. The police will have collected this information, but you should gather it too. Get the driver’s name and insurance information. If the accident was a hit and run, report anything you remember about the car to police officers and ask bystanders to do the same.
- Record the details of the accident. Use the voice recorder feature of your phone or write down everything you remember about the accident as soon as you are able to. You may lose memory of the moments surrounding the accident; this is common. If this happens, it is important to ask bystanders to record what they saw.
- Get continued medical help. In the days and weeks after the accident, follow your doctor’s care or treatment plan and be sure to follow up with care instructions and visits. Record any new symptoms that appear. Remember that some symptoms, like whiplash and traumatic brain injury (including concussion), may take several days to appear.
- Contact a personal injury attorney. Speak with a personal injury attorney to discuss your legal rights, help you build your case and receive fair compensation.
What if you believe the accident was partly your fault? Contact an attorney anyway. South Carolina is a “comparative negligence” state, meaning you may still be entitled to compensation if it is found the driver was more responsible for the accident than you were.
Talk to the Personal Injury Attorneys of The Carolina Law Group Today
One main difference between car-car accidents and pedestrian-car accidents is that because the pedestrian is hit without the protection of a car there is almost always significant bodily injury in a pedestrian-car accident. This is not always true for car-car accidents, where many accidents (such as fender benders) result in property damage only.
Because of the high possibility of personal injury, you should speak with experienced personal injury attorneys like those at The Carolina Law Group. Schedule your free consultation today. Call one of the numbers below or fill out this contact form.
The Carolina Law Group has four offices in upstate South Carolina for your convenience: Greenville (principal office; call 864.312.4444), West Greenville (864.312.4444), Greer (principal office; call 864.757.5555), and Spartanburg. Call today.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/pedestrian_safety/index.html