HartfordPedestrian Accident Attorney

Pedestrians face many challenges when walking in Hartford, from aggressive drivers to traffic signals which don’t work. This city doesn’t make pedestrian safety a high enough priority, and countless people are struck every year trying to walk to school or work.

If you’ve been involved in a pedestrian accident, you need a dedicated lawyer representing you. At Tehrani Law Group, we have the expertise needed to reconstruct what happened and identify who is at fault. We can then negotiate a settlement with the at-fault motorist and obtain the compensation you need to move forward with your life. Bringing these claims is challenging. Many insurance adjusters are happy to blame pedestrians for their own accidents, so please contact us today to get started.

Common Pedestrian Injuries

Pedestrians are at risk of suffering very painful injuries in any collision with a motor vehicle. Although the driver might walk away from the crash unharmed, it is the rare pedestrian who can jump up and go about their business. Instead, pedestrians suffer many common injuries due to the impact:

• Fractured leg and pelvic bones
• Road rash
• Contusions
• Sprains and strains
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Brain contusions
• Whiplash
• Back injuries

Injuries will only worsen in time if you do not receive immediate medical care. Unfortunately, many pedestrians are the victims of hit and runs, which means they are left to look after themselves. If you have a phone, call the police and report the accident. Then seek medical attention at the first opportunity.

Pedestrians should feel safe when walking along the road. Most accidents are caused by negligent drivers who are not paying attention to people crossing the street. Negligent motorists can strike or clip a pedestrian because they do not drive with sufficient care.

These are some of the most common accidents:

• Running a red light. A fatigued or distracted driver could fail to stop in time and plow straight into pedestrians in the crosswalk.
• Passing too closely. An impatient motorist might try to squeeze past pedestrians and end up hitting one.
• Speeding. Motorists who travel too fast will end up hitting a pedestrian who is trying to safely get to the other side of the road.
• Drifting onto the shoulder. Pedestrians walking on the shoulder can get hit by a motorist who nods off due to fatigue or is impaired by drugs or alcohol. A distracted motorist can also easily drift onto the shoulder because they are not watching where they are going. 

 Some aggressive drivers drive on the sidewalk or pull directly into a crowd of pedestrians. They know this is dangerous behavior, but they just don’t care.

Compensation for Your Injuries

Our Hartford pedestrian accident lawyer strives to obtain fair compensation for our clients. A claim should seek compensation for certain economic damages:

• Lost income if you can’t work after the crash
• Loss of earning capacity, if you have serious impairments which keep you from returning to work
• Cost of medical treatment
• Expected future medical expenses to treat disabilities, such as future surgeries or at-home help
• Property damage

Connecticut law also allows accident victims to seek compensation for non-economic losses. These are losses that are not easily translatable into dollars and cents but are worthy of compensation nonetheless:

• Mental anguish
• Emotional distress
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Physical pain
• Suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life

The value of these losses is subjective, so your choice of an attorney is important. You can view our case studies of our successful pedestrian accident settlements here.

Connecticut sees an alarmingly high number of pedestrian accidents. The following statistics are cause for concern:

• According to the Crash Repository, there were 2,961 collisions between motor vehicles and pedestrians in the past three years.
• In 2020, Connecticut saw 1.58 pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 people. That rate was higher than for nearby states like New York (1.16) and Massachusetts (0.75).
• Since 2015, an alarming 21% of fatal pedestrian accidents are hit and runs.

Comparative Negligence: Are You Partially to Blame?

Some pedestrians end up contributing to their accidents. For example, you might have thrown yourself into the crosswalk even though there wasn’t enough time to get across. Or you could have been jaywalking because you didn’t want to walk up to the intersection before crossing.

Under Connecticut law, your contributory negligence won’t bar your ability to seek compensation—so long as you are not more than 50% to blame. If you bear the majority of fault, you can’t sue.

Tehrani Law Group will analyze whether you made some mistake which contributed to your accident. We will also work to minimize any negligence on your part. Even if you are less than 50% at fault, your compensation will get reduced proportionally, so a pedestrian who is 35% at fault will only receive 65% of their damages.

An Overview of Pedestrian Accident Cases

We encourage anyone hurt in an accident to contact our firm as soon as possible. We can begin building your legal claim. While you rehab your injuries and try to return to work, we can gather evidence and begin the negotiation process.

Many of our clients ask how long they will have to wait for a settlement. The answer is that each case is different. But this overview will give you some idea of what to expect:

• Evidence gathering. If you took pictures at the accident scene, please share them with your lawyer. Otherwise, your attorney can interview witnesses, search for surveillance video that caught the accident, and inspect the car that hit you. This evidence gathering could take months.
• Review of medical records. Your settlement will depend on the seriousness of your injuries. We review your records and sometimes consult with an expert witness, if necessary, to fully understand your prognosis.
• Demand for compensation. Once we establish who is at fault for an accident, we submit a demand for compensation to the driver and their insurer.
• Negotiation. This back-and-forth process can take several months, especially if there is disagreement about who is at fault. In the best of situations, we can negotiate a settlement in 6-9 months.
• File a lawsuit. Negotiation is not always successful, so we might need to file a lawsuit in court to seek compensation. Unfortunately, litigation can take a year or longer.

Pedestrian accidents leave many victims flat on their backs. Fortunately, it is possible to get better and to obtain meaningful compensation to cover your bills. After a crash, please call Tehrani Law Group to schedule a consultation with our legal team. We can analyze whether you can sue and discuss the next steps to take.