Free Consultation
No Win, No Fee
Free Consultation
No Win, No Fee
Every year, thousands of people get hurt in Utah pedestrian accidents. These accidents often happen because drivers are not careful. Many pedestrian accident victims face big medical expenses and lost wages. Car accidents with pedestrians change lives forever.
You need to understand negligence to get money after a pedestrian accident. Negligence is the main reason for most personal injury claims. It shows who is responsible for your injuries and damages. Negligence occurs when drivers don't watch out for people walking.
This guide shows how negligence affects Utah pedestrian accident cases. At Reshlaw Accident & Injury, we help people who get hurt. We fight to get you the most money possible in Utah and Salt Lake City.
Negligence is the legal reason for most pedestrian accident claims. It shows who should pay for your injuries. When we look at your Utah pedestrian accident case, we prove that careless actions hurt you. This helps us get you money for medical expenses and property damage.
Pedestrian accident cases are hard to prove negligence. Many people might share the blame for the traffic accident. You need to know comparative negligence Utah law if you get hurt. We help you through the legal process and fight for your personal injury claim.
Utah law says negligence has four main parts in personal injury cases:
Duty of care - The other person had to keep you safe
Breach of duty - They broke that duty by being careless, like a driver speeding
Causation - Their careless acts caused your auto accident and severe injuries
Damages - You got hurt and have medical bills and non-economic damages
Negligence means careless mistakes that people might avoid. Examples are looking away for a moment or not following traffic laws. Recklessness means someone doesn't care about safety at all. This includes drunk driving. Both the driver and the pedestrian can cause situations where negligence occurs.
We must prove negligence by finding evidence for your negligence claim. This includes several key types of proof:
Official police report papers
Stories from people who saw the accident scene
Video footage and expert talks about the accident
A good Utah pedestrian accident attorney knows what proof to find. We show you the right way to get your compensation.
You need to know the different ways people can be careless in pedestrian accidents. Drivers, walkers, and city workers can all cause accidents. Many types of careless acts often happen together. By finding all the careless people, we get money from every at-fault party. We build strong personal injury claims against all responsible parties.
Driver speeding is one of the biggest causes of pedestrian accidents. It makes drivers slower to react. It also makes crashes much worse when accidents happen.
Distracted driving creates big dangers for people walking. These include:
Texting while driving
Eating behind the wheel
Using GPS systems
Talking on the phone
These careless acts break the duty drivers have to drive their vehicles safely. Not letting pedestrians go first is another big cause of Utah pedestrian accidents.
Walking can also cause accidents, such as being careless sometimes. This doesn't stop you from getting money for your personal injury claim. Common examples are crossing streets in the wrong places or going against signals. Utah follows comparative negligence rules that change how much money you get. Even if you made a mistake, you might still get a lot of money back.
City governments must keep roads safe for pedestrian accident victims. This includes several important safety things:
Good lighting at corners
Clear crosswalk marks
The right traffic signals
Fixed sidewalks
When cities don't fix dangerous corners, they might have to pay. Getting money from government negligence claims is hard in personal injury cases.
Finding out about negligence affects every part of your case. This includes talking about settlements and possible court results for personal injury lawsuits. Insurance companies look at negligence when they check your personal injury claim. How much blame each person gets decides the final amount of money. Knowing the comparative negligence Utah rules helps you make smart legal choices.
Utah uses a modified comparative negligence rule with special rules. You can get money if your blame doesn't go over 50% of the total blame. This modified comparative negligence system really affects pedestrian accident cases.
Here's how blame percentages work:
30% pedestrian blame = 70% money back
40% pedestrian blame = 60% money back
50% pedestrian blame = 50% money back
Over 50% pedestrian blame = No money back
A $100,000 award with 30% blame would give you $70,000 after taking away the blame part.
Insurance companies try hard to blame pedestrian accident victims. They say the victims were not paying attention or wearing dark clothes. The driver's insurance company uses these tricks to pay less money. We fight these tricks with careful investigation and expert talks. Our goal is to show proof that makes your blame percentage smaller.
In very sad cases where careless acts cause death, families can file wrongful death claims. These personal injury lawsuits let family members get money. Utah law lets spouses, children, and parents file these legal claims. We help families get money for their terrible losses.
A good investigation is the main part of proving negligence in personal injury cases. Quick action is needed to save important proof from the accident scene. Important proof, like video footage, goes away fast after accidents happen. We start looking into your Utah pedestrian accident case right away to save vital information. Working with accident reconstruction specialists helps us build stronger negligence claims.
Important proof for personal injury claims includes several key parts:
Physical Proof:
Official police report papers
Photos from the accident scene
Car damage check
Skid marks and broken pieces
Witness Information:
Contact info for all people who saw it
Written stories from people who watched
Video talks are possible
Technical Proof:
Security or dashcam footage
Cell phone records show the driver not paying attention
Traffic camera videos
This proof shows exactly what happened during the crash.
Breaking Utah traffic laws creates a presumption of negligence in personal injury cases. When drivers go too fast or run red lights, these brakes give clear proof. Not following traffic laws makes your pedestrian accident claim much stronger. Special pedestrian laws protect victims at crosswalks and corners. Utah law says drivers must be extra careful when people are walking.
Our investigation process includes a full analysis of your Utah pedestrian accident case. We work with accident reconstruction specialists who recreate the crash details. A review of medical records helps show how severe your injuries are. Discovery procedures find more proof supporting your personal injury claim.
Most pedestrian accidents happen from careless acts rather than malicious acts by drivers. Some cases have deliberate or very reckless behavior that goes beyond ordinary careless acts. Knowing this difference matters because mean acts might allow punitive damages. These extra damages go beyond normal money for medical expenses and lost wages. The legal results are very different between careless accidents and intentional harm.
Drunk driving, road rage incidents, and street racing often go beyond ordinary careless levels. These extreme behaviors show a conscious disregard for pedestrian safety in traffic accidents.
Reckless driving behaviors include:
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
Angry driving and road rage
Street racing in areas with people
Running red lights on purpose
Such actions often cause worse injuries, including head trauma, to pedestrian accident victims. When a driver conducts themselves in a reckless or intentionally harmful manner, Utah law may allow punitive damages.
Civil liability for mean acts often allows broader damages, including punitive awards. Personal injury cases usually limit money to actual losses from careless acts. Criminal charges may apply in cases involving drunk driving or hit-and-run incidents. Criminal court doesn't replace your civil personal injury lawsuit for money.
Insurance companies always try to blame pedestrian accident victims. They use these tricks to pay less money. Knowing common defense tricks helps you get ready for talks with the driver's insurance company. Proper legal representation becomes very important when facing these tricks. We know how to fight insurance company defenses well.
Common insurance company tricks include saying victims were crossing wrong or not paying attention. They might say you didn't seek medical attention fast enough after the accident occurred.
Insurance companies often blame people walking by, saying:
You wore dark clothes at night
You crossed outside of marked areas
You were looking at your phone
You accepted the risk by walking near traffic
The auto insurance policyholders' representatives use these arguments to pay less money. We fight these arguments by finding proof showing the driver's main responsibility.
Blame sharing becomes a big talking point in settlement discussions with insurance companies. The driver's insurance company pushes for higher pedestrian blame percentages to pay less money. We use proof and expert opinions to make your blame smaller. Our talking approach focuses on showing strong proof of the driver's negligence. This helps injured pedestrians get the right money for medical expenses and emotional trauma.
Assumptions of risk defenses say that people walking voluntarily accept traffic dangers. Insurance companies say that walking near roads means you accept the risk. We fight these arguments by showing that ordinary walking activities don't mean the assumption of risk. This is especially true when drivers break traffic laws or don't use reasonable care.
Hard negligence law needs professional legal expertise to navigate successfully. Handling pedestrian accident cases means dealing with experienced insurance company legal teams.
Our legal services include:
Full case investigation
Finding proof from many sources
Working with medical professionals
Coordinating with accident reconstruction specialists
Strong advocacy during the legal process
Our Utah pedestrian accident lawyer understands the hard parts of these cases. We focus on getting maximum compensation for pedestrian accident victims.
We bring lots of trial experience to every Utah pedestrian accident case we handle. This combination lets us get good settlements when possible. When insurance companies refuse fair offers, we get excellent trial results. At Reshlaw Accident & Injury, we've dedicated our practice to helping injured pedestrians recover damages.
Utah's statute of limitations gives you a limited time to file your personal injury lawsuit. Quick legal action becomes very important to keep your right to money. Waiting too long can result in lost proof and missed deadlines. This stops you from seeking fair compensation to cover medical expenses and other damages. We offer free consultation to all pedestrian accident victims with no fees unless we win.
This lets you understand your legal options without financial risk. You get experienced representation throughout the entire legal process for your personal injury claim. Our team helps you seek medical attention and pursue a fair settlement for your injuries. We understand how important it is to help victims recover both economic and non-economic damages.
Call Reshlaw Accident & Injury today for your private, free case evaluation. Learn how we can help you pursue maximum compensation for your Utah pedestrian accident case. Our experienced personal injury lawyer is ready to fight for your rights. We hold careless parties accountable and help you seek compensation for all damages.
