Being struck by a vehicle as a pedestrian is one of the most physically devastating things a person can experience. You had no protection. No seatbelt, no steel frame, no airbag. Just your body against a car that weighs thousands of pounds.
The injuries that result — broken bones, head trauma, spinal damage, internal injuries — can require months of treatment and rehabilitation, and sometimes leave permanent effects. If you were struck by a negligent driver while walking in Jackson or anywhere in Mississippi, you deserve full compensation for what you’ve been put through.
Drivers have a duty to protect pedestrians. Mississippi law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and exercise reasonable care around people on foot. When a driver is distracted, speeding, running a light, failing to yield, or impaired, and a pedestrian is hurt as a result, the driver — and potentially other parties — can be held legally responsible.
Common places where pedestrian accidents happen. We see these cases at crosswalks and intersections where drivers aren’t paying attention, in parking lots where drivers back up without looking, near schools and residential areas where traffic should be moving slowly, and in areas with poor lighting where drivers have less visibility. Each situation has its own evidence, its own questions of liability, and its own challenges.
What about shared fault? Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence rule allows you to recover damages even if you’re found partially at fault — say, for crossing outside a designated crosswalk. However, your compensation may be reduced proportionally. Insurance companies will try to pin as much blame on you as they can. I know how to push back on that.
Your claim needs to capture everything. Pedestrian accident injuries are often severe, and the road to recovery is long. A fair claim includes current and future medical treatment, lost income during recovery and beyond, permanent disability or reduced quality of life, pain, suffering, and emotional trauma, and in serious cases, in-home care costs.
You shouldn’t have to fight this alone while you’re trying to heal. Let me take on the insurance companies, deal with the paperwork, and make sure the person responsible is held accountable.
Call Timbs Injury Law at (601) 775-5553. The consultation is free, and I’m here to help.