Pedestrian Accident Lawyer in Miami

Do you need help recovering from a pedestrian accident? Do you feel like the liable parties and insurance companies are ignoring you? You can connect with a pedestrian accident lawyer in Miami to make your voice heard.

Blakeley Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers takes pride in offering streamlined legal services to victims of serious pedestrian accidents. Our Miami personal injury lawyers never sacrifice the quality of their services and have recovered over $275 million for injury victims like you. 

We have 40 years of combined legal experience and are ready to take on the insurance company on your behalf. Schedule a free consultation with us today to discuss your accident and get started on your case. 

Real people. Real cases. A legal team you can trust.

When Should You Contact a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer in Miami?

You have a limited amount of time to act after a pedestrian accident. Miami attorneys can start working with you right away to preserve the evidence needed to file an insurance claim with a relevant provider. By preserving that evidence before an insurer can make it disappear, we can make it easier for you to name a specific party liable for a pedestrian accident.

If you decide to wait to move forward with a personal injury claim against a negligent driver or related party, you’re up against Florida’s personal injury statute of limitations. Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5) allows you to take no more than two years to file a claim against a liable party.

You need your claim to reach the appropriate civil representatives within two years of your accident, or else Florida’s courts can dismiss your request for pedestrian accident compensation without further consideration. The sooner you can schedule a free consultation with our Miami pedestrian accident lawyers, the easier it will be to stay ahead of that deadline.

How Florida’s No-Fault (PIP) Insurance Applies to Pedestrian Accidents

Florida is a no-fault state, so your first source of compensation after a pedestrian accident is usually personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. If you own a vehicle with PIP, your own policy typically pays first. If you don’t, you may be able to claim under a relative’s policy or the PIP coverage of the vehicle that hit you. 

However, PIP insurance will only cover a certain amount of your losses after an injury. If your losses exceed a certain amount, and your injuries are severe enough to qualify, you may need to pursue other avenues to get the compensation you need to get back on your feet.

If your injuries meet Florida’s serious injury threshold, such as a permanent injury, significant scarring, or loss of an important bodily function, you can file a claim directly against the at-fault driver. Our Miami pedestrian accident lawyers can document your injuries and losses, and pursue the compensation the no-fault system leaves out.

What Evidence Do You Need to File a Pedestrian Accident Claim?

If you want to move forward with a pedestrian accident claim via the civil system, you need to meet Florida’s burden of proof and argue that a liable party violated the duty of care that they owed you at the time of your collision. 

Doing so requires evidence. Working with our Miami pedestrian accident attorney lets you connect with professional investigators who can bring together the following types of evidence to support your claim:

• Witness statements
• Photos and video footage of your accident
• Physical debris and records of environmental damage
• Medical bills, property repair invoices, and other financial documents elaborating on your losses
• Police reports
• Statements from emergency responders
• Input from expert witnesses, including medical specialists and accident reconstructionists 

What Losses Can You Include in a Request for Pedestrian Accident Compensation?

The losses you can include in a request for pedestrian accident compensation will vary depending on the cost of your recovery. Our legal team has helped victims of pedestrian accidents ask for settlements that account for their:

• Pain and suffering
• Reduced quality of life
• Emotional distress
• Emergency room expenses
• Additional medical care
• Lost wages or lost benefits
• Property damage

Our Miami pedestrian accident attorneys can calculate the value of your pedestrian accident settlement as we gather evidence of an accident’s impact on your life.

Should You File an Insurance Claim After a Pedestrian Accident?

You may have the right to file an insurance claim with a relevant provider after a collision, provided that you or a liable party has reasonable coverage. Filing an insurance claim will require you to bring forward as much evidence of fault as you would in a personal injury claim.

However, our team recommends that you not move forward with an insurance claim until after you’ve secured representation from an experienced Miami pedestrian accident attorney. Unfortunately, insurers want to do everything in their power to deny you financial support after a pedestrian accident and can twist your words to limit your right to recover.

Relying on an attorney to communicate with an insurer makes it easier to protect yourself from attempts to reduce your right to recover. 

How Can You Fight for Pedestrian Accident Compensation?

Even if you file a personal injury claim against the party responsible for your pedestrian accident, you are not required to go to trial. You can instead work with our legal team to outline your ideal approach to your financial recovery. We will strive to meet your goals through the terms most acceptable to you.

Filing a pedestrian accident claim allows you to summon the party liable for your losses for settlement negotiations. We can stand with you through these proceedings and fight for a liable party to acknowledge the reality of your losses. If they don’t, we can move to present your case to a civil judge. You can count on our representation through the litigation process.

A Miami, FL, pedestrian accident lawyer can also help you negotiate with insurers. If you would prefer to file an insurance claim, you can count on our support while you’re drafting it as well as while communicating with insurance adjusters. Our support can prevent an insurer from misrepresenting the nature of your losses or denying your claim without due consideration.

What if You Were Partly at Fault for the Accident?

Insurance companies often blame pedestrians for jaywalking or crossing outside a crosswalk to lower what they owe. Under Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule (Fla. Stat. § 768.81), the compensation you can seek is reduced by your share of the fault. For example, if your damages total $100,000 and you are found 20% at fault, you could still recover $80,000.

However, if you are found more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover anything. That makes determining your percentage of fault one of the most important matters in your case. 

Our Miami pedestrian accident law firm uses traffic camera footage, witness statements, and accident reconstruction to push back on unfair blame from the insurance company and hold the responsible driver accountable. Reach out to our team today to find out what to do if you are partly to blame for a pedestrian accident and get started on your claim.

What if the Driver Was Uninsured or Fled the Scene?

Florida doesn’t require drivers to carry bodily injury liability coverage, so many motorists in Miami have little or no insurance. If you have uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage on your own auto policy, it may protect you even if you were walking when you were hit by the negligent driver. 

If you were hurt in a hit and run pedestrian accident, call the police right away and tell them what you remember about the car’s color, make, plate number, and direction of travel. 

Our Miami pedestrian accident attorneys can search for surveillance footage and other types of evidence to help identify the driver. Whether the driver is found or not, we’ll help you pursue every available source of compensation.

Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in Miami

Miami’s busy streets and year-round foot traffic make it one of the most dangerous places in Florida to be a pedestrian. Most pedestrian incidents happen because a driver failed to pay attention to their surroundings or follow the rules of the road. Common causes of these accidents include the following:

• Distracted driving, such as texting or using GPS devices to navigate
• Failing to yield at crosswalks
• Speeding
• Drunk driving
• Running red lights or stop signs
• Making right turns on red without checking for people walking
• Backing out of driveways carelessly

These are just a few of the ways these accidents can happen. Our Miami pedestrian accident attorneys will conduct a thorough investigation of your accident to find out how it happened and who should be held responsible. 

Common Injuries in Pedestrian Accidents

Since pedestrians don’t have protection against the force of a car, a low-speed crash can cause serious harm and lasting injuries. Many pedestrian crash victims require long hospital stays and months of recovery time. 

Our Miami pedestrian accident lawyers can help you seek compensation for medical bills and other losses if you’ve suffered one of the following injuries in a pedestrian crash:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and concussions
• Spinal cord injuries 
• Broken bones 
• Internal injuries and bleeding
• Neck and back injuries
• Severe cuts and scarring
• Road rash
• Amputations

What To Do After a Pedestrian Accident

The most important thing to do after an injury is preserve your health. If you need medical attention right away, call an ambulance. Getting treated now will help you avoid further complications and ensure you get the best care possible. If your injuries aren’t too serious and can wait an hour or so, take the following steps to help you claim:

• Call 911 and make sure the police file a report.
• Take down the driver’s insurance and contact details.
• Speak to anyone who saw the accident happen and take down their information.
• Take photos of the vehicle, your surroundings, and any visible bruises or other injuries you’ve sustained.
• Don’t speak to the insurance company, give a recorded statement, or accept a settlement offer before you’ve spoken to a lawyer.
• Don’t apologize or admit fault at the scene of the accident, as insurers can use your words against you later on.
• Hire a skilled pedestrian accident lawyer in Miami ASAP.

Once you’ve taken these steps, you’ll want to seek treatment from a trusted medical professional. It’s important to note that some injuries, like a concussion, can take hours or days to show up. That means just because you aren’t in pain now doesn’t mean you have a clean bill of health. 

Seek care soon and make sure to reach out to an attorney for help with your claim. Depending on the injury you’ve suffered, our team can help you file a concussion injury claim, traumatic brain injury lawsuit, or another type of claim. We tailor your case to the unique injuries and losses you’ve suffered, ensuring you have the best chance of getting exactly what you need.

Our Miami Pedestrian Accident Lawyers Work on Contingency

You don’t have to let financial concerns prevent you from speaking to an experienced lawyer after a pedestrian accident. The legal team with Blakeley Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers operates on a contingency fee basis. This means that we won’t ask you for a deposit before taking your case.

Instead, you can book a free case consultation with our team without worrying about any bills or committing to a specific course of legal action. If you decide to request representation, you won’t have to pay a retainer. We won’t even send you bills for our services while we represent you. We only get paid if we win your case.

Working With Blakeley Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers Can Make Recovering Easier

Working with an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer in Miami in the wake of a collision can make the difference between persistent debt and a fruitful future. 

As South Florida’s most well–known Personal Injury Lawyer, we take pride in making sure that victims of serious accidents have every opportunity to explore their right to compensation and that they have the representation to see their fight through.

You can book a free case consultation with Blakeley Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers to discuss the nature of your recent pedestrian accident and how to demand compensation from liable parties. We are here to make your recovery simpler.