Bowling Green Pedestrian Accident Attorney

Last year, Ohio was rated the fifth safest state in the nation by the Huffington Post. Unfortunately, this statistic does not translate to pedestrian accidents, which have been on the rise across the state since 2014. This phenomenon is alarming, as pedestrian-motorist collisions tend to result in especially devastating, and often deadly injuries. Fortunately, injured parties who can demonstrate that another person’s negligence was responsible for their accident can recover damages to compensate them for their losses, so if you or a loved one were involved in a pedestrian accident, please contact an experienced Bowling Green pedestrian accident lawyer who can help you seek compensation for your medical expenses.

Bodily Injury Coverage

Under Ohio law, all drivers are required to carry bodily injury coverage, which helps pay for any physical injury sustained by victims in a car accident. This covers all types of car accident-related victims, including pedestrians and cyclists. Drivers must carry at least $25,000 in coverage per person and $50,000 per accident. Unfortunately, not all drivers carry insurance, although they are required to. In these cases, pedestrians can receive compensation from their own uninsured motorist policy, or if their expenses exceed the limits of the at-fault party’s policy, can file a claim in court for damages.

Injured parties in Ohio are eligible to collect both economic and non-economic damages. The former compensate injured parties for calculable losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, and property damage. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, cover more intangible losses, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, and emotional distress. Both play a critical role in helping an injured party move on with his or her life after an accident.

Comparative Negligence

Even when a pedestrian was partially at fault for a wreck, he or she can still pursue compensation. This is because Ohio follows the system of comparative negligence; this means that injured parties will not be prohibited from recovering damages for an accident even if they contributed to it, unless they are more than 51 percent responsible. Otherwise, the amount that they can recover will be reduced by their own percentage of fault in causing the accident.

Time Limits

In Ohio, injured pedestrians only have two years from the date of their accident to file a claim seeking damages for their losses. Those who fail to file by this deadline will almost always have their claim denied by the court, which could mean that they miss out on the opportunity to collect compensation for medical bills and other expenses. This can have devastating consequences for a family faced with mounting medical debt, especially if the injured party is unable to work as a result of his or her injury.

Call Our Bowling Green Legal Team Today

To consult with an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer about your own accident-related questions and concerns, please contact us at Lafferty, Gallagher & Scott, LLC by calling 419-241-5500 today. We are standing by and eager to help you throughout each step of your case.