Chicago Pedestrian Accident Attorney
Is the driver’s insurance company giving you the runaround after you were hit by a car while walking in Chicago?
Maybe they are questioning where you were walking, whether the driver could see you, who had the right-of-way, or how badly you were hurt. Maybe you keep getting transferred, asked for more information, or told they are still “investigating.”
You do not have to accept the insurance company’s version of what happened.
At Goldberg & Goldberg, our trial lawyers investigate the pedestrian accident ourselves. We do not rely on the insurer’s file. We look for video, witnesses, traffic controls, photographs, vehicle evidence, and the other facts that show what happened before impact. And we tell you the truth about what that evidence shows.
When a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle, we want to know what happened in the moments before impact. We look for evidence that can show where the pedestrian was, what the driver was doing, and how the injuries have changed our client’s life.
If you or a loved one was injured while walking, call Goldberg & Goldberg at 312-368-0255 for a free consultation.
What Causes Pedestrian Accidents in Chicago?
A pedestrian accident can happen when a driver fails to see someone on foot, fails to yield, or does not respond safely to traffic conditions. Intersections, crosswalks, parking lots, driveways, and busy Chicago streets can place pedestrians close to moving vehicles.
Driver conduct that may contribute to a pedestrian collision includes:
- Failure to yield: A driver may proceed through a crosswalk or intersection without yielding to a pedestrian.
- Distracted driving: A driver looking at a phone, navigation system, passenger, or another distraction may fail to see you.
- Speeding: Excessive speed can reduce the time available to avoid a collision and increase the force of impact.
- Impaired driving: Alcohol or drugs can affect a driver’s awareness, judgment, and reaction time.
- Unsafe turns: A driver watching approaching traffic may turn without noticing a pedestrian crossing nearby.
- Failure to obey traffic controls: Running a stop sign or red light can place pedestrians crossing the roadway at risk.
A driver may also fail to account for weather, darkness, traffic congestion, or other conditions that require additional care. You may not know what caused the collision from what you saw or remember.
What Injuries Can a Pedestrian Accident Cause?
Pedestrian collisions can cause injuries that require emergency treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, or ongoing medical care. You may be injured by the initial impact with the vehicle, the fall to the roadway, or both.
Common injuries can include:
- Broken bones and fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord, neck, and back injuries
- Internal organ injuries
- Lacerations and soft-tissue injuries
- Amputation or other permanent injuries
Your medical needs may continue after you leave the hospital. You may require follow-up appointments, physical therapy, additional procedures, medication, assistive equipment, or help with activities you previously handled independently.
An injury can also interfere with your employment. You may miss work during treatment or become unable to perform the same physical duties. When an injury causes lasting limitations, the financial effects can continue long after the collision.
Medical records help document your diagnosis, treatment, limitations, and future care needs. Those records can become an important part of showing how the accident affected you.
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How Does Goldberg & Goldberg Build a Pedestrian Accident Case for Trial?
Our pedestrian accident lawyers take the information available after your crash and develop it into a claim that addresses fault, insurance coverage, your injuries, and your losses. You may know where the collision happened and who struck you without knowing what records exist or how the driver’s conduct can be established.
Goldberg & Goldberg handles the legal work required to move your claim forward. Our attorneys can communicate with insurers, identify potentially responsible parties, address disputes over fault, and determine what additional information should be obtained. We also review your medical treatment, time away from work, and other effects of the accident to document the losses associated with your injuries.
Proving how the accident happened is only part of our job. We also have to establish the full extent of your injuries, including how they may affect your health, independence, ability to work, and future. When necessary, we work with medical specialists, accident reconstruction experts, and other professionals to develop the evidence needed to prove your case.
At Goldberg & Goldberg, we prepare serious injury cases with the expectation that we may have to present them to a jury. We do not build cases around what an insurance company is initially willing to offer. We build them around the evidence, the harm you have suffered, and what it will take to pursue full and fair compensation.
What Evidence Can Help Establish Fault After a Pedestrian Accident?
The right records can help show where you and the vehicle were located, what the driver was doing, and what occurred in the seconds before impact. The information available will depend on where the pedestrian accident happened and whether the collision was captured or witnessed.
Video Footage
Traffic cameras, surveillance systems, doorbell cameras, buses, and dashboard cameras may capture the collision or the events leading to it. Video can show the traffic signal, your position in the roadway, the vehicle’s movement, and whether the driver slowed, stopped, or turned before striking you. Because some recordings may be overwritten, identifying potential footage early can be important.
Witness Statements
People who saw the crash may provide details that you could not observe yourself. A witness may have seen the driver speeding, looking away from the road, making an unsafe turn, or failing to yield. Witness accounts can also help clarify disputed details about your location or the traffic signal.
Police Reports
A police report may identify the driver, witnesses, insurance information, and other details gathered at the scene. It can provide a useful starting point for determining what additional records or information may be available.
Photographs and Physical Evidence
Photographs can preserve vehicle damage, road conditions, crosswalk markings, traffic signs, sight lines, and other details that may later change. Damaged clothing or personal property may also provide information about the impact.
Keep any accident-related information already in your possession. Goldberg & Goldberg can identify additional records that may help build your pedestrian injury claim.
Who May Be Responsible for a Pedestrian Accident?
The driver who struck you may be responsible when careless driving caused the collision, but liability depends on the facts. The location of the crash, traffic controls, actions of the driver, and actions of the pedestrian can all require review.
Illinois law contains specific rules governing interactions between motorists and pedestrians. When traffic-control signals are absent or not operating, for example, drivers must stop and yield under specified circumstances to pedestrians crossing within a crosswalk. Illinois law also recognizes duties that pedestrians must follow.
Responsibility should therefore be based on the facts rather than assumptions about who had the right-of-way. The circumstances may show that the driver was speeding, distracted, impaired, turning unsafely, or failing to obey a traffic control.
Other circumstances can require additional investigation. A collision involving a commercial vehicle, rideshare driver, or someone driving for work may raise questions about other parties or insurance coverage.
What if the Driver Claims You Were at Fault?
A driver’s allegation that you caused the collision does not settle the question of responsibility. Fault should be evaluated using the available evidence and the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Illinois law recognizes both marked crosswalks and unmarked crosswalks at intersections in certain situations. It also establishes different rules for pedestrians crossing outside crosswalks. Your location therefore matters, but it is only one factor in determining responsibility.
A dispute over fault may turn on where you were crossing, whether the driver had time to see you, the applicable traffic controls, and the driver’s actions before impact.
Do not assume that you cannot pursue a claim simply because the driver or an insurance company alleges that you contributed to the accident. Your attorney can review the details surrounding the auto accident and determine how Illinois law applies to the facts.
Under Illinois’ modified comparative negligence law, you may still recover compensation if you were partially responsible for the accident, provided your share of fault is not more than 50%. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. If you are found more than 50% responsible, you generally cannot recover damages under this rule. That makes a thorough investigation especially important when an insurance company attempts to shift blame onto an injured pedestrian.
What Compensation May Be Available After a Pedestrian Accident?
Your claim should account for the financial and personal losses caused by the collision. The compensation available depends on your injuries, treatment, ability to work, recovery, and future needs.
Depending on your circumstances, compensation may address:
- Medical expenses and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Disability or disfigurement
- Future medical treatment and care needs
- Other losses supported by the evidence
Medical bills may represent only part of the effect the accident has had on you. An injury may interfere with your ability to work, drive, exercise, care for your family, sleep, or complete ordinary daily activities.
Some injuries create future expenses. You may require additional treatment, therapy, medical equipment, or assistance. If your ability to earn income has changed, that loss may also need to be documented.
At Goldberg & Goldberg, we do not measure the value of your case by your medical bills alone or by what an insurance company is willing to pay. We evaluate how the accident has changed your life, what your future may require, and the full extent of your losses. When the evidence supports substantial damages, we are prepared to pursue them at trial.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pedestrian Injury Cases
Pedestrian accidents often raise questions about circumstances that are not obvious from a police report or insurance claim. These answers address several situations that may affect your next steps after a collision.
What if I Was Hit in an Unmarked Crosswalk?
The absence of painted crosswalk lines does not automatically determine who had the right-of-way. Illinois law recognizes unmarked crosswalks at intersections in certain circumstances. The location of the collision, traffic signals or signs, your position in the roadway, and the driver’s actions should all be reviewed. Those details can help determine which traffic rules applied and whether the driver should have yielded.
What if the Driver Left the Scene After Hitting Me?
You may still have options if the driver left before you could obtain identifying or insurance information. Information gathered at the scene or obtained afterward may help identify the driver and vehicle. An attorney can also identify insurance coverage that may apply when the driver cannot immediately be located.
Can I Have a Pedestrian Accident Claim if I Was Hit in a Parking Lot?
Pedestrian claims are not limited to collisions on public streets or inside crosswalks. Drivers can strike people walking through parking lots, garages, driveways, alleys, and other areas where pedestrians and vehicles share space. Responsibility may depend on the driver’s speed and attention, your location, visibility, traffic patterns, and how vehicles and pedestrians were expected to move through the area.
What if My Injuries Got Worse After the Pedestrian Accident?
Continue documenting your medical care if your symptoms change or become more serious after the collision. Medical records can show when symptoms appeared, how your condition progressed, what treatment you required, and how the injury affected your activities. Keep records related to treatment, medical expenses, missed work, and other consequences that may help document your losses.
What if the Driver Was Turning When They Hit Me?
A turning collision can raise important questions about what the driver could see and whether the driver yielded before entering your path. The direction of the turn, traffic signals, crosswalk location, surrounding vehicles, visibility, and your position when the driver began turning may all matter. These circumstances can help establish whether the driver had an opportunity to see you and avoid the collision.
Talk With Goldberg & Goldberg About Your Pedestrian Injury Case
You may leave a pedestrian collision with injuries but limited information about why the driver hit you or which insurance coverage applies. Goldberg & Goldberg can handle the legal work while you focus on your medical care. We can gather the records needed for your case, address disputes over fault, and document the losses the accident has caused you.
You do not need to reconstruct the collision or gather every record before contacting us. Bring us the information you have, and we can determine what additional steps your case requires.
If you were injured while walking in Chicago, call Goldberg & Goldberg at 312-368-0255 for a free consultation with a pedestrian accident lawyer.
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