According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 4,092 pedestrians died as a result of motor-vehicle related crashes in 2009.[2]  This is actually a sharp decline from the 4,414 pedestrians killed in 2008, and from the 5,228 pedestrians killed 11 years prior in 1998.[3]  While this decline may appear to be encouraging, a whopping 482 of those pedestrian fatalities in 2009, or 11.8%, occurred in Florida.[4] 

Also according to the statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 59,000 reported pedestrian injuries that occurred as a result of traffic crashes in 2009.[5]  Of those, 7,676, or 13%, were in Florida.[6]

What should you do if you are a pedestrian injured in an accident with an automobile?

1. Call the police: Immediately call the police, or ask for someone at the scene of the crash to call the police.  This is important to be able to obtain an official record of the incident, which should list the parties involved as well as any individuals who may have witnessed the crash.
2. Obtain the personal and insurance information of those involved in the crash: You should obtain the contact and automobile insurance information from any individual(s) who was involved in the crash.  Obtaining this information may ultimately assist you in making a claim for any medical expenses you may incur, or for other damages you may sustain as a result of the crash.
3. Seek medical attention: After an accident you may feel a lot of anxiety, and from the shock of the crash you may not initially feel the extent of the injuries sustained.  It is common for these injuries to surface hours, or even days after the accident.  Even if you do not initially realize these injuries it is important to seek immediate medical attention, especially in a collision involving a motor vehicle versus a pedestrian.

Who will pay the medical expenses of a pedestrian who is involved in a crash with a motor vehicle? 

If you are a pedestrian involved in a crash with a motor vehicle in Florida, you may be concerned about who will pay your medical expenses, and how your medical expenses will be paid.  Florida Statute Section 627.736 mandates how a pedestrian’s medical expenses are to be paid under these circumstances.  Under this Section, the insurance that pays for these expenses is known as Personal Injury Protection (or PIP) coverage.  Every motor vehicle registered in Florida is required to maintain PIP coverage, and this insurance covers you as an injured pedestrian in this scenario as follows:

1. If you own a motor vehicle, your own PIP coverage maintained for that motor vehicle will pay these expenses; or
2. If you do not own a motor vehicle, you may be entitled to PIP coverage from the automobile insurance coverage of a resident relative who owns a motor vehicle; or
3. If you do not own a motor vehicle, or reside with a resident relative who maintains auto insurance coverage under which you are covered, then you may seek PIP coverage from the insurer of the motor vehicle who caused the crash.

Florida Statute Section 627.736(1) also specifically sets forth which expenses incurred as a result of this crash are to be paid.  It requires the payment of 80% of all reasonable expenses for medically necessary medical, surgical, X-ray, dental, and rehabilitative services, including prosthetic devices, and medically necessary ambulance, hospital, and nursing services.  It also requires payment of 60% of the loss of gross wages and loss of earning capacity as a result of injuries caused by the accident.  In addition, you may also qualify for reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred for necessary services that you would have otherwise performed but for the injuries (such as having to hire a cleaning service which you did not require prior to the accident).  Please keep in mind that in Florida these total expenses are paid to a limit of $10,000.00, (although you may purchase additional PIP coverage beyond this requirement). 

It is extremely important to know that in addition to these PIP benefits, as a pedestrian who was injured as a result of a collision with a motor vehicle, you may be entitled to receive other damages from the individual and/or from the insurance company of the individual who caused the crash.  These damages include pain and suffering, additional lost wages and loss of earning capacity, outstanding medical expenses and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred, and  future medical expenses that you may require.

Therefore, if you are a pedestrian who was struck by a motor vehicle, there are specific guidelines governing the payment of medical and related expenses, and you may also be entitled to other damages that result from the crash.  If you were injured, call the lawyers at Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith who have handled many pedestrian accident claims, and can use their vast knowledge and experience to help guide you through the process, protect your interests, and maximize the recovery of all related damages to which you may be entitled.

Reality, of course, is much different from television drama.  Many civil disputes are resolved before a lawsuit is even filed.  Of those that are filed, well over 9 out of 10 are settled without the client ever setting foot in the courthouse.  Florida has a very strong pre-trial mediation program.  This program is mandatory, and no case can go to trial in Florida without first going through the mediation process.  Trained mediators help the parties try to reach a compromise they can live with.  We have had great success in resolving cases through pre-trial mediation.

Of course, not every case settles before trial.  We have found that, after getting over the initial butterflies, our clients almost universally agree that the process is not as bad as they expected.  Palm Beach County is blessed with the finest judiciary in the State of Florida.  Our Judges do not allow the sort of behavior seen on television dramas, and the experience is simply not as nerve-wracking as TV would suggest.

Our lawyers have a vast amount of trial experience. Insurance companies and defense lawyers know this.

Our abilities in the courtroom allow us to resolve most of our cases before trial.  While it might be natural to have feelings against “going to court,” that should never be a reason for not pursuing a valid claim.

Regardless of where you come from, or your legal status in the United States, the courts in Florida recognize that every person has certain protected rights. In Florida, the law recognizes the right to resort to the judicial system when a person has been injured. Regardless of their migratory immigration status, Florida law will not restrict a person from seeking a fair trial to resolve a dispute. In fact, in the great majority of personal injury cases involving persons who are not in this country legally, Florida courts will restrict the insurance companies from communicating to the jury the injured person’s residency status.

Courts in Florida recognize that unless the injured person is attempting to make a claim for loss of future earnings, mentioning that a person is not a legal resident of the United States is of no relevance to the issues to be decided in trial. Furthermore, courts restrict the mentioning of a person’s legal status, as a jury may decide the outcome of the trial on the basis of their bias and not on the evidence presented that supports the merits of the person’s injury case. If you have been injured and need to seek legal redress, you should always speak to an attorney regarding the protection of your rights and the possibilities of seeking judicial assistance to resolve your claim.

In cases where a person has been injured at work, Florida Workers Compensation law is designed to cover all workers, regardless of their legal status in Florida. Eligibility to worker compensation benefits will greatly depend upon the employee’s truthfulness, responsiveness and completeness in the information they provide to their employer when applying for a job. You should note that specific rules apply to cases involving work injuries that should be discussed with an attorney specializing in that area of the law.

Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith, PLLC., has been serving the Palm Beach County community for over 82 years. We are glad to help you understand your case and discuss numerous issues that may relate to your claim of injuries. Please do not hesitate to contact our office to schedule a conference with an attorney that can help you understand your rights.

For the attorney, the process is not new, in fact it is part of his job.  On the other hand, for the client, the process is typically new.  It is not uncommon for the client to have some reservations about retaining an attorney.  Sometimes, they state “but I am not the kind of person who sues…”.  These preconceived notions about the “kind of person who sues” are misguided.  Each year, the insurance industry spends large sums of money in an attempt to poison the general public’s opinion of injury victims and their attorneys.  Unfortunately, whenever a potential client states that he is not the “kind of person who sues”, it shows that the insurance industry’s smear tactics are working.

Attorneys who represent injury victims due so on a contingency basis.  This means that they do not get paid until, and unless, a settlement is reached or an award is made in court.  The attorney not only invests his time into the case, he also invests his money in order to prosecute the action.  Much like his time, he will not get him money back either unless there is a successful recovery.  In the event a case proceeds into litigation, there also may be financial risks to the client.   As a result, attorneys must be careful in their case selection.  For obvious ethical reasons, we do not handle frivolous cases.  Moreover, it simply makes no sense for an attorney, or his client, to risk their time, and money, to proceed with a claim that does not have merit. 

So, who is the “kind of person who sues”?  Generally, it is an innocent victim whose life has been forever altered due to the fault of another.  It may be a person on their way to church who was hit by a drunk driver.  It may be a person who lost a limb due to a product that was defectively manufactured because a company was trying to save a few pennies.  It may be an elderly person who died in a nursing home because the staff did not care enough to make sure that the resident obtained enough liquids to prevent death by dehydration.  It may be a young man, who was deprived of oxygen in the hospital, and rendered brain dead, because the staff failed to monitor him.  It may be a mother whose young child was tragically killed because a shopping center did not care enough, for the very customers they relied upon to make a living, to have security in place.  These are the kinds of people who sue – innocent victims, whose lives have been forever tragically altered, due to the neglect or outright recklessness of another.

Which of these victims files a lawsuit?  Those that continue to be victimized, long after the underlying trauma, by the actions of insurance carriers.  We are able to resolve many of our clients’ claims without the necessity of filing a lawsuit.  Often, we reach a fair and just resolution of our clients’ claims by negotiating directly with the insurance carriers.  Unfortunately, some companies choose to play hard ball.  When this occurs, we will file a lawsuit and aggressive prosecute the claim to protect our clients’ rights.  These are the type of people who sue.