Pedestrians, Vehicles and Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Pedestrians have a lot to fear from negligent drivers. The mass and speed of motor vehicles makes them instantly deadly to pedestrians, in some cases. In others, people end up suffering catastrophic injures because of having been hit by a vehicle. Sometimes, it's possible to sue drivers who take the lives of others through their own negligence.

What is Negligence?

When you're on the road, you have certain expectations placed upon you. These include very basic things. People expect, for instance, that you'll slow down if you see them brake in front of you so that you preserve both their safety and your own. A driver is expected, as another example, to obey traffic lights, signs and school zones. A driver is also expected to avoid certain actions. These would include not stopping suddenly, without signaling and without giving the person behind you adequate time to react. These expectations keep everyone on the road safe.
When drivers fail to live up to these reasonable expectations, they can sometimes be sued successfully for negligence. If a lawsuit is successful, you'll get all or part of an award you're seeking from a jury or from a settlement. A jury can also turn down your claim and the other party isn't required to offer you a settlement if they don't want to.
When drivers hit pedestrians, someone usually ends up getting severely injured or killed. Losses of that kind cannot be made up for, of course, but the money that the families sometimes receive in settlements and jury awards are enough to help them recover from the financial hardships brought on by loss.
Your attorney will have to discuss with you how best to proceed with your wrongful death lawsuit. There's no guarantee that you'll win and, before you have spoken with an attorney, there's no guarantee that any attorney would be interested in arguing your claim. The only way to find out, however, is to speak with an attorney.
A pedestrian accident lawyer may take cases from pedestrians who were struck by vehicles. If you lost a family member because a driver was negligent, you should also speak with a wrongful death lawyer. They may be able to help you by putting together a lawsuit and seeking compensation for what your family was put through due to the negligence of another driver. Contingency agreements are sometimes available and prevent you from having to pay upfront fees.