The Losses Victims Can Recover Through a Pedestrian Accident Case

Accidents are alarmingly common. But one of the most devastating accidents is those when a pedestrian is involved.

Unlike others on the road—trucks, cars, motorcycles, etc.—pedestrians do not have any gear to protect them from the blow of being in an accident.

Pedestrian accidents often lead to severe injuries, trauma, and financial burdens. While turning back time is not possible to prevent such accidents, the best one can do is to get justice and compensation for the harm done to them.

Victims can file a claim with the help of pedestrian accident lawyers and get the compensation they deserve.

This blog explores the various damages a pedestrian accident claim compensation can cover.

Types of Losses Victims Can Recover

A pedestrian who has sustained injuries in an accident is eligible for compensation for economic and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are the compensation for the tangible losses a victim has faced. The victim of a pedestrian accident can avail the following economic damages:

Medical Expenses

As pedestrians are among the most vulnerable parties involved in an accident, they are likely to sustain severe injuries. When a person sustains several injuries that could be life-threatening, they will require various tests, checkups, treatments, surgeries, therapy, etc., which can lead to mounting medical bills. Luckily, the pedestrian can get compensation to cover all their accumulated and future medical bills for treating the damages caused by the accident.

Lost Wages and Reduced Earning Capacity

When a person gets involved in an accident, they are likely to need a few days off to recover from the pain and trauma caused by the accident. But, in case of pedestrian accidents, where they are likely to sustain severe injuries, they might require a significant time to recover completely or to go for routine procedures. However, missing so many days of work can cause financial strain due to lost wages, which is why victims can claim compensation for the wages they lost due to the damages caused by the accident.

Also, in instances where the victim is not able to return to the same stream of work, have the same type of career growth that they could have had if not for the accident, or can never return to work, they can get compensation for the same.

Property Damage

Pedestrians are likely to have some sort of property damaged due to the collision, such as damage to their phone, watch, bag, laptop, jewelry, etc. As these are damages related to the accident, they can claim damages for them. Depending on the extent of damage done to their property, victims can get compensation to either repair or replace it.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are the monetary compensation provided for the intangible losses faced by the victim. Some non-economic damages the victim can claim compensation for following a pedestrian accident are:

Pain and Suffering

Pain and suffering refer to the physical pain and the emotional suffering the victim experiences due to the accident. Although the pain and suffering one feels after an accident can depend from person to person, can be difficult to account for, and does not get rid of the said pain and suffering, the judicial system has established methods to calculate it, and it is a compensation and acknowledgment of the same.

Loss of Consortium

The word ‘consortium’ means association, so loss of consortium means loss of association. Loss of consortium is a compensation that is awarded to the victim’s loved ones, such as their partner, children, and parents. However, in most states, it is only awarded to the spouse of the victim.

Loss of consortium is meant to compensate the victim’s spouse for the loss of companionship and other benefits that they had as the victim’s spouse, such as affection, support, and intimacy.

Wrongful Death Damages 

In cases where the accident led to the demise of the victim, their surviving family members can claim compensation for their loved one’s wrongful death. Wrongful death compensation can cover the expenses of the funeral and burial costs as financial support for the family, especially if the deceased was the provider of the family.