What to Do if You’ve Been Hit by a Car as a Pedestrian

A study from 2021 showed that more pedestrians were hit by a car in 2020 than in the previous year.

Now that movement has resumed, and we don’t have lockdowns, one can only expect that this has increased even more. While we await new studies, we must do something to prevent a future accident as a pedestrian.

So what do you do if you’re hit by a car while walking? How do you properly punish a negligent driver?

Here’s a comprehensive guide on what to do:

First Thing to Do If You’re Hit By a Car

The first thing you do is get up and give that negligent driver a piece of your mind!

Well, actually, this is what you’re tempted to do but must avoid. Being violent or aggressive can work against you in your defense. Also, you must look after your body first.

Even if you haven’t sustained any serious injuries, you must first call an ambulance. Only medical professionals can assess whether you’ve been seriously injured from a pedestrian accident.

They’ll also provide you with a medical report. This will come in handy later if you need to file a case.

You should also save any prescriptions or other documents that a hospital gives you. All of this might be needed as evidence when you have to file a case.

Speak to the Driver

The driver of the car that hit you should never flee the scene. If they do, you want to try to take a picture of their license plate.

If this isn’t possible, try to remember the make and color of the car. If you can remember the license plate number, description of the driver, etc., this will help the police track him/her down.

If you do speak to the driver, you must exchange contact information with them. You’ll need to keep in touch with them for the duration of the case. 

You’ll also have to let them know beforehand about whether you’ll bring forth a case. You should speak to a lawyer, which we’ll discuss later in the guide, on when to do this.

As we mentioned earlier, you’ll likely be angry after you get hit by a car. This is when you’ll have to exercise restraint. You might get tempted to attack or fight the driver.

But this is a surefire way to harm your case. They can sue you for attacking them.

The severity of your injuries can also get called into question. Even speaking aggressively to them might cause issues for you.

Be calm with them and just exchange contact information. Let them know that you’ll be in touch. Don’t mention a lawsuit until you seek counsel from a personal injury lawyer.

If there are any witnesses, you want to speak to them. Gather their contact information as you might need their help during a court case.

Call the Police

The next step is to call the police. They’ll take down your information and the driver’s information.

They’ll also create a police report and provide both parties with a copy. This police report is one of the most crucial documents in your case. It proves that the incident happened.

It’ll be important to present the police report during your court case. It also shows that there’s a mutual understanding and agreement on the incident for both parties.

Your personal injury lawyer will also ask for this police report. This is the important document that helps bring your case forward.

Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer

The next step is to hire a personal injury lawyer. You can discover more about who they are and how they can help you.

When you hire a personal injury lawyer, you’ll have to engage in a consultation first. You’ll first have to discuss the incident with the lawyer before they proceed with your case.

They’ll decide whether they can fight your case. You’ll also have to assess if you feel at ease working with a particular lawyer.

Your case can take several weeks or even months. You want to make sure that you’ll feel comfortable working with your lawyer for a set duration.

If you have a poor relationship with a personal injury lawyer, you’ll likely lose the case no matter how strong your argument is.

Treat your relationship with your personal injury lawyer as you would any other service provider.

Gathering Additional Evidence

Once you’ve decided to move forward with a lawsuit, your lawyer will start preparing your case. 

To help strengthen your case, you want to gather as much additional evidence as possible. We’ve already mentioned that you’ll need a police report and a medical report.

If you were able to collect contact information from witnesses, you want to pass these details to your lawyer. Your personal injury lawyer will contact these witnesses to get statements.

As a side note, your personal injury lawyer might also call on one or more expert witnesses.

These are experts who understand pedestrian accidents. While they might not have witnessed your accident, they’ll still be able to provide information in your favor.

This is also when you can find any media that captured the incident. If there were several witnesses to your pedestrian accident, they might have taken photos and videos.

This media can help strengthen your case. However, if you get ahold of this media, you must only share it with your lawyer.

They’ll recommend whether it’s admissible in your case or not. You must never share this content on social media. Others might do it and you should discourage them from doing so.

However, you can’t really stop them so don’t let it stress you too much. Nevertheless, having this content of your pedestrian accident can possibly work in your favor.

Document Your Journey

From the date of the pedestrian accident to the date of your court case, you must document your journey. Keep a journal where you write details of how you’ve been feeling.

This might be needed in your court case. This is to determine the severity of your injuries. It can help if you’re trying to make a case for more compensation.

You want to keep track of the following in your journal:

• Which parts of your body have felt pain since the accident?
  • Emphasize how much pain you’ve felt
  • Describe how this pain has made it harder for your daily life
• Are your injuries visible?
  • If so, you might want to take pictures of it
• Describe any bleeding, cuts, abrasions, etc., that you’ve experienced

Keep as many records as you can. You can also record videos of yourself discussing these issues. Keep in mind that such documentation might not always be admissible and can easily be contested.

Nevertheless, documenting your journey can expose the seriousness of your case. It can come in handy if you’re having trouble presenting your case.

Now let’s look at some of the best practices and guidelines for preparing your pedestrian accident case.

Discussing Your Case

You have to remember that you should only discuss your case and accident with your lawyer. 

While you’ll naturally share what happened with friends and family, you have to still be slightly discreet.

Giving too much information can jeopardize your case. In some scenarios, it can cause your case to get dismissed.

Any communication with your lawyer should be discreet. You should also never communicate with the motorist’s insurance provider.

Anything you say to them might get used against you. The slightest slip of the tongue can cause issues for you.

You should never share details about your pedestrian accident or case on social media. In case any local journalists want to discuss your case, you must ignore them.

It’s possible that the incident might get discussed in local media. While you can’t stop this, you shouldn’t provide them with further information.

This can jeopardize your case and in some cases, might be illegal. Especially when the court case begins, you’ll likely not be allowed to speak to the media.

Speaking to Your Lawyer and In Court

You’ll always have to speak to your lawyer throughout the duration of the case. Before the case, you’ll have to provide as much information as you can to your lawyer.

While it should go without saying, you must never lie or fabricate the incident for your lawyer. For example, if your injuries and pain aren’t serious, don’t pretend that they are.

You might wish to lie or fabricate information to strengthen your case. You might think that if your injuries aren’t serious that you might not receive your due compensation.

However, you will get into trouble for committing perjury or trying to embellish or fabricate anything. It will not work in your favor and make things even harder.

You might want to receive $50K in compensation but only receive $25K. However, even if this isn’t sufficient to treat your injuries, you have to accept your fate.

If you try to tell tales to earn higher compensation, it won’t happen. Your case will get dismissed, and you might get punished by the court. It’s also likely that your lawyer will then turn against you for misleading him/her.

Going Forward

We wish you the best with your personal injury lawsuit and hope that you get the compensation you need.

However, the battle is over, but the war isn’t. As we mentioned in the introduction, we have seen a sharp rise in pedestrians hit by a car within one year. We want to make sure we can reduce this as much as possible.

You have to play your part in making sure these issues get reduced as much as possible. There are many steps you can take to ensure your community is safer for pedestrians.

One is to consider speaking to your town’s planning committee. Most of America is made for cars which is why it’s not pedestrian-friendly. Pedestrian accidents are rare in Europe, which is largely not car-centric.

You want to encourage re-designing streets so that there are more pedestrians rather than motorists. This is a lengthy process but perhaps it’s what America needs to do to prevent future pedestrian accidents.

Another thing to do is to encourage safer driving. If you see negligent driving, you need to report it. Speak to your local police station on how to police negligent driving.

You might even want to speak to lawmakers on how to resolve bad driving. For example, your jurisdiction might not punish texting and driving. If it doesn’t, you can lobby for harsher punishments for this behavior.

Likewise, a pedestrian accident can occur due to drunk driving. You can speak to your police to set up stations to test drivers more often to check if they’ve consumed alcohol.

Best Practices for Future Prevention

Now let’s end with the best practices to avoid future pedestrian accidents!

Make sure you never walk while listening to audio content. This is one of the easiest ways for us to become calm and lose focus on walking.

While you’re lost in listening to your favourite song, you might be crossing the street when there’s oncoming traffic!

Likewise, you shouldn’t look at your phone while walking. Focus on crossing the street and look left and right just as you were taught in your youth.

It’s also important that you never walk if you’ve consumed excessive alcohol. It’s always better to call a taxi or ride service to take you to your next destination.

Lastly, make sure you encourage your local schools to hire staff to help the children cross the street while remaining safe.

Prevent Future Pedestrian Accidents

Now you know what to do if you get hit by a car as a pedestrian.

The first thing is to call an ambulance. You must have the paramedics treat you. If you can, call the police as well to receive a report.

If you can speak to the driver, collect their contact information. Make sure you hire a great personal injury lawyer. Use our guide to help you work with the lawyer to win your case.

If you’re not ready to go on your next stroll, you can scroll through our blog to find similar legal guides.