Lancaster Pedestrian Accident Attorney
If you have been involved in a pedestrian accident, your life may have been changed forever. Injuries suffered from being hit by a car can be very serious and the recovery long and painful. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 4,000 people a year are killed by vehicles, and more than 70,000 are seriously injured. If you or a loved one has been injured in a pedestrian accident in South Carolina, you need to talk with a trusted attorney about your rights to file a personal injury claim with a pedestrian accident lawyer.
Our legal team at David Blackwell Law has extensive experience handling pedestrian accident claims and helping injured people seek the full compensation needed to move past the devastating experience of being hit by a car. We represent pedestrian accident victims in Lancaster, Indian Land, Heath Springs, Kershaw, Fort Mill, and throughout South Carolina.
If you have been struck by a car and seriously injured, you may be struggling both physically and financially. Many pedestrians are thrown by the impact into the vehicle windshield and sustain head injuries if the car is traveling at a high speed in accidents involving pedestrians. If an automobile, truck or a motorcyclist caused your injuries, you may have a right to seek compensation to cover your medical bills and other expenses or pedestrian injuries. You to contact need an experienced and compassionate South Carolina pedestrian accident lawyer to provide trusted guidance.
Understanding Your Rights After a Pedestrian Accident
South Carolina law gives pedestrians certain rights and responsibilities and gives motorists certain rights and responsibilities.
You have a right to consult with an attorney after a pedestrian accident and to receive a clear understanding of your legal options. You have a right to seek compensation if you have sustained injuries in a pedestrian accident due to a motorist’s inattention or careless driving.
Drivers in South Carolina are expected to drive at safe speeds, remain continuously alert for pedestrians and take every precaution to avoid hitting people on foot. Motorists should drive defensively and expect the unexpected such as a person suddenly stepping out from between parked cars. Many crashes involving pedestrians are caused by distracted drivers who are speeding or not paying adequate attention and fail to see people on foot until it is too late.
Pedestrians in South Carolina include people walking, running, pushing strollers, and those on skateboards, on roller skates and in wheelchairs. Pedestrians are required to use sidewalks when sidewalks are present. Pedestrians should walk on the shoulder of the road facing traffic if no sidewalk is present.
Motorists should be especially alert for pedestrians at intersections, stoplights and crosswalks. Motorists should stop at intersections so as to leave the entire marked crosswalk available for pedestrians. When entering an intersection on a green light, a motorist making a right or left turn at an intersection is legally required by S.C. law to make sure no pedestrians are in the way. Motorists who are turning on green should yield to pedestrians in the cross street.
Pedestrians include people with impaired vision, and disabled people in wheelchairs and using tricycles and quadricycles. Blind pedestrians have special protection under South Carolina law. The law requires drivers to stop and yield the right of way to a pedestrian who has entered a street using a white cane or a guide dog.
Drivers should observe lower posted speed limits in school zones during certain hours when students are arriving and leaving the school grounds. Most pedestrian fatalities involving children occur during school hours. School children may act impulsively and dart into the road without checking for traffic.
Motorists have a responsibility to yield to pedestrians. But pedestrians should not assume a motorist will stop. If you are crossing a crosswalk on foot, you should make sure the motorist stops before stepping in front of the vehicle. Do not assume that the motorist sees you just because you see the vehicle.
Pedestrians need to be able to hear approaching cars and should not wear earphones or headphones in both ears that can mask traffic noise.
