While there are around 74,000 people hit by another vehicle in the United States each year, you probably don’t think you’re going to be one of them. If you are, you might be in a situation where you want to seek compensation to help cover your medical expenses or lost wages. This is particularly true if you had a bad accident or suffered a serious injury and are looking for long-term reparations.
Some of the most common car-related injuries might surprise you. A third of traffic accidents, for example, involve pedestrians. These pedestrians may be behind the vehicle when it backs up, for instance, a situation that leads to around 14 percent of accidents. In these situations, a person behind the vehicle is hit or backed over, causing him or her severe injuries.
Other pedestrian injuries can occur at crosswalks if drivers don’t slow or stop at the intersection, in parking lots and other locations. Pedestrians have little in the way of protection, so they are more likely to be seriously injured when hit.
Other injuries can be caused by flying cargo. Here’s a situation in which this might occur. If you were driving when you were hit, but a passenger was using an electronic device like a phone, then that device might get dropped during the impact. Then, it has the potential to fly around the car, bouncing off anything it comes into contact with. While a phone might only cause some bumps and bruises, more dangerous items such as sharp knives or sharpened pencils, can cause serious harm or kill passengers.
In all of these cases, the person who caused the accident should be held responsible for the expenses accrued. Whether those expenses are lost wages, medical bills or other fees or monetary needs, you may be able to recover them through a claim.
Source: Forbes, “Most Common Car-Related Injuries,” Hannah Elliott, accessed Dec. 28, 2016
