Pittsburgh Pedestrian Accident Lawyer | Personal Injury Attorneys

Despite advances in safety technology and awareness, pedestrian accidents continue to occur at alarming rates. These accidents are avoidable. When a pedestrian is hit by a car in downtown Pittsburgh or anywhere in the city, the consequences can be life-threatening. The faster the vehicle is moving, the more severe the injuries will be. If you were injured in a pedestrian accident, you will likely be facing significant medical costs, missed time from work, and an uncertain financial future.

As the victim of someone else’s negligent behavior, you shouldn’t have to face these costs on your own. A Pittsburgh personal injury lawyer from Munley Law can help you obtain the compensation you need to recover from your injuries and be made whole again.

$32 Million Wrongful Death

$26 Million Truck Accident

$17.5 Million Car Accident

$12 Million Product Liability

$9 Million Truck Accident

$8 Million Truck Accident

$7.5 Million Auto Accident

$6.9 Million Garbage Truck Accident

$6.5 Million Traumatic Brain Injury

$5 Million Medical Malpractice

$5 Million Bus Accidents

If you or someone you love was struck by a vehicle in Pittsburgh, the pedestrian accident lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys are available to speak with you. Justice is possible; it begins with a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. The consultation is free of charge. We will listen to your story, answer your questions, and explain your rights and options. Call or contact our Pittsburgh personal injury lawyers online today.

What Injuries Could I Sustain After a Pedestrian Accident in Pittsburgh?

Both the impact of being hit by a car and the contact with the road can cause serious or life-threatening injuries.

Traumatic Brain Injuries – Head injuries, including concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are extremely serious. A head injury may be obvious if there are lacerations or fractures to the skull. But closed head injuries like a concussion or brain bleed are not always apparent, especially if the victim does not lose consciousness. However, the force of being struck by a vehicle is enough to cause the brain to strike the interior of the skull wall, resulting in injury or even permanent damage. TBIs can require expensive treatment and take months to recover from. The attorneys at Munley Law are intimately familiar with brain injuries and the many ways they can affect a victim’s life; we will fight to ensure you are fully compensated with the resources necessary to recover and move forward.

Spinal Cord Damage – Spinal cord injuries and other neck and back injuries are not only painful, but they can result in temporary or permanent disability.

Internal Injuries – Pedestrian accident victims can also suffer from internal injuries such as internal bleeding, organ damage, and more.

Broken Bones – The impact of the car can cause a pedestrian to suffer broken bones. Broken bones can require expensive surgeries and lengthy, painful recovery time. They can also cause internal damage to organs.

Road Rash – When a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle, vulnerable and without protection, they can suffer road rash: a condition where friction causes the skin to scrape off. While some road rash is minor and will heal on its own after a few weeks, severe road rash can require skin grafts and cause permanent scarring. Road rash can also become infected and lead to more serious complications.

How Can a Pittsburgh Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Help?

After a pedestrian is struck by a car, truck, bus, or another vehicle, the resulting injuries can be severe. You might think your case is straightforward, but it’s not uncommon for defendants or their insurers to claim that the pedestrian darted into traffic, or was otherwise to blame for getting hit.

Even if the driver concedes that they were at fault, the insurance company is unlikely to offer a sufficient settlement until a lawyer gets involved. It is very important that you do not accept any offer of settlement from the insurance company before speaking with a Pittsburgh pedestrian accident lawyer. In fact, it is in your best interest not to speak with the driver’s insurance company at all. You are not obligated to give them a statement, and your lawyer can communicate with them on your behalf.

While you recover from your injuries, your legal team at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys will work to see that you receive the compensation you deserve for the harm you suffered.

We work with local law enforcement and private investigators and reconstructionists to determine the cause of your accident. We will work with medical experts to review your medical records and calculate the full extent of your economic damages as well as your pain and suffering. We will negotiate with the insurance company to reach a fair settlement, and will prepare to bring your case to trial if necessary.

Our attorneys have won millions of dollars for pedestrians who were injured or killed by a vehicle.

How Do Pittsburgh Pedestrian Accidents Happen?

A pedestrian accident can happen anywhere; at an intersection or crosswalk, in a parking lot, in a residential neighborhood, or on a busy city street. Most pedestrian accidents in Pittsburgh happen within 500 feet of a bus or train stop.

Any number of factors can contribute to a pedestrian accident in Pittsburgh, but driver negligence is a leading cause. Some of the most common causes of pedestrian accidents include:

Driver Distraction

Distracted driving is a ubiquitous problem nationwide. It has become extremely common for drivers to be engaged in multiple cognitive or visual tasks while behind the wheel.

The most common form of distraction, of course, is the mobile phone – including texting, talking, checking social media, using navigation or music streaming apps, and more. But distracted driving can include any activity that takes your mind, eyes, or hands away from the task of driving. While distracted driving is the cause of many car accidents every day, it is especially a problem for pedestrians. A driver looking down at their phone is even less likely to see a pedestrian than they are to notice a large vehicle.

Poor Visibility

Pedestrian accidents are more likely to happen when visibility is low. Twilight and nighttime hours see more pedestrian accidents than during broad daylight. However, darkness does not absolve drivers of responsibility. Rather, reasonable drivers should take extra care when driving at night or at times of low visibility to avoid hitting another vehicle or pedestrian.

Reckless or Aggressive Driving

Other reckless or aggressive driving behaviors like speeding, drunk driving, or fatigued driving can cause a driver to strike a pedestrian. Alcohol, drugs, and drowsiness all impair alertness and reaction time, and excessive speed not only makes it harder to stop for pedestrians but also makes the results of a crash far more serious.

Intersection Design

In some cases, the design or the state of the intersection or crosswalk may create dangerous conditions for pedestrians. The attorneys at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys will investigate to determine if the road design or condition contributed to the crash that caused your injuries.

Pittsburgh pedestrian accident lawyers from Munley Law discussing a case

Pittsburgh Pedestrian Accident FAQs

Q: Does It Matter What Kind of Insurance Coverage I Have as a Pedestrian?

If you have an auto insurance policy, you can look to your own auto insurance PIP coverage for assistance paying your medical bills after being hit by a car. Beyond that, the at-fault driver’s insurance should also provide coverage for your losses.

It is important to know that, in Pennsylvania, your tort option on your auto insurance policy, if you have car insurance, will not affect your ability to sue for compensation. While limited tort policies place limits on the kinds of damages you can seek in a lawsuit, you are effectively exempt from these limitations as a pedestrian and will enjoy the benefits of full tort coverage.

Q: How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit After a Pedestrian Accident?

In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is two years. This means you will have two years from the date of your pedestrian accident to file a lawsuit. What many people don’t realize, however, is that you will need to contact a lawyer much sooner than that.

There are several steps that must be taken before a lawsuit can be filed, and these take time. If you were injured in a pedestrian accident, it is never too soon to speak with a lawyer. The consultation is free, and an attorney can help you understand what you should be doing to protect yourself in the aftermath of such a devastating event.

Q: Do Pedestrians Always Have the Right of Way?

The rights and responsibilities of pedestrians are stated in Pennsylvania’s Vehicle Code. According to Pennsylvania Title 75 Section 3542, in the absence of working traffic control signals, drivers should yield the right of way to pedestrians in a marked crosswalk, or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. However, pedestrians are not permitted to suddenly enter the roadway or the path of a vehicle so as to create a hazard. If a pedestrian wishes to cross the road where there is no intersection or crosswalk, they must yield to vehicles.

Q: Can pedestrians be blamed for a pedestrian accident in Pittsburgh?

It is possible that the defense will attempt to blame you for the pedestrian accident; they may say you stepped into traffic and created a hazard, or that they were unable to stop in time to avoid hitting you. We will look to the police accident report for an indication of how the accident happened. However, if you dispute the facts as they appear in the police report, we can investigate the crash as well.

Furthermore, Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence rule, which states that victims can sue for their injuries as long as they are less than 51% at fault for the incident. Your award would then be reduced according to your share of the blame. A pedestrian accident lawyer at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can explain whether this rule would apply to you and your case.

Q: What If I Was Hit By a Truck or a Bus?

In a busy, industrious city like Pittsburgh, pedestrians share the road with public buses, garbage trucks, delivery trucks, and other large vehicles every day. If you were hit by a truck or bus as a pedestrian, you will need a specific kind of lawyer.

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys is among the few law firms in Allegheny County with extensive commercial vehicle and major transportation case experience. We have dedicated decades of law practice to these special types of cases, and were among the first lawyers in the state to earn board certification in truck accident law. Truck and bus cases differ from regular car accidents in significant ways, and should only be trusted to a law firm with experience and success handling these cases.

Q: What is the Pittsburgh Pedestrian Safety Action Plan?

In 2021, the City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) announced its first Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, identifying the policies and infrastructure improvements required to reduce the number and severity of pedestrian accidents in the city. The plan was formed in response to the fact that Pittsburgh has a large population of people who commute on foot to work each day, and that pedestrians are overrepresented among injury and fatal accident victims in the city. The plan utilizes local crash data to identify and fix critical pedestrian safety issues.

Contact a Top Tier Pittsburgh Pedestrian Accident Lawyer for Free

The pedestrian accident lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys are ready to help you today. Throughout our sixty-year history, we have staked our reputation on our ability to help people through the most difficult times of their lives and make a meaningful difference in their futures. When things go wrong, it’s our job to make things right again.

If you or a family member were hurt in a pedestrian accident, contact Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys. We work on a contingency fee basis, so we only get paid if we win your case. If we are not successful in getting you the compensation you need, you owe us nothing.

Types of Pittsburgh Personal Injury Claims We Handle

There are many different types of personal injury cases. When choosing a Pittsburgh injury lawyer to represent you, it’s important to find someone who has handled cases like yours. Munley Law has successfully secured compensation for victims of the following types of personal injury cases:

Do I Have A Case?

If you think you may have a personal injury case, contact us now for a FREE consultation.

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys

510 Third Avenue
2nd Floor,
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
+14125345133