Getting hit by a car while on foot leaves you with injuries no walker is built to absorb, often serious enough to reshape daily life. At Schefman & Associates, we help Detroit pedestrians and their families after these crashes, including the spinal and traumatic brain injuries that regularly follow.
What Makes Pedestrian Accidents More Complex?
Pedestrian accident cases present challenges that typical car crashes do not because a person on foot has little protection against the force of a moving vehicle. The resulting injuries are often severe, and the disputes tend to center on a handful of recurring issues:
- Severe, life-altering injuries
- Disputed right-of-way
- Drivers who flee the scene
- Limited physical evidence
- Aggressive insurance pushback
These hurdles can make a strong case look weaker than it is, especially when an insurer suggests you stepped into traffic. Our firm answers that by reconstructing the scene from signal timing, the point of impact, and nearby surveillance.
Who Is Liable for a Pedestrian Accident?
Fault in a pedestrian crash usually falls on the driver, since motorists owe people on foot a duty to watch for them and yield where required. Detroit’s wide streets, like Michigan Avenue and Grand River Avenue, see frequent conflicts between turning cars and people in the crosswalk. Still, an insurer will often argue that you carry part of the blame.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
Recovery for an injured pedestrian runs along two paths. The first is Michigan no-fault, and MCL 500.3115 sets the order, from your own auto policy down to the state Assigned Claims Plan. A pedestrian struck by a car can collect no-fault benefits, which cover medical bills, attendant care, household service reimbursements, and wage loss, even though they were never inside a vehicle, a right many walkers never realize they have. The insurer must be placed on notice within one year of the collision, and a suit for benefits must be filed within one year from the date any benefit was incurred.
The second path is a claim against the at-fault driver for pain, suffering, and harm that no-fault was never meant to cover, which requires meeting the statutory threshold of serious impairment of body function under MCL 500.3135. If the driver has no insurance, or that coverage is not sufficient for the nature of your injuries, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may be tapped, but the same threshold applies. Because a pedestrian’s injuries are often severe, that claim usually represents the larger share of the recovery.
Trusting Schefman & Associates With Your Pedestrian Accident Claim
Schefman & Associates has more than 60 years of cumulative experience helping pedestrians secure what is rightfully theirs. Our proven track record demonstrates recovering tens of millions for injury victims. Injured walkers come to us for help with the parts of a claim that overwhelm most people:
- Identifying every available insurer
- Documenting the full injury
- Standing up to the adjusters
- Valuing long-term needs
- Preparing the case for trial
Pedestrian claims often involve more than one possible source of payment, and missing one can leave real money unclaimed. Our firm sorts through that layered coverage so the right insurers, not your own savings, carry the cost.
Put Our Detroit Pedestrian Accident Lawyers in Your Corner
Recovering from a pedestrian crash is hard enough without legal fees piling on. Schefman & Associates takes these cases on contingency, so there is no charge unless we secure money for you.
Call (248) 594-2600 or contact us online for a free consultation with our Detroit pedestrian accident lawyers to see what your case may be worth. We handle the insurers while you concentrate on getting better.