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A pedestrian accident in Coeur d’Alene can leave victims facing serious injuries, medical bills, and uncertainty about what to do next. These incidents generally involve a person on foot being injured because of a vehicle, roadway event, or another person’s negligent conduct. A pedestrian accident may involve a car, truck, motorcycle, commercial vehicle, bus, or even a bicycle striking someone who is walking, jogging, standing near a roadway, or crossing a street.
After a pedestrian accident in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, injured individuals should get to a safe location if possible, seek medical attention, report the accident, preserve evidence, and be careful when communicating with insurance companies. These steps are important whether the pedestrian was struck by a car in a crosswalk, hit by a turning vehicle at an intersection, injured in a parking lot collision, or involved in another traffic-related incident while walking.
Coeur d’Alene pedestrian accident lawyers at Craig Swapp & Associates can help investigate how the pedestrian accident occurred and pursue compensation through every legal option when the circumstances support recovery.
If you can move safely, get away from the accident scene and avoid placing yourself at risk of another collision. For serious injuries or an emergency, call 911 and request medical assistance.
Medical evaluation is important even when an injury does not initially seem severe. Pedestrians have little physical protection when struck by motor vehicles, and symptoms associated with concussions, internal injuries, soft-tissue damage, or other trauma may not always be immediately apparent. Medical records can establish when injuries were diagnosed and treated. That documentation may later help connect the injuries and resulting expenses to the pedestrian accident.
Anyone involved in a pedestrian accident should report it to law enforcement when appropriate. The Coeur d’Alene Police Department handles local police services, and its Records Unit processes police reports and public records requests.
An official accident report may document important details such as the people involved, statements, location, and circumstances observed during the response. Afterward, an injured person can request relevant police records from the department.
Evidence at an accident scene can disappear quickly. If your medical condition permits, photograph or record the intersection, crosswalk, traffic lights, road markings, vehicle damage, skid marks, weather and lighting conditions, visible injuries, and anything else that helps show how the pedestrian crash occurred.
Obtain the at-fault party’s identity, insurance information, license plate number of any vehicles involved, and contact information. Witness names and phone numbers can also become important when a pedestrian and driver disagree about who had the right-of-way or how the accident occurred.
Nearby businesses, homes, vehicles, or traffic systems may have cameras that captured the crash. An injury lawyer in Coeur d’Alene can investigate whether relevant video or other evidence exists and take steps to preserve it before it is routinely erased.
Determining what happened requires more than assuming either the pedestrian or motorist was automatically responsible. Under Idaho Code § 49-702, when traffic-control signals are absent or not operating, motorists must yield, slowing or stopping when necessary, to pedestrians crossing within a crosswalk. However, the statute also states that a pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and enter the path of a vehicle that is so close that doing so creates an immediate hazard.
Idaho law also addresses pedestrians crossing outside crosswalks. Under Idaho Code § 49-704, a pedestrian crossing somewhere other than a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection generally must yield the right-of-way to vehicles on the highway.
These rules make the specific facts important. A driver may be liable for failing to yield to someone lawfully using a crosswalk, while questions about shared responsibility can arise when a pedestrian crosses outside a crosswalk, disregards a signal, or enters traffic unexpectedly.
When another party’s negligence causes a pedestrian accident, an injured person may be able to pursue a personal injury lawsuit if the claim cannot be resolved through insurance negotiations.
A pedestrian accident claim generally requires evidence that the defendant owed the pedestrian a duty of reasonable care, breached that duty, caused the accident and resulting injuries, and caused compensable damages. Depending on the circumstances, damages may include medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning ability, pain and suffering, and other accident-related losses.
Idaho also follows a modified comparative negligence rule under Idaho Code § 6-801. An injured person can recover when that person’s responsibility is less than the responsibility of the party from whom recovery is sought, but compensation is reduced according to the injured person’s percentage of fault.
For example, evidence that a driver failed to yield may support the pedestrian’s case, while an insurer may argue that the pedestrian also contributed by crossing improperly. These disputes are one reason careful investigation of pedestrian crashes is important.
Time limits apply even when an injured victim of a pedestrian accident is still receiving treatment or negotiating with an insurance company. Idaho’s personal injury statute of limitations is generally 2 years, as reflected in Idaho Code § 5-219. Certain claims can involve different procedures or deadlines, so you should not assume that the ordinary 2-year period applies identically to every situation.
A serious pedestrian accident injury can involve far more than filing paperwork with an insurer. After a pedestrian accident in Coeur d’Alene, getting medical treatment, reporting the crash, preserving evidence, understanding Idaho’s pedestrian laws, and protecting your legal rights can all affect what happens next.
Craig Swapp & Associates handles pedestrian accidents as part of our personal injury practice and has a Coeur d’Alene office serving injured people in the area. Our team of pedestrian accident attorneys can evaluate liability, document damages, challenge unsupported allegations of pedestrian fault, communicate with insurers, negotiate for an appropriate settlement, and prepare a case for court when litigation becomes necessary. Call us today at 208-215-7938 or contact us using our online form to schedule your free initial consultation.
Written By: Ryan Swapp Legal Review By: Craig Swapp