Pedestrian Accident Claim Lawyers

If you have been hit by a car as a pedestrian in New South Wales, you may be entitled to claim compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and, for more serious injuries, a lump sum payment. This is true even if you think the accident was partly your fault. As experienced pedestrian accident lawyers, Burke Mead can guide you through the claim process, deal with the CTP insurer on your behalf, and help you secure the compensation you deserve.

The moments after being hit by a car can feel chaotic and frightening. The following steps will protect both your health and your compensation claim.

Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries

Pedestrian accident injuries are often serious. When a person is hit by a car, bus, taxi, or truck, there is no crumple zone, no seatbelt, and nothing between the pedestrian and the vehicle. Two things matter for a pedestrian injury claim: where the vehicle first struck you, and the injuries nobody else can see.

• Head injuries and traumatic brain injury (the most common serious injury among injured pedestrians admitted to Australian major trauma centres)
• Neck injuries and back injuries
• Spinal injuries
• Broken bones and fractures, particularly to the hip, pelvis, and lower limbs where the primary impact from a car typically occurs
• Internal organ damage
• Cuts, lacerations, and scarring
• Soft tissue injuries, including strains, sprains, and bruising

Psychological injury deserves the same attention as physical injuries. Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety are recognised mental health injuries under NSW law and are compensable in a personal injury claim.

Special Circumstances in Pedestrian Accident Claims

Some pedestrian accident claims have added layers that change what you can claim and how they should be handled.

Hit While Working: CTP and Workers’ Compensation

If the accident occurred while you were working, or travelling to or from work, you may have both a CTP claim and a workers’ compensation claim. The two schemes run under different rules, and the order in which they are handled affects what you receive.

Hit and Run or Unidentified Driver

If the driver fails to stop, or the vehicle is uninsured or cannot be traced, a hit-and-run accident claim can be made against the Nominal Defendant, a body that stands in place of an insurer when no vehicle is identified.

Being partly at fault reduces a claim; it does not automatically end one. Where the injured person is partly responsible, damages are reduced by the percentage the court or the Personal Injury Commission considers just and equitable (section 4.17(3)).

If a Child Was Hit

If your child was hit by a car, statutory benefits for treatment, care, and lost earnings are payable whether or not anyone was at fault. The scheme includes a further protection for children: the 52-week cut-off that can apply to an adult found mostly at fault does not apply to a person aged 16 or under at the time of the accident (section 3.28(1)(a)).

Fatal Pedestrian Accidents

In fatal pedestrian accidents, dependants may be entitled to claim pedestrian accident compensation for financial loss, funeral expenses, and other losses arising from the death.