Key Takeaways
- Compensation may cover medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and lasting limitations.
- Crossing outside a crosswalk does not automatically eliminate your right to recover damages.
- Most pedestrian accident lawsuits carry a three-year filing deadline, but exceptions can change that timeline.
If a negligent driver injures you while you are walking, you may recover compensation for medical care, missed earnings, reduced earning capacity, and the physical and emotional effects of your injuries. A South Carolina pedestrian accident lawyer can assess these losses and how fault affects your claim.
Your recovery depends on the evidence supporting both the driver’s responsibility and your damages.
What Damages Are Available After a Pedestrian Accident?
Your personal injury claim may include economic damages, which address financial losses, and non-economic damages, which address harm without a fixed price tag. Depending on your injuries, recoverable losses may include the following:
- Emergency treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, and necessary future medical care.
- Wages you missed during recovery and diminished future earning capacity.
- Physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.
- Permanent impairment and disfigurement.
Punitive damages are a separate category that punish qualifying misconduct, but for punitive claims to succeed, South Carolina requires clear and convincing evidence that the defendant’s willful, wanton, or reckless conduct caused your harm. An ordinary negligence claim does not automatically support this additional award.
How Are Medical Bills and Lost Wages Calculated in a Claim?
Start with itemized medical bills and records that connect your treatment to the collision. Organize charges for hospital visits, imaging, prescriptions, therapy, and follow-up appointments. For anticipated treatment, obtain your provider’s written recommendations and cost estimates rather than relying on your own projections. South Carolina recognizes both reasonably incurred medical expenses and future medical expenses as compensable losses.
To document missed income, gather pay stubs, tax returns, attendance records, and an employer’s confirmation of missed work. (For instance, if you earn $25 per hour and miss 80 scheduled hours, your starting wage calculation would be $2,000. You would still need evidence connecting those missed hours to your injuries.)
“Lost earning capacity” asks whether your injuries reduce your ability to earn money going forward. If you can no longer perform your previous job duties, ask your lawyer what medical and employment documentation can establish that loss.
What if a Pedestrian Was Crossing Outside a Crosswalk?
Crossing outside a crosswalk can affect fault, but it does not automatically defeat your claim. Under South Carolina Code Section 56-5-3150, pedestrians crossing outside a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection generally must yield to vehicles. Between adjacent intersections with operating traffic signals, pedestrians must use a marked crosswalk. However, Section 56-5-3230 still requires drivers to exercise due care to avoid hitting pedestrians.
South Carolina applies modified comparative negligence. Generally, you may recover if your negligence does not exceed the negligence attributable to the defendant or defendants, but your share of fault reduces your damages. If you bear more than half the fault, you generally cannot recover.
For example, if your damages total $100,000 and you bear 20% of the fault, the fault reduction would leave $80,000 before other applicable deductions or collection limits. A pedestrian accident lawyer in South Carolina can examine the crossing location, traffic signals, witness accounts, and available footage when assessing responsibility.
How Long Do You Have to File a Pedestrian Injury Claim in South Carolina?
South Carolina generally allows three years to file a personal injury lawsuit; the period runs from when you knew, or reasonably should have known, that you had a cause of action. For an immediately apparent collision injury, that usually means the accident date.
Claims involving a government entity can follow different rules. Under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, the lawsuit deadline generally is two years after discovery of the loss. Filing a qualifying claim under the Act can extend that period to three years. Ask a lawyer to identify the applicable procedure promptly if a government vehicle or agency may bear responsibility.
Have an attorney calculate your deadline early, including any exceptions that may apply. Do not assume that opening an insurance claim satisfies the deadline for filing a lawsuit.
How a South Carolina Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Values Your Case
A useful valuation connects each requested amount to evidence. Your lawyer can organize bills and wage records, review your prognosis, and document how your injuries affect your work and daily activities. Courts recognize losses that extend beyond current bills, including future care, lasting impairment, and lost enjoyment of life.
Prepare for that review by collecting the following:
- Medical records, treatment recommendations, and itemized bills.
- Employment records and documentation of missed income.
- Photographs, witness contact information, and collision-related correspondence.
- Notes describing pain, mobility limits, and activities you can no longer perform.
If you need a Charleston pedestrian accident lawyer, bring those materials to your initial meeting and ask which parts of your claim need further documentation. Request an explanation of how disputed fault affects the valuation and which future losses remain uncertain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover compensation if I was partly at fault?
Yes, if your share of negligence does not exceed the applicable comparative-fault threshold. Your percentage of responsibility reduces your recovery; fault greater than 50% generally bars recovery.
Can my claim include treatment I will need later?
Yes. South Carolina recognizes future medical expenses as a category of damages. Discuss your anticipated care with your treating providers so your lawyer can evaluate supporting documentation.
Can I seek compensation for pain even if I return to work?
Yes. Pain and suffering address a different loss from missed earnings. Returning to work does not automatically eliminate that category, although the evidence of your recovery and ongoing symptoms matters.
South Carolina Pedestrian Accident Lawyers at Rogers, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman LLC Will Protect Your Legal Rights
If you have been injured in a collision with a moving vehicle, reach out to the South Carolina pedestrian accident lawyers at Rogers, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman LLC. Our experienced legal team can help you navigate the claims process and will fight to secure appropriate compensation. Call us at 843-727-6500 or complete the online form to schedule a free case evaluation. We have offices in Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Aiken, and Columbia, South Carolina, and we serve clients throughout the state.