Maison Law represents pedestrian accident victims at fast food restaurants in California. If you’ve been hurt in a Jersey Mike’s parking lot, our pedestrian accident lawyers can offer guidance and legal support as you try to recover from your injuries. Contact us today for a free consultation to learn more about how we can help you.
Do You Need a Lawyer?
When you walk into or out of a Jersey Mike’s, you probably don’t expect to be in an accident. Yet, these accidents are unfortunately common. But whether or not you need a lawyer depends on the circumstances. If you have minor injuries from the accident, you might not need legal action. But for more serious injuries, our firm’s support can be crucial. We negotiate with insurance companies to get fair settlements, using our expertise to defend your rights. We handle paperwork and protect you from unfair tactics, letting you concentrate on getting better.
Since each pedestrian accident is different, we provide tailored advice in free consultations. Better yet, we work on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you don’t pay anything upfront.
What’s the Claims Process After a Pedestrian Accident?
Being hurt in any accident in California gives you certain rights–so long as your injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence. This is the case in the vast majority of pedestrian accidents at Jersey Mike’s parking lots. The question then involves how the claims process plays out. The answer varies from case to case, but has a general outline involving two main options: filing an insurance claim or filing a personal injury lawsuit.
- Insurance claim – Initially, you submit a claim to the responsible party’s insurance company. They’ll investigate and offer a settlement, often aiming to minimize payouts. Our experienced team can help strengthen your claim and negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf.
- Lawsuit – If the insurance settlement isn’t enough, the next step is filing a personal injury lawsuit. Our lawyers will handle this, representing you in civil court. The lawsuit involves a discovery process, exchanging evidence. If mediation fails, it goes to trial, where a judge and jury decide the final settlement amount.
What are your damages?
The main goal of the claims process is recovering “damages.” This is just the legal term for your losses from the accident. As you might expect, it relates to your physical injuries, but also extends to other intangible losses from the accident. A successful claim can help you recover:
- Medical bills and expenses – These cover all medical costs like hospital bills, doctor’s fees, medications, therapy, and rehab, for both current and future needs due to the accident.
- Lost income – This covers any income lost because of the accident, including recovery time and potential future earnings affected by your injuries.
- Emotional distress – These relate to emotional impact of the accident, like trauma, anxiety, and PTSD. It can include therapy expenses.
- Pain and suffering – These damages are for physical pain and discomfort you went through with the accident, including ongoing issues like chronic pain.
- Reduced quality of life or companionship – These damages reflect the impact on your quality of life, including the inability to do activities you enjoyed and how it affects your relationships with loved ones.
- Punitive damages – These may be awarded in cases of extreme wrongdoing to punish the at-fault party and discourage similar behavior in the future.
Obviously, the claims process is going to differ between cases. At the same time, these damages are going to be available in every claim. It’s just a matter of the extent of your injuries and who is ultimately responsible.
Is Jersey Mike’s Responsible For a Pedestrian Accident?
A big question you’ll need to answer involves who is responsible for your accident. It’s very important to the claims process, because it determines who is legally responsible for paying for your damages, and sets the course of things.
Generally speaking, this responsibility is going to be determined by “negligence.” This refers to the duty of care a person or business has to keep you and others safe.
When the accident happens in a Jersey Mike’s parking lot, it narrows things down considerably. However, Jersey Mike’s isn’t going to be solely responsible (or perhaps not at all), especially when you’re struck by a vehicle. Here’s some of the possible liable parties:
- The driver of the vehicle that hit you.
- The owner of the vehicle if it wasn’t the driver.
- The owner or manager of Jersey Mike’s if their safety measures were lacking.
- The manufacturer of faulty equipment or parts involved in the accident.
- Other negligent pedestrians or individuals involved.
There’s also California’s “comparative negligence” statute, which says that your damages could be reduced by your percentage of fault in the accident. So, if you weren’t paying attention or darted out in front of the car, your recovery will be reduced accordingly. Ultimately, though, it’s going to depend on the circumstances of how the accident happened.
How Do Pedestrian Accidents Happen in Jersey Mike’s Parking Lots?
It’s not all that surprising that pedestrian accidents happen in Jersey Mike’s parking lots. After all, most of these restaurants are in crowded locations with a lot of traffic. While it’s not necessarily surprising, here’s how they usually happen:
- Heavy traffic – Many Jersey Mike’s locations are busy, with numerous vehicles moving around, especially at peak lunch or dinner rush hours. This makes it difficult to maneuver and be aware of pedestrians.
- Distractions – In a Jersey Mike’s parking lot, distractions like searching for spots, phone use, eating or talking to your passengers can take attention away from pedestrians, raising accident risks.
- Parking lot layout – How the parking lot is laid out at Jersey Mike’s affects pedestrian safety. Confusing layouts, narrow lanes, and poor visibility can lead to accidents.
- Poor lighting or maintenance – Poor lighting and maintenance in the parking lot make it hard for drivers to see pedestrians and increase tripping hazards, especially at night.
What Do You Need to Do If You’re in a Pedestrian Accident?
Being in a pedestrian accident at a Jersey Mike’s parking lot–or anywhere else–is very scary. Injuries are almost guaranteed, because you have virtually no protection against even a slow-moving vehicle. While there are ways to try and prevent these accidents, sometimes they’re unavoidable. If you find yourself in one, knowing how to respond is crucial. Here’s what you should do:
- Get medical help – Call 911 immediately for medical assistance. Seek further care at a hospital if your injuries are serious.
- Tell Jersey Mike’s about the accident – Find an employee or the location manager and tell them what happened. They’ll need to take action to help you and make sure no other accidents happen.
- Collect information – Collect contact and insurance details from everyone involved. This will be an important part of your claim.
- Document the scene – Gather evidence by taking photos or videos of the accident scene and any damage to strengthen your case.
- Don’t apologize – Avoid admitting fault or apologizing, as this could be construed as accepting blame and may weaken your case.
You never want to get hurt in any situation, but responding in the right way is vital for not just your claim, but for your health and safety. Prioritize those first, and everything else will take care of itself. And you can always lean on our team for support.
Experienced California Pedestrian Accident Lawyers
When you’re injured in a Jersey Mike’s parking lot, you don’t have to face the situation alone. At Maison Law, our experienced California pedestrian accident lawyers will be there to guide you through the claims process and stand up for your rights. Don’t wait–contact us today for a free consultation.
