Maison Law represents runners who are struck by careless drivers on San Luis Obispo streets. Our runner injury lawyers go to work immediately and focus on holding careless drivers responsible for every recovery cost for victims. We want runners to get the best care possible and to get back on their feet again as soon as they can. Please get in touch with us to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a real San Luis Obispo lawyer and find out what your injury is worth.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Getting Hit While Running?
If your injury ends up being serious, perhaps involving a broken ankle or head trauma, you should speak to a skilled San Luis Obispo Running Accident Injury Lawyer. If a reckless driver caused your collision, that driver should be fully responsible for your recovery costs. Unfortunately, earning support isn’t automatic.
The hospital bills can quickly pile up when your wound is more than just a few cuts or bruises. Insurance companies see the totals on hospital bills and become reluctant to accept full responsibility. They’ll look for any excuse to deny a runner’s injury claim. A lawyer protects you from these tactics and fights to maximize your injury claim so that you don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay your doctor bills and support your family.
Running Accident Dangers in San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo offers some great backdrops for people out for a walk or run. Exercise and stress relief are the goals, but the constant rush of traffic along busy routes like Marsh Street and around busy roads around Cal Poly SLO.
Drivers could be playing with a cell phone and not paying attention to crosswalks where joggers may be crossing. Motorists may be rushing through a neighborhood and fail to stop at a stop sign. They may fail to even take a glance to see if there are any runners approaching as they make a turn at a 4-way stop.
Runners are defenseless targets in parking lots at parks like Laguna Lake. They must beware as they cross over driveways on sidewalks where thoughtless motorists may try to turn in without looking.
These mistakes can lead to major injuries for vulnerable runners. Broken ankles and legs might leave a runner unable to get back to their routines for weeks or months. When injuries are serious like a bone fracture or head trauma, car insurance companies for these drivers are especially unhelpful. They’ll look to avoid footing the bill by implying runners are clumsy and unavoidable. Insurance adjusters will also try to downplay the victim’s injuries and wrap up an injury claim before the injury is fully healed.
Your San Luis Obispo Pedestrian Accident Lawyer fully investigates your case and collects all evidence to block the tactics of shady insurance adjusters. Then your Maison Law representative would demand the money needed for you to afford the best care available so you can get back to the runs you love.
Common Injuries After a San Luis Obispo Running Collision
Runners struck by cars suffer a wide range of serious injuries. The emergency room doctors at The French Hospital Medical Center see many of the worst injuries that a traffic accident can inflict on those traveling on foot.
These are just a few of the most common and serious injuries pedestrian accident victims suffer:
- Broken bones: Fractures in legs and arms are most common in accident victims. Some breaks can be very difficult to heal. Bones can even heal in the wrong position and may need to be broken again and reset through surgery.
- Musculoskeletal injuries: These are the most common type of injuries for runners. They involve strains, sprains, and dislocations in bones, muscles, ligaments, and nerves. Healing can take weeks and patients can develop chronic pain they’ll feel the next time they are able to get a run in.
- Head Injuries: Runners have no protection for their heads when run down by a car. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) leads to memory loss, sensitivity to light, and in some cases, seizures. Concussions can be light to severe. A skull fracture can lead to brain bleeding.
- Spine Injury: A cervical spine dislocation is another common injury, especially for older pedestrian victims. The ligaments in the spine are damaged. This may include a spine fracture or dislocation. It happens when blunt forces leave adjoining spine bones abnormally separated, causing instability.
- Back injuries: The stretching of muscles, tendons, and ligaments, leaves microscopic tears in back muscles. These difficult-to-treat injuries can cause life-long back pain. Any runner will tell you that back pain can force you to cancel a run.
Types of Things That Can Earn Compensation for Injured Runners
In the aftermath of getting struck by a car, victims should be focused on healing and not the enormous cost of their medical care. Runners especially need to be able to go to the best orthopedists without worrying about whether they can pay for it or not. They need to be able to support their families for weeks or months while broken bones are healing and they can’t work to earn a paycheck.
A Maison Law personal injury lawyer will be seeking everything the runner needs to cover all medical bills and to emerge from the recovery financially stable. A running accident settlement check should cover these and other hardships:
- Current medical bills and those expected in the months to come.
- Lifelong support for a permanent physical disability.
- Support for physical pain and emotional trauma. This includes the anxiety and depression a difficult recovery could cause victims.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. Victims can suffer very real harm when they are unable to enjoy their hobbies. With major injuries, they may never be able to head out on the runs they love again.
- Loss of wages and benefits while victims are unable to work.
- Travel costs to get to medical appointments while victims are unable to drive and perhaps in casts or using wheelchairs.
- Wrongful death benefits for families. Close relatives such as a spouse or children of the victim may ask for financial help with funeral costs and medical bills after a tragic accident. A wrongful death claim also seeks to protect the family in the future by replacing the steady income the deceased can no longer contribute to the family.
Contact a San Luis Obispo Running Accident Lawyer
Contact Maison Law for a free consultation after any injury suffered after being hit by a careless driver while running. We represent injured victims hurt in San Luis Obispo County pedestrian accidents. Our case reviews come with no obligation. It’s a no-risk way to find out what your injuries may be worth before an insurance adjuster tries to convince you they are worth very little or nothing at all.
If you find we can help you earn more for your recovery, you won’t need any money to hire us. Maison Law doesn’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the compensation an insurance company must provide.
