This Fort Lauderdale Pedestrian Accident Lawyer, Stephen Morse, has assisted injured pedestrians successfully numerous times over the course of his career. He works on pedestrian accident cases in Broward County and throughout the State of Florida – including South Florida.

Pedestrian accidents typically occur when somebody walking along or near a roadway is hit by a passing vehicle. Pedestrian crashes can occur due to all sorts of reasons. Sometimes, pedestrian wrecks are caused by defective roadway conditions. This would be called a roadway construction case. For example, defective, poor or inadequate lighting on a roadway can prevent a driver from being able to see a pedestrian, thus causing an accident and injuries to a pedestrian. If this was the cause of your pedestrian accident, Stephen Morse can hire an expert to evaluate the lighting in the roadway and determine if it might have played a part in the wreck.

Roadway lighting can be the responsibility of a governmental entity (i.e., the State of Florida, a specific county, or a specific city). If that is the situation, you may have a “sovereign immunity” case against that governmental entity. A sovereign immunity case will present several restrictions and limitations that you and Stephen Morse will have to deal with. For example, in a sovereign immunity case, the most you will be able to recover is $200,000.

Additionally, in a sovereign immunity case, you will need to put the governmental entity at fault on notice of the claim within three years. You will then need to wait six months before filing suit against the governmental entity (which will need to happen within four years).

On the other hand, oftentimes governmental entities contract out the duties of roadway lighting to private companies. If this is the case, there will be no such cap on damages or sovereign immunity time limitations. The challenge for Stephen Morse will be to discover the identity of the private companies.

Pedestrian wrecks also frequently occur due to drinking and driving. Intoxicated drivers are more prone to driving off of the road and hitting pedestrians. If the driver who hit you was impaired at the time of the accident, Stephen Morse may move for punitive damages – which are designed to punish the person who was drinking & driving. In a personal injury case, there are several different types of damages you can recover. One type, for example, is compensatory damages – which are designed to compensate you for your medical bills, your time missed at work, and your pain and suffering. Punitive damages, on the other hand, are designed to actually punish the responsible party.

Pedestrian crashes also frequently occur due to texting and driving. Texting & driving is one of the most dangerous behaviors a person can engage in. When somebody is looking at their phone while driving, it is easy to drive off of the road and hit a pedestrian. If the driver that hit you was texting and driving at the time of the crash, Mr. Morse could move for punitive damages as well.

If you were a pedestrian injured in an accident, contact Stephen Morse at 954-560-3063 for a free, no obligation consultation. Should you retain Mr. Morse’s services, he will not get paid until you’ve been compensated for your injuries. That is, there will be no charge to you upfront – so there is no risk to you. Mr. Morse can help you if you’ve been injured as a pedestrian anywhere in the State of Florida. This includes Miami and West Palm Beach.