The temperatures are warming up, and that means more people will be out enjoying the beautiful Minnesota weather. It also means that we can expect to see an uptick in pedestrian-related accidents as foot traffic across the metro area increases. Roughly 1,000 people are injured in vehicle-pedestrian crashes in Minnesota each year, and if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation, you’ll want to take a few specific steps to make it easier to collect the compensation you deserve. Below, we share the six steps that you’ll want to take after a pedestrian accident in Minnesota.
What To Do After A Pedestrian Accident
If you do these six things in the wake of a pedestrian accident, you will be in a good position to collect fair compensation for your injuries. Here’s what you need to do:
1. Seek Medical Attention – For potentially life-threatening injuries, you need to seek medical attention right away. Call 911 or have someone else get in contact with emergency services. If your injuries are not life-threatening, you can seek medical care after completing a few other steps on this list, but you always want to ensure you get an evaluation from a medical professional in a prompt manner if you are involved in a pedestrian accident.
2. Contact The Authorities – The police should be informed about the incident so that an official police report can be created. They will be able to create an official incident report that can be used to strengthen your injury claim, as it will no longer be just your word versus the word of the driver.
3. Collect Witness Contact Information – It will also be extremely helpful to collect the contact information of anybody who witnessed the accident. Your lawyer may need them to give a statement or provide their version of events, and if you can’t track them down, they can’t provide this information. Also, if the accident occurred in a busy area where dash cameras or video cameras associated with a business may have caught footage of the accident, contact these individuals to make sure that any recording is saved and not recorded over.
4. Collect Evidence – Take pictures of the scene of the accident, as these photos can help support your claim. Document the scene, your injuries and any property damage that has occurred.
5. Contact An Attorney – If you are serious about pursuing compensation for medical expenses that you incurred as a result of your pedestrian accident, you will want to get in contact with an attorney. They will be able to build a strong case and ensure that you are taken seriously by the insurance company. An attorney also knows how to calculate the value of a claim to make sure that you get paid what you are owed and that you aren’t lowballed by an insurance company. An attorney will be your biggest ally during the compensation process.
6. Contact Your Insurance Company – Finally, you’ll want to notify your automobile insurance provider that you were involved in an accident. Even if the other party was at fault, you will likely begin by pursuing a claim through your policy’s Personal Injury Protection coverage since Minnesota is a No Fault state. If your injuries exceed a certain monetary threshold, you may end up making a claim against the at-fault driver. It may be helpful to connect with a lawyer before notifying your insurance company or giving a recorded statement, but don’t wait days to let your insurance company know about the accident.
Follow these tips and trust your case to an experienced workers’ compensation firm like Hey Workers, and your case will be off to a strong start. For more information, or for help with a different injury claim, give our team a call today at (844) 439-9675.
