Bondurant Personal Injury Attorneys

Iowa Pedestrian Accidents: Safety, Fault, and Your Legal Rights

As more people head outdoors to walk, jog, and spend time in their neighborhoods, the risk of pedestrian accidents increases. Drivers need to watch closely for pedestrians crossing streets and walking along roads, and pedestrians themselves need to stay visible and aware at all times. Both sides of that equation carry legal responsibilities in Iowa, and understanding those responsibilities is important whether you are trying to avoid an accident or pursuing a claim after one has already happened.

How Pedestrians Can Protect Themselves

As a pedestrian, you should never assume that a driver sees you. You have no way of knowing whether the driver is distracted, looking elsewhere, or otherwise not paying attention to the road. Even if you are standing at a crosswalk or beside a stop sign waiting to cross, that does not guarantee the car will stop for you. Making eye contact with a driver before stepping in front of their vehicle is a practical habit that can prevent a serious accident.

You should always make sure you have enough time to cross without having to rush or worry about an approaching vehicle. Crossing in the middle of a block should be avoided; going to the next intersection is always the safer choice. If there are vehicles parked along the side of the road, they may keep you hidden from drivers until it is too late, and most drivers are not watching for pedestrians in the middle of the block the way they do at intersections. Pedestrians should also avoid wearing dark colored clothing at night, which makes it easy to blend into the surroundings and become invisible to drivers.

If you encounter a "walk" signal at a crosswalk, you are safe to proceed in the direction of the signal. If you are hit by a driver while crossing during a proper walk signal, the driver is most likely at fault for the collision. That distinction matters significantly when it comes to any resulting injury claim.

Driver Responsibilities Toward Pedestrians

Drivers in Iowa are legally required to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks, and failing to do so can result in a finding of negligence. It is a driver's duty to yield when a pedestrian is crossing at the proper time, and to sound the horn as a warning if necessary. If a pedestrian steps off the curb during a yellow or red light and is struck by a car, the pedestrian may be found at fault because the responsibility to yield to vehicles rests with the pedestrian when crossing during a red or yellow light.

Distracted driving has made pedestrian safety increasingly difficult. Many drivers are talking on cell phones, texting, or otherwise occupied when they should be focused on the road. That distraction significantly increases the risk to any pedestrian in the area, and it is a factor that Bondurant personal injury attorneys examine closely when evaluating fault in a pedestrian accident claim.

Medical Treatment After an Injury: Mistakes That Can Cost You Your Case

Many injured people do not realize how much their interactions with medical providers can affect the outcome of a personal injury claim. Common mistakes in how a person handles their medical treatment can make a meaningful difference in any case, whether the injury stems from a pedestrian accident, a car crash, a work injury, or any other type of personal injury. Here are the most important missteps to avoid after getting hurt in Bondurant.

Failing to See a Doctor Immediately

It is the injured person's responsibility to prove that the accident caused their injuries. Any pain or physical problem following an accident should prompt an immediate visit to a medical provider. Insurance companies and juries tend to believe that if someone does not seek immediate medical attention, their condition may not actually be related to the accident at all. Even relatively minor pain can lead to significant problems down the road, so seeing a doctor as soon as possible is critical. The first words an insurance company's attorney wants to say to a jury are that the injured person waited days before seeing a doctor. Do not give them that opportunity.

Discussing Your Legal Claim With Medical Providers

The job of a medical provider is to focus on injuries and deliver appropriate treatment. They do not need to know about a pending lawsuit or whether an attorney has been retained. Whatever is said to medical providers is not confidential once a claim for injuries has been filed. Anything and everything told to a doctor or therapist will end up in the medical records that the insurance company, a judge, and potentially a jury will eventually review. Injured people should tell their providers how they were hurt, but should keep discussions of their legal situation out of those conversations entirely.

Hiding Prior Health History From Your Doctor

Doctors routinely ask whether a patient has previously had any injury to the same area of the body where they are currently experiencing problems. Providing incomplete or inaccurate health history not only affects the quality of care received, it will likely damage the legal case. All prior medical records will eventually be made available to the insurance company. Honesty about past conditions and an accurate description of how the current accident happened are essential to maintaining credibility throughout the claim process.

Missing or Being Late to Medical Appointments

When an appointment is missed, the medical record will reflect a "No Show" or "DNS" notation. More than one missed appointment can make it appear to the insurance company, and later to a judge or jury, that the injured person did not genuinely care about their own medical treatment. Doctors who feel their time has been repeatedly wasted are also less likely to be supportive witnesses for their patients. If an appointment needs to be rescheduled, calling at least 24 hours in advance is the responsible course of action.

Not Telling Your Doctor How the Injury Affects Your Work

Medical records are the foundation of any injury claim. If there is no documented mention of how an injury is interfering with the ability to work, the insurance company and jurors will not simply accept the injured person's word for it later. If a work injury or accident injury is negatively affecting job performance or the ability to work at all, telling the treating doctor about those limitations at every relevant appointment is essential. Taking written notes to appointments can help make sure nothing important gets left out of the chart.

Failing to Have Pain Properly Documented

Pain cannot be seen on a scan or felt by a physician during an examination, but it still must be thoroughly documented in the medical record. Insurance companies and juries will look for documentation of how quickly pain was reported after the accident, where the pain was located, how severe it was, and how long it lasted. Providing a written description of pain and limitations before each appointment helps ensure that information makes it into the physician's chart. Exaggerating pain is counterproductive, since doctors are trained to look for inconsistencies and a negative note in the chart can do more harm than honest, careful reporting would.

Stopping Medical Treatment Too Soon

Juries are made up of ordinary people who often assume that when someone stops going to the doctor, the injury must have healed. Significant gaps between treatments of a month or more will be used by the insurance company to suggest that the original injury resolved and that any continuing problems stem from a new, undisclosed condition. If a doctor has released a patient but problems persist, returning for additional care within a few weeks is the right move. A referral to a specialist may also be available and should be pursued when conservative treatment has not resolved the symptoms.

Dealing With Insurance Adjusters After a Bondurant Injury

There are hundreds of insurance companies operating in Iowa and thousands of adjusters handling claims. What they all share in common is worth understanding clearly before an injured person speaks with any of them.

Insurance adjusters are trained in techniques specifically designed to reduce the value of injury claims. They are trained to convince injured people to accept smaller settlements and to keep the upper hand in negotiations, particularly when the injured person is not represented by an attorney who knows the law. While adjusters may present themselves as helpful and sympathetic, they do not have the injured person's best interests in mind. Their job, plainly stated, is to pay as little money as possible in order to maximize insurance company profits. They can even make statements to an unrepresented injured person that are misleading or inaccurate without facing any real consequence for it.

How Specific Insurers Operate in Iowa

Understanding the tendencies of the major insurers doing business in Iowa helps injured people know what they are walking into when a claim is filed.

EMC is a Des Moines-based company and one of the largest workers' compensation insurers in Iowa. Their adjusters are generally responsive and will return calls and emails. However, the fact that an adjuster is pleasant to deal with does not mean the settlement amount they are offering is fair or represents the full value of what is owed.

Liberty Mutual is one of the top writers of workers' compensation coverage in Iowa most years. Their adjusters have access to in-house Iowa attorneys who may take over a case when complex issues arise, or who may work behind the scenes giving the adjuster strategies to use. If an attorney becomes involved on Liberty Mutual's side, that is a strong signal that the injured person needs their own attorney. Workers in Iowa should be particularly careful about situations where a Liberty Mutual representative suggests retiring or leaving a job rather than being fired, as this can cost the injured worker tens of thousands of dollars under Iowa's workers' compensation rules.

Sedgwick and Gallagher Bassett are not traditional insurance companies. They are third-party administrators, meaning they handle claims either for self-insured companies or for insurers that do not have their own Iowa adjusters. Based on consistent experience, these organizations are often significantly harder to work with than a standard insurance company adjuster. Getting records from their files, receiving return phone calls, and getting responses to written correspondence can all be difficult. Cases involving these administrators frequently end up in litigation.

AIG is a large New York-based insurer with many subsidiaries. Their adjusters sometimes take what has been described as a New York approach, which in practice can mean failing to return phone calls, not timely responding to letters and emails, and at times being indifferent to the pain and financial hardship a claimant is experiencing. Not every AIG adjuster operates this way, but it is a pattern that injured Bondurant residents should be prepared to encounter.

Travelers frequently handles claims out of a large claims center in Overland Park, Kansas. Like Liberty Mutual, they employ in-house Iowa attorneys who sometimes work quietly in the background providing strategies to adjusters, and other times step in to take a more active role in the case. If an attorney is on the other side of your claim, not having your own legal representation puts you at a serious disadvantage.

Zurich is a large international insurer based in Switzerland with more than 53,000 employees and over 47 billion dollars in annual revenue. Farmers Insurance is one of its largest subsidiaries. Claims are often handled by adjusters located many miles away who may not have detailed knowledge of Iowa law. Regardless of whether an Iowa adjuster or a remote one is assigned to the case, the goal remains the same: pay as little as possible.

When to Seek Legal Help With an Adjuster

There are situations where an injured person may be able to handle a simple claim without an attorney. However, when injuries are serious, when an attorney appears on the other side, or when an adjuster is applying pressure to sign documents or accept a settlement quickly, the calculus changes completely. The insurance company has the money, the legal knowledge, and the trained personnel to take advantage of an unrepresented injured person. A Bondurant personal injury attorney levels that playing field and helps ensure that the full value of the claim is pursued rather than settled away at a discount.

We Are Here To Help

Remember, you are not alone in recovering from your injuries. We have helped thousands of Iowans through their physical, emotional, and financial recoveries. If you have questions about what you are going through, feel free to call our office for your confidential injury conference. We will take the time to listen to you and give you our advice concerning your injury matter at no cost or risk to you.

Free Book at No Cost 

If you are not ready to speak with an attorney yet but would like to learn more about Iowa injury cases including tips about how you can avoid making common costly mistakes request a copy of our Iowa Personal Injury book which includes 14 myths about Iowa injury cases and 5 things to know before hiring an attorney.

If you have specific questions about your injury matter feel free to call our office to speak with our Injury team at 641-792-3595 or use our Chat feature by clicking here 24 hours a day/7 days per week. Your information will remain confidential and there is no cost or obligation.

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