Pedestrians – whether walking, standing, jogging, skateboarding, or rollerblading- can be seriously injured when struck by a car or truck. If you are sitting or lying near a roadway, you are also classified as a pedestrian. The chances of a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle and suffering serious injury or death are great.
Surprising Statistics on Pedestrian Vehicle Collisions
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 7,400 pedestrians were killed, and more than 60,000 pedestrians were treated for non-fatal crash-related injuries in 2021 in the United States. This means that 20 pedestrians are killed every day, and one is injured about every nine minutes!
In Cook County alone, 94 pedestrians were killed in 2020. Across the state of Illinois, 147 pedestrians were killed and another 4827 were injured in 2017. More pedestrian accidents occur between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. than at any other time of day.
Adding Insult to Injury
If you were a pedestrian hit by a vehicle, you know how emotionally and physically traumatizing such an event can be. The trauma is greatly magnified when you discover the driver who hit you cannot be found or is found but is either uninsured or underinsured. Your medical bills (or co-pays and deductibles) mount, and you will likely lose income. You want justice and fairness.
You are likely unaware that your vehicle insurance will pay for your medical bills, other expenses, and your pain and disability under the terms of your uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist coverage.
Hit as a pedestrian? Get the justice and compensation you deserve. Call the Chicago pedestrian accident attorneys at Blumenshine Law Group at (312) 766-1000 for expert help.
Illinois Uninsured, Hit and Run, and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Although Illinois law requires drivers to have liability insurance to cover personal injury or death, the Insurance Information Institute (III) estimates that more than 13 percent of Illinois drivers have no insurance coverage.
Recognizing that being involved in an accident with a driver with no insurance is a significant problem, Illinois also requires insurance companies to provide uninsured motorist (UM) coverage (including hit-and-run accidents) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage with a minimum of $25,000. You can buy a policy with higher coverage limits. UIM provides coverage if the at-fault driver lacks insurance to cover your medical bills and other damages and harm.
When UM and Hit and Run Coverage Apply
A pedestrian who an uninsured or underinsured motorist injures can collect damages under their own UM/Hit and Run policy under the following conditions:
- The injured pedestrian is you, your spouse, child, or other immediate family member living with you.
- The injured pedestrian is your child, who is away at college.
- The car’s driver, who hit the pedestrian, was at fault for the accident.
- The other driver’s uninsured status is certified by the Secretary of State.
- If it were a hit-and-run, a police report was filed.
When UIM Coverage Applies
A pedestrian who an underinsured motorist injured can collect insurance coverage from their underinsured motorist coverage when the other driver’s liability policy limits are too low to compensate them fully.
How Your Own Uninsured and Hit and Run Coverage Protects You as a Pedestrian
You may think you don’t need UM/UIM coverage because you have health insurance to pay your medical bills. However, you likely have far more financial losses than medical bills. For example, most health insurance plans have deductibles and copays. UM/UIM coverage will also pay for other economic losses, such as lost wages due to your inability to work based on your injury. It may also pay for job retraining if you were injured so severely that you cannot return to your former employment. You may be eligible for reimbursement of other costs you incur that are related to your injury.
The biggest harm you sustained is likely non-financial. If you were seriously injured, you have had daily pain and disability. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage pays for those harms.
A competent insurance attorney will work with you to ensure that you receive the maximum compensation you are entitled to under your UM/UIM policy.
To learn more about how your UM/UIM insurance policy may benefit you if you or a family member is involved in a vehicle-pedestrian accident, download the eBook “Am I Covered?” by Scott Blumenshine.
Contact an Attorney
If you were involved in an accident with a Chicago uninsured or underinsured driver, call Blumenshine Law Group at (312)766-1000 or email [email protected] to schedule a free consultation. We will review all the circumstances of your case, and if your case meets the criteria for a UM/UIM claim, we will pursue remedies with your insurer on your behalf.