A New Jersey man was severely injured after a car struck him in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township. The pedestrian accident occurred shortly before 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 6.
Authorities say the accident happened when a person driving a 2008 Toyota SUV on Liberty Ridge Road in the township’s Basking Ridge area struck the victim, a 56-year-old man who resides in Basking Ridge, as he was walking on the roadway. He suffered life-threatening head injuries and was transported by a medical helicopter to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. At the time of reporting, the injured pedestrian was listed in critical condition. When the report was released, investigators were in the process of determining what caused the crash.
Oftentimes when a car hits a pedestrian, the victim suffers severe head, back or internal injuries that can quickly turn fatal. If the victim dies, his or her grieving family members could face a double hardship. Not only will they have to deal the huge loss of a family member, such as a parent, spouse or child, but they also may be faced with significant monetary losses, such as medical expenses and funeral costs. If the decedent was the family’s wage earner, the family’s financial stability may be threatened, as well.
However, the family might consider contacting a personal injury attorney to find out if they could pursue damages against the party who caused the pedestrian accident. These types of attorneys generally evaluate the accident by examining important documentation relating to the incident, including the police report, witness statements, medical reports, and weather and road condition evaluations. Any charges that were filed in the accident could also be used by the injured party against the at-fault driver to substantiate allegations of driver negligence. In many cases like these, plaintiffs are offered an out-of-court settlement for their losses.
Source: NJ.com, “Pedestrian Struck by Car Suffers Serious Head Injury”, Dave Hutchinson, Oct. 6, 2016