Walking around the Santa Fe Plaza or running errands in Albuquerque should not put your life at risk. However, New Mexico often has among the highest pedestrian accident rates in the country.
When a car hits you, the medical bills can pile up just as fast as the physical pain. You need a clear understanding of your legal rights before a sudden accident derails your financial future.
Real-life scenarios of pedestrian accidents
Consider Maria, who was walking to her car in a crowded shopping center parking lot off Cerrillos Road. A driver looking for a spot failed to check their blind spot and backed into her.
In another case, James was halfway through a marked crosswalk in downtown Albuquerque when a turning truck ignored the “walk” signal and hit him. Both people faced massive medical bills through no fault of their own.
How can Maria and James recover compensation?
In New Mexico, pedestrians hold the same legal rights to seek payment for injuries as people in car-to-car crashes. Drivers owe you a reasonable duty of care to stay alert and follow traffic laws. Even if you were not in a marked crosswalk, you can still pursue a case if the driver was speeding or distracted.
New Mexico follows pure comparative negligence, meaning you can recover compensation even if you share partial fault for the accident. In these cases, the court reduces your payout by the percentage of blame attributed to you. The system ensures you can still seek help even if the accident wasn’t 100% the driver’s fault.
What compensation is available?
When you file a claim, you ask for “damages” to cover your losses. These typically fall into these main categories:
- Medical expenses: Everything from the initial ambulance ride to future physical therapy
- Lost wages: Paychecks you missed while recovering at home
- Pain and suffering: A dollar amount is calculated to compensate you for the physical pain and emotional stress the accident caused
Attorneys and insurance adjusters use these categories to determine the total value of your recovery. Most settlements come from the driver’s liability policy or your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage.
Critical deadlines and next steps
In New Mexico, you generally have three years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. However, if a government vehicle hit James or Maria, they would have only 90 days to file a formal notice.
Missing these deadlines can permanently bar you from recovering any money, and paperwork errors can lead to a denied claim. Working with a skilled pedestrian accident lawyer helps ensure you meet every requirement so that, like Maria and James, you can focus on healing while your attorney focuses on securing the compensation you deserve.