Damages Available in a Pedestrian Accident Claim

Being hit by a car changes everything fast. Medical bills start arriving before you’ve even finished processing what happened. You’re missing work. You’re in pain. And somewhere in the middle of all that, you’re supposed to figure out whether to file a claim and what it might even be worth.

Tennessee law gives injured pedestrians the right to pursue compensation from the at-fault driver for the full scope of what they’ve lost. But knowing what types of damages are actually available? That’s where a lot of people don’t have the full picture, and insurance companies count on that.

Economic Damages Cover Your Measurable Losses

These are the losses you can put a number on. Bills, pay stubs, receipts. They form the backbone of most pedestrian accident claims because they’re concrete and verifiable. In a Tennessee pedestrian accident case, economic damages typically include:

• Past and future medical expenses, including emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, and medications
• Lost wages from time you couldn’t work during recovery
• Loss of future earning capacity if your injuries affect your ability to work long-term
• The cost of in-home care or assistance with daily functioning
• Property damage, such as a broken phone, damaged clothing, or other personal items

Future costs are where things get more involved. A serious injury doesn’t always resolve cleanly. You might need follow-up procedures, long-term treatment, or permanent accommodations at home or at work. Attorneys work with medical and financial professionals to project those numbers accurately so that a settlement doesn’t leave you covering costs down the road that should have been the driver’s responsibility.

Non-Economic Damages Address What Can’t Be Quantified

Not every loss shows up on a receipt. Pain is real. So is the anxiety that comes from something as traumatic as being struck by a vehicle, or the frustration of no longer being able to do things you used to take for granted.

Non-economic damages in a pedestrian injury claim typically cover:

• Physical pain and suffering, both past and ongoing
• Emotional distress and anxiety related to the accident or recovery
• Loss of enjoyment of life when injuries keep you from activities you valued
• Scarring or permanent disfigurement

Tennessee doesn’t cap non-economic damages in standard personal injury cases, so the value depends on the specific facts of your situation. How severe were your injuries? How long is your recovery? How has your daily life actually changed? Those are the questions that shape this part of a claim.

Worth noting: per Tennessee Code Annotated § 29-39-102, damage caps do exist in certain case types, but standard negligence claims involving pedestrian accidents generally aren’t subject to those limits.

How Fault Affects What You Can Recover

Tennessee follows a modified comparative fault rule. If you’re found partially at fault for the accident, your total compensation gets reduced by that percentage. But if you’re assigned 50 percent or more of the blame, you can’t recover anything.

That’s a significant threshold, and insurance companies know it. They’ll often try to pin some fault on the pedestrian to shrink their exposure, even when the driver clearly failed to yield or ran a light. A Brentwood pedestrian accident lawyer can push back on those arguments with evidence and make sure the fault picture accurately reflects what actually happened.

Punitive Damages in Rare Cases

Most pedestrian accident claims don’t involve punitive damages. But when a driver’s behavior was especially reckless, think driving drunk or deliberately disregarding safety, Tennessee courts can award them. They’re not meant to compensate the victim. They exist to punish conduct that’s beyond ordinary negligence and to deter it from happening again. Not every case qualifies, but it’s absolutely worth discussing with an attorney when the facts support it.

Taking the Next Step

You don’t have to figure this out on your own, and you probably shouldn’t try to. Insurance adjusters handle these claims every day. Most injury victims don’t.

Patterson Bray PLLC represents pedestrian accident victims across Tennessee and can help you understand what your case may actually be worth. Reach out to a Brentwood pedestrian accident lawyer today to start the conversation.