ADVICE: Bad car accident for friend's daughter

[SkinsNumberOne]

Hey all, one of the great things I love about this board is the variety of people we have who are capable of giving great advice.

Here's the situation - a good friend of mine has a daughter who's 21, and in college down near the Blacksburg area. Well, she was hit by a freaking car in Blacksburg. Yes, HIT BY A CAR. Now, I've always understood it to be that pedestrians pretty much are given the benefit of the doubt, but apparently the cops are saying it was HER fault, and SHE was cited I think. I think the driver got something like "expired registration" and that was it.

So, this was actually a couple of weeks ago, and now she's having severe headaches. I've gotta admit I'm pretty worried about her; she's a really nice person and of course my friend and his family are good people, so I am understandably - well, "angry" I guess is the nice word.

Is there some kind of legal action that my friend should be considering? I've told him to consult a lawyer immediately while his daughter of course seeks medical help (and apparently the neurologists there "aren't seeing additional patients right now" and they referred her to the ER which is where she is now). Anyone have any idea of what the relevant law would be, or what might happen?

She had taken the bus, and was crossing the street. There is no crosswalk nearby. She was thrown something like 30 feet (I don't remember the exact number, but it was around there) by the impact. I think it's a 25mph zone. The police there seem fairly inept. The hospital also apparently told my friend that this kind of thing was not uncommon down there.

Ridiculous situation, and of course your positive thoughts for my friend's family will be appreciated and welcomed.

I am also curious if anyone has any specific lawyer suggestion (please tell me why you would suggest the person, if it's from personal experience or second-hand or what). If you would rather PM me with anything you'd rather not publicize, please feel free to do so.

[Novus]

Here's the situation - a good friend of mine has a daughter who's 21, and in college down near the Blacksburg area. Well, she was hit by a freaking car in Blacksburg. Yes, HIT BY A CAR.

Yes, this does seem to happen a lot at Virginia Tech. In fact, a student was killed a year or two ago after he was hit by a car when crossing the street near campus. Students do have the right-a-way on campus property, but I would check the law to make sure that doesn't just count crosswalks.

Definitely get a lawyer, though. If the campus police doesn't want to charge the driver with anything, the family can still seek a civil lawsuit. Good luck with everything, and I hope the student recovers quickly.

PS: Don't be scared to contact the local media. If the family is having trouble getting support (medical / legal) from the school and police department (which usually happens) putting a little negative press out there can help get the ball rolling. It's kind of sad things have to come to that sometimes, but I have first hand experience that this works.

[Slacky McSlackAss]

I was hit by a car 4 years ago, and they put complete blame on the driver. Even though i didnt look both ways,(was in a hurry to class). Luckily I was not severely injured, and decided not to take her to court even though the cops said i could if i wanted to. I dont see how they could put blame on her, as in driving laws, pedestrians always have the right of way.

[SkinsNumberOne]

I was hit by a car 4 years ago, and they put complete blame on the driver. Even though i didnt look both ways,(was in a hurry to class). Luckily I was not severely injured, and decided not to take her to court even though the cops said i could if i wanted to. I dont see how they could put blame on her, as in driving laws, pedestrians always have the right of way.

Thanks for the reply. Was that in VA? Was it in Blacksburg? I'm not sure what the relevant law will be, but I imagine it's pretty localized. In this case it was not campus property, I think it was Blacksburg proper.

[SkinsNumberOne]

Yes, this does seem to happen a lot at Virginia Tech. In fact, a student was killed a year or two ago after he was hit by a car when crossing the street near campus. Students do have the right-a-way on campus property, but I would check the law to make sure that doesn't just count crosswalks.

This wasn't on campus, but was in Blacksburg proper I think. I think it was "Blacksburg police" who responded.

Definitely get a lawyer, though. If the campus police doesn't want to charge the driver with anything, the family can still seek a civil lawsuit. Good luck with everything, and I hope the student recovers quickly.

It's unfortunate, because the damage initially appeared to be largely cosmetic (which is of course sad in its own right). But now she seems to be having headaches that are pretty severe, such that she can't get out of bed, and this has happened somewhat suddenly recently. Scary stuff.

PS: Don't be scared to contact the local media. If the family is having trouble getting support (medical / legal) from the school and police department (which usually happens) putting a little negative press out there can help get the ball rolling. It's kind of sad things have to come to that sometimes, but I have first hand experience that this works.

Interesting information. Thanks.