Legal Question in Traffic Law in Virginia

Re: Hitting a pedestrian

Well you can always be sued, even if the person ultimately loses. The real question is whether or not the person will win the lawsuit. In this type of situation, a driver is liable if the driver was NEGLIGENT. Believe it or not, one is not automatically responsible for the costs of injuring someone. The plaintiff has to show that the driver was negligent and the negligence caused the injury. Usually it is very obvious that the injury would not have happened unless the driver was negligent. But, here, I cannot tell from what you describe. WHY did your girlfriend hit the pedestrian? Was he all dressed in black? Did he run out into the street? Or was she half asleep? (Don't answer that on the internet, just consider the question.) Here it really matters WHY your girlfriend hit the pedestrian. For example, if he ran like a wildman toward the car and it was his fault, then of course your girlfriend was NOT negligent. However, it will probably not be hard for the pedestrian to convince a court that your girlfriend was negligent if she hit a pedestrian. But I cannot tell from what you describe.

Of course, your girlfriend's insurance would normally be the first thing to think about. If she does not inform the insurance company soon, she may lose the right to get the insurance company to pay for any costs, if the pedestrian sues later. The insurance should also hire an attorney for you if this happens.

Basically, if your girlfriend was sued and she lost, she would have to pay all of his medical bills plus possibly any lost time from work and perhaps (but not likely) something for pain and suffering. It is almost impossible to get punitive damages in Virginia for a car accident, unless the driver was driving while drunk. Therefore, the end result would probably be to simply pay his medical bills no matter what.