Pedestrian Accident Complaint

PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT COMPLAINT — MONTANA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption
2. Parties, Jurisdiction, and Venue
3. General Factual Allegations
4. Count I — Negligence (Against Defendant Driver)
5. Count II — Negligence Per Se (Against Defendant Driver)
6. Count III — Negligent Entrustment / Vicarious Liability (Against Defendant Owner)
7. Damages
8. Comparative Fault Allegations
9. Prayer for Relief
10. Jury Demand
11. Reservation of Rights
12. Signature and Service Blocks
13. Certificate of Service
14. Montana Practice Notes
15. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

MONTANA [____] JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, [COUNTY] COUNTY

Cause No. [____________]

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (PEDESTRIAN COLLISION)

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

Plaintiff, by and through undersigned counsel, alleges and complains against Defendants as follows:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is an individual resident of [COUNTY] County, Montana, who at all material times was lawfully on foot as a pedestrian upon or adjacent to the public roadways of this State.

2. Defendant [DRIVER NAME] ("Driver Defendant") is, upon information and belief, an individual resident of [COUNTY / STATE] who, at all material times, operated the motor vehicle described below, and may be served at [SERVICE ADDRESS].

3. Defendant [OWNER / EMPLOYER NAME] ("Owner Defendant") is [an individual / a corporation / an LLC] that, at all material times, owned, controlled, and/or maintained the vehicle operated by Driver Defendant and/or employed Driver Defendant, and may be served at [SERVICE ADDRESS / REGISTERED AGENT].

4. This action arises under Montana tort law for personal injuries sustained by a pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle in [COUNTY] County, Montana, on [__/__/____].

5. This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction pursuant to Mont. Const. art. VII, § 4 and Mont. Code Ann. § 3-5-302.

6. This Court has personal jurisdiction over the Defendants because they reside in, transact business in, and/or committed a tortious act within the State of Montana.

7. Venue is proper in this county under Mont. Code Ann. § 25-2-122 because the tort was committed and/or Plaintiff was injured in this county, and/or one or more Defendants resides in this county.

3. GENERAL FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

8. On [__/__/____] at approximately [TIME], Plaintiff was lawfully crossing or walking upon [ROADWAY] at or near its intersection with [CROSS STREET / LANDMARK], in [CITY], Montana (the "Collision").

9. At the time of the Collision, Plaintiff was [SELECT / DESCRIBE — e.g., crossing within a marked crosswalk; crossing within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection; crossing with an activated pedestrian-actuated flashing device; walking on the shoulder facing oncoming traffic where no sidewalk was provided] and was exercising due care for Plaintiff's own safety.

10. At the same time and place, Driver Defendant was operating a [YEAR / MAKE / MODEL] [passenger vehicle / pickup truck / SUV / commercial vehicle] owned by Owner Defendant, traveling [northbound / southbound / etc.] on [ROADWAY].

11. Traffic, lighting, roadway, and weather conditions were [describe — e.g., clear, dry, daylight; dusk; snow; the crosswalk was illuminated], and Plaintiff was [describe visibility — e.g., plainly visible].

12. The Collision occurred when Driver Defendant [SELECT / DESCRIBE THE MANNER OF COLLISION — e.g., failed to yield to Plaintiff in the crosswalk; turned across the crosswalk into Plaintiff's path; failed to keep a proper lookout for pedestrians; was traveling at an excessive speed for conditions; was distracted by a mobile device; overtook and passed a vehicle that had stopped to allow Plaintiff to cross].

13. Although Plaintiff was plainly visible and lawfully in the roadway, Driver Defendant failed to keep a proper and careful lookout, failed to reduce speed, failed to yield, and/or failed to take available evasive action that would have avoided the Collision, striking Plaintiff with the front and/or side of the vehicle.

14. As a direct and proximate result of the Collision, Plaintiff — an unprotected and vulnerable road user with no structural protection, restraint system, or crumple zone of any kind — was violently struck and thrown, and sustained severe, painful, and permanent bodily injuries, including but not limited to [LIST INJURIES — e.g., traumatic brain injury, skull and facial fractures, spinal injury, multiple orthopedic fractures, internal organ injuries, degloving and crush injuries, and disfiguring scarring].

15. Because a pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle absorbs the full force of the impact directly upon the body, the Collision caused Plaintiff to suffer catastrophic injuries materially more severe than those typically sustained by vehicle occupants in comparable collisions.

16. Plaintiff received emergency care at [HOSPITAL / EMS PROVIDER] and has since undergone [SURGERIES / HOSPITALIZATION / REHABILITATION / ONGOING TREATMENT], and will require future medical care.

17. All injuries and damages alleged were the foreseeable, natural, and probable consequence of Defendants' conduct.

4. COUNT I — NEGLIGENCE (Against Defendant Driver)

18. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 17 as if fully set forth herein.

19. Driver Defendant owed Plaintiff a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation of a motor vehicle, to obey the Montana rules of the road, to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk, to keep a proper lookout for pedestrians, to drive at a speed that was reasonable and prudent under the conditions, and to avoid colliding with persons lawfully upon the roadway.

20. Driver Defendant breached that duty by, among other things:

• Failing to yield the right-of-way to Plaintiff, a pedestrian crossing within a marked or unmarked crosswalk;
• Failing to keep a proper and careful lookout for Plaintiff, who was plainly visible;
• Operating the vehicle at a speed greater than was reasonable and prudent under the conditions (the basic rule, § 61-8-303);
• Driving while distracted or inattentive;
• Failing to reduce speed, brake, or take available evasive action to avoid striking Plaintiff;
• Turning across the path of Plaintiff in the crosswalk;
• Overtaking and passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk to permit Plaintiff to cross; and
• Failing to maintain proper control of the vehicle.

21. Each of the foregoing acts and omissions, separately and in combination, was a direct and proximate cause of the Collision and of Plaintiff's injuries and damages described in Section 7 below.

5. COUNT II — NEGLIGENCE PER SE (Against Defendant Driver)

22. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 21 as if fully set forth herein.

23. The Montana rules of the road impose specific statutory duties on Driver Defendant for the protection of pedestrians such as Plaintiff. These include, as applicable to the manner of the Collision:

• Mont. Code Ann. § 61-8-502 — when traffic-control signals are not in place or in operation, the operator of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if necessary, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection; the operator of any other vehicle approaching from the rear may not overtake and pass a vehicle stopped to permit a pedestrian to cross; and, where a flashing pedestrian-actuated device is engaged and a pedestrian is present, the operator shall yield and remain stopped until the pedestrian has crossed;
• Mont. Code Ann. § 61-8-501 — duty of pedestrians and drivers with respect to traffic-control signals at intersections; and
• Mont. Code Ann. § 61-8-303 — the basic rule: a person may not operate a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard for the actual and potential hazards then existing.

24. Plaintiff is within the class of persons the foregoing statutes were enacted to protect, and the Collision is the type of harm those statutes were designed to prevent. Driver Defendant's violation of these statutes constitutes negligence per se under Montana law.

25. Driver Defendant violated [CITE THE SPECIFIC SECTION(S) APPLICABLE], was cited for [TRAFFIC CITATION, IF ANY] (including, where applicable, endangerment of pedestrians under Mont. Code Ann. § 61-8-742), and such violation was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

6. COUNT III — NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT / VICARIOUS LIABILITY (Against Defendant Owner)

26. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 25 as if fully set forth herein.

27. Owner Defendant entrusted the subject vehicle to Driver Defendant when Owner Defendant knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, that Driver Defendant was an incompetent, inexperienced, reckless, or otherwise unfit driver.

28. Alternatively, at the time of the Collision, Driver Defendant was operating the vehicle as the agent, servant, or employee of Owner Defendant and within the course and scope of that agency or employment, rendering Owner Defendant vicariously liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

29. Owner Defendant's negligent entrustment and/or vicarious liability was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

7. DAMAGES

30. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants' conduct, Plaintiff has suffered and seeks recovery of the following, past and future:

• Reasonable medical, hospital, surgical, rehabilitative, and pharmaceutical expenses, including future medical and life-care expenses;
• Lost wages and impairment of earning capacity;
• Physical pain, suffering, and mental and emotional distress;
• Permanent physical impairment and disfigurement, including scarring;
• Loss of the enjoyment / loss of established course of life; and
• Property damage to clothing, personal effects, and any mobility or assistive devices.

31. Plaintiff pleads each category of damage separately and in the alternative, in an amount to be determined by the trier of fact.

32. To the extent the evidence establishes by clear and convincing proof that Driver Defendant acted with actual malice as defined in Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-221 (e.g., impaired driving or hit-and-run), Plaintiff seeks punitive damages, subject to the standards, procedures, and limitations of that statute.

8. COMPARATIVE FAULT ALLEGATIONS

33. Plaintiff denies any comparative negligence and alleges that Plaintiff exercised due care for Plaintiff's own safety at all material times.

34. In the alternative, and pursuant to Montana's modified comparative-negligence statute, Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-702, any contributory negligence on the part of Plaintiff does not bar recovery because it was not greater than the negligence of the Defendant(s) or the combined negligence of all persons against whom recovery is sought; any damages allowed shall be diminished only in proportion to the percentage of negligence, if any, attributable to Plaintiff.

9. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully prays for judgment against Defendants, jointly and severally as the law allows, as follows:

• A. For compensatory damages in an amount to be determined by the trier of fact;
• B. For punitive damages upon proper proof under Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-221;
• C. For pre-judgment and post-judgment interest and costs as allowed by law; and
• D. For such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

10. JURY DEMAND

Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable, pursuant to Mont. R. Civ. P. 38.

11. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

Plaintiff reserves the right to amend this Complaint to add or substitute parties, to assert additional claims (including a claim for punitive damages under Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-221 upon a proper showing), and to conform the pleadings to the evidence as discovery proceeds. Defendants are placed on notice to preserve all evidence relevant to the Collision, including the subject vehicle, any event data recorder and telematics data, the driver's mobile-device records, and any video evidence.

12. SIGNATURE AND SERVICE BLOCKS

Respectfully submitted this [____] day of [MONTH], 20[____].

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME] (Mont. Bar No. [________])

[LAW FIRM NAME]

Attorney for Plaintiff

[STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER]

Email: [EMAIL]

13. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on this the [____] day of [_______________], 20[____], a copy of the foregoing COMPLAINT was served (or will be served with the summons) upon the following by [personal service via process server under Mont. R. Civ. P. 4 / the Montana eFiling system upon counsel of record]:

[NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) OF DEFENDANT(S) / COUNSEL]

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME]

14. MONTANA PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations. A personal-injury / tort action must be commenced within three years. Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-204(1). Wrongful death is also three years (§ 27-2-204(2)), extended to ten years where the death results from a homicide. Claims involving governmental entities may carry additional notice requirements — confirm where a government driver or vehicle is involved.
• MODIFIED COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE ("not greater than" / 51% bar). Under Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-702, contributory negligence does not bar recovery if the pedestrian's negligence "was not greater than" the negligence of the defendant(s) or the combined negligence of all persons against whom recovery is sought; recovery is barred only when the pedestrian's fault is greater (i.e., 51% or more), and damages are otherwise reduced proportionally. Expect the defense to attack the pedestrian's conduct (crossing outside a crosswalk under § 61-8-503, jaywalking, distraction, dark clothing, or intoxication) to push the pedestrian's percentage past the 50% line.
• Pedestrian's own duties. Montana imposes duties on pedestrians: not suddenly leaving a curb into the path of a vehicle that cannot yield (§ 61-8-502(1)(a)); yielding the right-of-way when crossing at a point other than a marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, or where a tunnel/overhead crossing is provided (§ 61-8-503); and obeying traffic-control signals (§ 61-8-501). Plead the pedestrian's own due care affirmatively (see ¶ 9) to blunt comparative-fault defenses.
• Driver duty / no standalone "due care" pedestrian statute. Montana's crosswalk statutes (§§ 61-8-502 and 61-8-503) set out the right-of-way rules, and the basic rule (§ 61-8-303) governs speed. Montana does not have a separate codified "every driver shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian" provision like some states; the driver's general duty of care to pedestrians is supplied by the basic rule and common-law negligence. Recent legislation (Title 61, Chapter 8) created an "endangerment of pedestrians" offense and reorganized the chapter — verify section numbers and current text before filing.
• Fault/tort state — no PIP. Montana has no no-fault/PIP system. A struck pedestrian pursues the at-fault driver's liability coverage; medical bills are handled through the pedestrian's health insurance and/or MedPay, subject to subrogation. Note Montana's "made-whole" rule, which limits an insurer's subrogation until the insured is fully compensated.
• UM/UIM and hit-and-run. Pedestrians are frequently struck by uninsured, underinsured, or unidentified (hit-and-run) drivers, and catastrophic injuries commonly exceed liability limits. A pedestrian may have UM/UIM coverage available through the pedestrian's own household auto policy or a resident relative's policy. Identify and notify all potentially applicable UM/UIM carriers promptly, preserve those claims, and comply with consent-to-settle and subrogation procedures before resolving the liability claim.
• Punitive damages. Punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence of actual malice or actual fraud under Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-221, subject to that statute's procedures and caps. Verify the current standard and caps before relying on them.

15. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Montana Code Annotated — https://archive.legmt.gov/bills/mca/ (and https://law.justia.com/codes/montana/)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-204 (three-year limitations) — https://law.justia.com/codes/montana/title-27/chapter-2/part-2/section-27-2-204/
• Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-702 (comparative negligence; 51% bar) — https://law.justia.com/codes/montana/title-27/chapter-1/part-7/section-27-1-702/
• Mont. Code Ann. § 61-8-502 (pedestrians' right-of-way in crosswalk) — https://law.justia.com/codes/montana/title-61/chapter-8/part-5/section-61-8-502/
• Mont. Code Ann. § 61-8-503 (crossing at other than crosswalks) — https://law.justia.com/codes/montana/title-61/chapter-8/part-5/section-61-8-503/
• Mont. Code Ann. § 61-8-303 (basic rule / speed)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-221 (punitive damages)
• Montana Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 4, 8, 38)

Disclaimer: This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. An attorney licensed in Montana must review and customize this document before filing. Laws, citations, and court rules change frequently; verify all authorities before use.