Pedestrians enjoy the right of way, most of the time, on our nation’s streets and roadways. It is usually assumed that when a pedestrian is in the roadway, crossing the street or walking along the street, he has the right of way. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) states that almost 5,000 people die as a result of accidents with cars and trucks, and that almost 80,000 people suffer injuries when they are hit by cars or trucks on an annual basis.
There are many reasons for the pedestrian accidents noted each year. When the roads are not properly maintained, or if there are obstructions and the pedestrians can’t walk along the sidewalks, they may be forced to walk in unsafe areas along roads instead. This might put them it the path of oncoming cars, and increase their risk of having an accident.
For this reason, pedestrians may be in a position to recover damages for the injuries that they sustain if someone else is responsible for the loss. If a driver is inattentive by not paying attention to the road and hits a pedestrian, that driver may be liable to reimburse the pedestrian for his or her injuries. Negligence on the part of the driver will be determined based on whether the driver should have done something to avoid the loss, and did not do it. Before negligence can be established in this situation, the injured person will have to prove that the person driving the car was at fault for the accident or loss.
Other important issues regarding accidents with pedestrians and cars (or trucks) includes whether the driver of the car owed a legal duty to the pedestrian. If the person driving the car owed a duty, and breached or failed to fulfill that duty, then the resulting accident may be the fault of the driver.
Some reasons that the driver may incur a failure to utilize reasonable care while driving include: being inattentive and not watching the road, not observing the posted speed limits or traffic signals, not properly yielding the right of way to pedestrians in marked cross walks, not signaling when turning, driving too fast for the weather or prevailing traffic conditions, or driving impaired because of the influence of drugs or alcohol.
There may be other parties that will bear some liability towards the person injured, if a pedestrian is involved in an auto accident. For example, if there was a reason that the pedestrian could not walk on the walkway, and had to walk in the road, the person who is responsible for maintaining the walkway may be liable for any loss. If a construction company left dangerous debris on a sidewalk, and a pedestrian had to walk in the street briefly to get around it, the company doing the work may be responsible for any loss that occurs to the pedestrian.
Finally, pedestrians are not always without blame or fault for their accidents with autos. Many times they have ignored intersection traffic signals, walked into traffic against the stream or flow, failed to utilize marked cross walks and have dangerously darted in front of vehicles, especially as between two parked cars. In this case, the actions of the pedestrian may be seen as a contributing factor to his injury. If you are unsure of fault in pedestrian accidents, you should call the law offices of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or email us at www.ledgerlaw.com. We are available to answer your questions in review the details of your specific case with you.
