An Overview of Pedestrian Accidents

There are two types of pedestrian accidents - vehicular and non- vehicular pedestrian accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), about 5,000 pedestrians die in motor vehicle related accidents annually. While a non-vehicular pedestrian accident may occur due to poor maintenance, sidewalk or parking lot defects, and construction or other debris on walkways, etc.

Depending on the circumstances, the legal responsibility in a pedestrian accident may be on more than one person. The potentially liable parties may include the driver of a vehicle that strikes a pedestrian, the party responsible for maintaining the sidewalk, road or parking lot in question, or the pedestrian him/herself. Whether by a vehicle or a property defect, if the accident was caused by someone else’s fault, the pedestrian accident victim may be eligible to receive compensation.

 There are broadly two types of pedestrian accidents - non-vehicular and vehicular. In a non-vehicular pedestrian accident, property owners of the place where the accident occurred can be held responsible if they created the condition that caused the accident, knew it existed, or were negligent in discovering and  correcting it despite the fact it that it had existed for a significant length of time. They are responsible for maintaining their property and for warning people if there are hazardous situations concerning it. You may be able to recover damages if you can prove that a dangerous condition existed on the property where the accident occurred.

In a pedestrian-vehicle accident, the duty of care is owed by those involved in the accident. The driver of a vehicle, as well as the pedestrian, must follow the rules of the road and exercise reasonable care. It is the responsibility of the pedestrian to exercise reasonable care for his/her own safety.

When a pedestrian fails to exercise care, and contributes to the cause of his/her own injuries, contributory negligence may be assessed against him/her. Some common factors that contribute to pedestrian negligence are ignoring the walk signal at an intersection, failing to use marked crosswalks and darting in front of a vehicle. At the same time, a driver must exercise reasonable care while behind the wheel. Failure to do so is considered negligence. Distracted driving, speeding, disobeying traffic rules are some factors contributing to a driver’s negligence.