Personal Injury Lawyer Breaks Down Pedestrian Vs Car Accidents
Car meets pedestrian, who wins? Most people instantly respond that the pedestrian wins.
However, like all injury cases, it is not that simple.
As a personal injury lawyer, I think this is an interesting topic to discuss.
Like all injury cases, you have to look at who is negligent.
If a pedestrian is crossing in the middle of the street, has dark clothes on, there is no lighting or they are intoxicated, they are assuming the risk.
With that said as the driver of a car, you have headlights and it is your responsibility to be paying attention.
However, I did not take one case because I did not think the pedestrian would win.
This client came in and said that he had been hit by a car and wanted to get compensation.
He went on to explain that he had gotten off a bus, walked ahead of it about 25 feet to a crosswalk and then ran across the street.
It is true that cars are suppose to be cautious around buses, and that they are suppose to watch for people in crosswalks, but not people who are running across the street.
To strengthen the case against this client the bus was full of people who witnessed him running and a couple of witnesses had cameras.
Because of this pedestrian's actions, the driver did not have a chance to stop.
In cases like this, the pedestrian is definitely not going to win.
Then there are cases when the pedestrian wins even though their actions caused the accident.
Let me give you an example.
I had one client who was drunk and ended up being hit while staggering across the street.
I represented this client and got $15,000 for him.
This was the policy limit, and they decided to settle on it because it was cheaper than going to trial.
The two examples above are oddities, but as a personal injury lawyer, I have seen a few cases similar to these.
I am sure you have had the experience of someone stepping off the curb and it is obvious that the person was not paying attention.
It may seem obvious to you that the person should be at fault, but it is hard to prove.
If there are not witnesses, then it becomes their word versus yours.
Anytime it becomes a he-said-she-said battle, then the pedestrian is going to have a better chance of winning.
The best advice I can give you as a personal injury lawyer, is not to hit a pedestrian.
Although the pedestrian may be at fault, it is not something that you do not want to deal with.
However, like all injury cases, it is not that simple.
As a personal injury lawyer, I think this is an interesting topic to discuss.
Like all injury cases, you have to look at who is negligent.
If a pedestrian is crossing in the middle of the street, has dark clothes on, there is no lighting or they are intoxicated, they are assuming the risk.
With that said as the driver of a car, you have headlights and it is your responsibility to be paying attention.
However, I did not take one case because I did not think the pedestrian would win.
This client came in and said that he had been hit by a car and wanted to get compensation.
He went on to explain that he had gotten off a bus, walked ahead of it about 25 feet to a crosswalk and then ran across the street.
It is true that cars are suppose to be cautious around buses, and that they are suppose to watch for people in crosswalks, but not people who are running across the street.
To strengthen the case against this client the bus was full of people who witnessed him running and a couple of witnesses had cameras.
Because of this pedestrian's actions, the driver did not have a chance to stop.
In cases like this, the pedestrian is definitely not going to win.
Then there are cases when the pedestrian wins even though their actions caused the accident.
Let me give you an example.
I had one client who was drunk and ended up being hit while staggering across the street.
I represented this client and got $15,000 for him.
This was the policy limit, and they decided to settle on it because it was cheaper than going to trial.
The two examples above are oddities, but as a personal injury lawyer, I have seen a few cases similar to these.
I am sure you have had the experience of someone stepping off the curb and it is obvious that the person was not paying attention.
It may seem obvious to you that the person should be at fault, but it is hard to prove.
If there are not witnesses, then it becomes their word versus yours.
Anytime it becomes a he-said-she-said battle, then the pedestrian is going to have a better chance of winning.
The best advice I can give you as a personal injury lawyer, is not to hit a pedestrian.
Although the pedestrian may be at fault, it is not something that you do not want to deal with.
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