Pedestrian Accidents
Vehicle Related Pedestrian Accident
Pedestrian accidents involving a vehicle are more common than one might think. Every year, about 83,000 pedestrians suffer injuries from vehicle related pedestrian accidents, and out of those, about 5,000 are dead. Children and the elderly are most at risk of serious injury or death as a result of a pedestrian accident. Children between the ages of 5 and 9 have the highest risk of being hit by a motor vehicle because they are smaller, less visible, and their actions are unpredictable. The elderly are more cautious and are more visible to car drivers, but when it comes to negligent drivers, the elderly cannot move fast enough to avoid being hit.
We’ve seen news of tragic accidents where a pedestrian is killed or seriously injured, sometimes, at the fault of the pedestrian himself/herself. However, in the majority of cases, driver negligence is usually the cause for a pedestrian accident. Besides those hit by drunk drivers, pedestrians are also victims of drivers not paying attention on the road, speeding, or violating pedestrian’s right of way, etc.
Compensation for Your Injury
A vehicle related pedestrian accident can result in injuries ranging from road rash, soft tissue injury, broken bone injury to brain injury, head injury, spinal cord injury, and even permanent disability or death. Because of the serious injuries that can happen from a vehicle related pedestrian accident, injured victims could suffer for years or even a life time. It is important to contact a personal injury attorney to protect your rights if you are involved in a pedestrian accident.
Premises Liability ? A Non-vehicle Related Pedestrian Accident
Premise liability is a commonly known case for non-vehicle related pedestrian accidents. In most states, a property owner is responsible for maintaining his property and warning people of hazards on it. You may have seen warning signs of slippery floors, holes in the ground, broken sidewalk, or construction zone, etc. Those are examples of warning signs that a property owner is obligated to post so pedestrians on his property are aware of the hazards. Yet when a pedestrian accident does happen, such as a slip and fall accident, proving fault is not always cut and dry.
Proving Liability in a Slip and Fall Accident
Considering that it is normal for a person to watch where he is going and not purposely or carelessly injure himself, property owners are not always responsible for pedestrian accidents on their properties. For example, if a hazard exists on a property, the property owner may not know about it at the time it exists even with regular and frequent enough maintenance schedule. So without knowing about it, the property owner is not expected to fix or remove the hazard at the time it exists. Also, one should not always be responsible for someone slipping or tripping on something that an ordinary person is expected to see and avoid.
To hold someone else liable, an injured person in a slip and fall accident has to prove that the accident was not at his fault, but was due to a dangerous condition on the property that is either
- Caused by the property owner or employee.
- Known by the property owner or employee but nothing was done to repair it.
- Should have been known by the property owner or employee if they “reasonably” maintain the property.
The third case is the most common but also less clear-cut than the first two because judges and juries have to decide whether the property owner’s effort in keeping the property safe is reasonable.
Are You Eligible for Compensation?
Some of the questions to ask when determining if the property owner is liable include
- Does the property owner have a regular maintenance schedule for examining, cleaning, or repairing the property?
- Has the dangerous condition been there long enough for the property own to know about it?
- If the dangerous condition is caused by something placed on the premise, is there a legitimate reason to place it there? Should there be a warning sign or barrier to prevent people from tripping or slipping?
- Did you have a legitimate reason to be where the dangerous condition is?
- Were you being distracted and not paying attention to where you are going? Under normal
- circumstances, could you have avoided the accident?
There are many more questions to ask when it comes to determining whether you are eligible for compensation. A personal injury attorney has the experience to help you assess the value and merit of your case. TSG’s personal injury lawyers are well-known for our caring personal service and we have the experience to produce results. Our phone is available 24-hours for your convenience (800.529.0807), and we provide free initial consultation.
Useful Information
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