Pedestrians Are Not Always In The Right
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
In the world of physics, there is simply no debate about who wins in a confrontation between a pedestrian on the street, and a vehicle. The vehicle is going to win every time simply because it is bigger, has more mass, and thus is capable of delivering much more force on impact when it is in motion. A pedestrian, comparatively speaking, is much less durable, and often subject to severe injuries when making contact with a vehicle.This has, in recent years, been an injury risk made even worse by the new trend in American vehicles, SUVs, or sports utility vehicles. Normal cars have a lower overall height compared to SUVs, which meant that, at least in the case of adults, vehicular impacts most commonly occurred in the waist-to-leg area, thus having a higher chance of less serious injuries. Because SUVs are taller vehicles, now impacts with adults can be around the stomach-to-chest area, and for children this may mean the entire upper body, including the head, is at risk.
So while the sad reality is that pedestrians are extremely vulnerable during accidents, this does not necessarily mean that an accident with a pedestrian is always in favor of the pedestrian.
The Driver’s Responsibility
Of course, the superior durability and damage inherent to a car does mean that law puts more emphasis on drivers exercising caution when pedestrians are present. This is especially true regarding cars and children. However, while drivers are expected to exercise more care and responsibility on the road with regards to people, that doesn’t mean they are fully legal responsible.
One common misperception about auto accidents involving people is that if a car strikes a pedestrian, the driver is automatically at fault, with no legal consequences or repercussions for the pedestrian. This is not strictly true. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the law always favors a person and not a driver.
The Law Looks At Both Sides
As with any legal situation, especially one where it is clear that some responsibility must be claimed, the law always looks to assign fault. That fault is based entirely on the evidence, and, more importantly the situation. So, for example, a driver is acting in a cautious, responsible manner, and showing good situational awareness on the road. However, a party-goer walking on the shoulder of the road, sees the car and, drunkenly, attempts to kick it, and gets his foot impacted on the front of the car. Or, worse yet, someone attempting to sue for personal injury jumps out from a behind a car hoping to get hit in order to go to court.
In one instance, the pedestrian was not exercising due caution on the road, and was not even obeying traffic law, acting out to kick a car. In the other instance, the pedestrian is attempting deliberate fraud so as to extract money from an insurance company. In both examples, just because the pedestrian was hit, the court would not claim they were completely innocent victims and the driver must be held financially responsible. In the case of the person attempting to sustain an injury on purpose, once the fraud has been uncovered, there may even be legal action taken against the fraudster.
On the other hand, there may be more tragic incidents for which no one is at fault. If we take the same careful driver above, and change the situation to driving down a neighborhood, when a child suddenly darts out from behind a car, chasing a runaway ball, this changes everything. This may simply be an accident, with no one responsible.
In any accident with a pedestrian, things are likely to be serious. Whether you are in the vehicle, or are the pedestrian involved, talk to an accident lawyer about your personal injury case.