My friend and Florida personal injury attorney, Jim Dodson, recently blogged about pedestrian fatal accidents. Mr. Dodson cites the pedestrian fatal accident statistics for 2007, as compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NHTSA reports that there were 4,654 pedestrian fatalities in 2007 alone. There were also statistics reported concerning the location and conditions at the time of the traffic accidents. Most happened in good weather, and during the night.
As Mr. Dodson points out, the NHTSA stats show that the majority of the deaths happened in urban areas and outside of crosswalks away from intersections. What is noteworthy is that alcohol played a factor in 49% of these fatal traffic accidents.
Auto accidents involving pedestrians are usually the most severe when it comes to causing catastrophic injuries and damages. These cases are not always a slam dunk from a legal standpoint. In Washington, a pedestrian owes a duty of care and a duty to act reasonably when crossing the street. For example, RCW 46.61.235 states that it is illegal for a pedestrian to cross a street in a manner that makes it impossible for the driver to stop. For this reason, a person who is hit in a crosswalk is not always fault-free, and the insurance company often takes a hardline approach to these cases.
By the same token, a person who is hit or killed while crossing the street in a no-cross zone, or outside of a crosswalk, is not always at-fault for the accident. Many times a driver is engaging in some unsafe conduct, like speeding or failing to pay attention, and these circumstances can be used to show that the driver shares most or all of the fault for causing the accident.
Motor vehicle and pedestrian accident cases are complex, time-consuming and should be investigated thoroughly. Often times the facts are hidden and must be flushed out by an experienced attorney and/or accident investigator. I’ve seen many cases where it appears to be an open and shut case about who caused the accident, but in fact further investigation reveals a different determination.
