Pedestrian Accidents
If you or a loved one has been injured by a vehicle while walking, jogging, playing or running, I can help you. My name is Benjamin O. Bengtson, and I'm a personal injury attorney serving Atlanta, GA and the surrounding counties and towns. If you have been injured as a pedestrian by a negligent motorist, your focus must be on recovering physically from your injuries. My focus will be on recovering reimbursement for your injuries.
How Often Do Pedestrian Accidents Happen?
Worldwide, more than 270,000 pedestrian fatalities happen each year. Unfortunately, pedestrian fatalities have been going up in the United States. Since 2009, there has been a 53% increase in pedestrian deaths. In their February 2020 news release, the Governor's Highway Safety Association reported that 6,590 pedestrians were killed on US roads in 2019, the highest number in 30 years! Five states account for almost 50% of pedestrian fatalities in the US. Unfortunately, Georgia is one of those five states.
What Can You Receive Compensation For?
Few people realize just how extensive the costs of a pedestrian accident injury can be over time:
- Anticipated future medical bills
- Pain and suffering
- Bodily injury and permanent scarring
- Loss of consortium for spouse
- Current and future work income
- Disability or inability to work
- Inability or hindered ability to engage in your favorite sports and hobbies
What's Behind the Alarming Increase in Pedestrian Accidents?
Smartphone Use
Both drivers and pedestrians are often distracted by smartphones.
Rising Popularity of SUVs and Pickup Trucks
There are more SUVs and trucks on the road, and because of their larger front surface area and weight, they are twice as likely to cause a fatality as a car, since the pedestrian cannot tumble over the vehicle as easily, or will be more easily injured if rolled over.
Increase of Electric and Hybrid Cars
Since electric and hybrid cars are so quiet, they are 40 percent more likely to strike pedestrians, who avoid cars with their ears as well as their eyes.
Most Common Causes of Pedestrian Accident Injuries
- Three quarters of pedestrian accidents happen at night, mostly away from intersections and on local roads
- 59 percent of pedestrian fatalities happen on non-freeway arterial roads – the busy local roads that carry the most traffic
- 50 percent of pedestrian fatalities happen on the weekend
- Nearly half of all pedestrian accidents involve alcohol consumption on the part of the pedestrian or the driver
Safety Tip: If you go out walking or jogging at night, wear bright clothing, preferably with reflective material sewn on.
When is the Driver at Fault?
A vehicle driver is liable for a pedestrian injury if the driver failed to stop for a pedestrian when:
- Making a left or right turn at an intersection
- Entering a street or highway from a driveway, alley or private road
- A pedestrian was on a crosswalk on the driver's half of the road
- A pedestrian was in a crosswalk, walking towards the driver's side of the road
- There was a stop sign or red light and a pedestrian was crossing
- There was a blind pedestrian crossing with a white cane or guide dog
- Passing a car stopped for a pedestrian at a crosswalk
- A pedestrian had already begun to cross where there is no crosswalk under safe conditions
Also at fault if breaking traffic laws:
When Might the Pedestrian Be at Fault?
According to Georgia law, a pedestrian would be at least partly to blame if:
- Failed to yield to oncoming traffic when crossing where there was no crosswalk
- Did not use a marked crosswalk when there were traffic lights on both sides of the block
- Left a curb or place of safety by stepping into the path of an oncoming vehicle so near that it was impractical for the driver to yield
- Crossed an intersection diagonally
- Failed to use a sidewalk when one was available
- Was not walking on the shoulder of the road, or as closely as possible to the edge
- On two-lane roads, was not walking on the side facing traffic when no sidewalk was available [OCGA 40-6-91(b)]
- Began crossing when a crosswalk light was red
Important: Even if you or your loved one was partly at fault, that doesn't necessarily mean you do not have a good case. In Georgia, if the vehicle driver was at least 50 percent at fault, the pedestrian can still collect for the percentage of fault that the driver was responsible for.
What to Do if You or a Loved One is Injured in a Pedestrian Accident
Get Help
- If you or someone else is seriously injured, call for an ambulance right away, or ask someone else to do so.
- Otherwise, call the police and do not leave the scene until they arrive.
- As soon as possible, call me at (404) 596-5518.
- Some auto accident policies also cover pedestrian accidents, so call your insurance company and report the accident.
Act Wisely
- Be polite, but do not tell anyone the accident was your fault, even if you think it was.
- There may be factors of which you are currently unaware. The motorist could have been speeding, driving down a turn lane, had failing brakes, or was driving too fast for conditions.
- Point out to the police officer anything you think he should know.
Document the Accident
- Get the name, address, phone numbers, license number, and insurance information of the motorist.
- Get the names, addresses and phone numbers of witnesses.
- Take pictures of the vehicle, the accident site, and the conditions.
Note: If you were injured too badly to do any of this, don't worry. We can still build a case for you from the available records and when appropriate, will even dispatch a private investigator who specializes in accidents to the scene.
The Georgia Tender Years Doctrine and Children
One out of five children under the age of 15 who were killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians. When determining fault, motorists are usually held to a higher standard, especially if the pedestrian was a child.
- In Georgia, a child under the age of four is legally considered to be incapable of negligence
- However, the person caring for the child could be regarded as the negligent party if the child was not being properly supervised
- Children between ages 5 and 13 can be considered capable of negligence, but this is determined subjectively according to Georgia's Tender Years Doctrine
- Even teens aged 14 to 17 may be judged by a more lenient standard because of this doctrine
Why Should You Use a Personal Injury Lawyer?
- Insurance companies have experienced lawyers and adjusters working to save them money
- They often make low-ball offers and try to persuade you it's the most you can expect
- Don't sign a settlement agreement without consulting a personal injury attorney first
- I won't be paid a dime unless I win money for you
- Even after attorney fees, you will likely walk away with more compensation than you would have received on your own
Frequently Asked Questions
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