Understanding Personal Injury Law

Pedestrians Are Often Blamed For Their Injuries

5 August 2021

Kristina Walker

It is never the goal of any person to be hit by a car. So, when a pedestrian accident victim is forced to deal with an accusation that they played a part in the incident on top of their injuries — it is not a good feeling. Unfortunately, this scenario is the exact experience some pedestrian victims experience.

Surroundings Awareness

In personal injury cases, all parties are expected to exercise a duty of care. Legally, this expectation means that even victims can share blame for their injuries if they were not acting responsibly. In a pedestrian-involved accident, this lack of duty of care may come in the form of walking in an undesignated crosswalk.

Yet, it should not be used as a driver-defensive unfairly, such as to state that the pedestrian should not have walked on the street given the speed at which cars travel in the area. As long as the pedestrian was in a designated zone, they were acting per the law. It is instead the drivers' responsibility to exercise a duty of care and follow this law. 

Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Another unfair scenario some pedestrian victims face is an accusation on the part of the negligent driver that the individual was in the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, they may suggest that the pedestrian should not have been walking in the area at the time of the accident because it was a heavy-traffic period.

Drivers do not have the right to set the law; they are only required to abide by it. If the government has deemed the area a pedestrian-safe zone, people have the right to walk freely in these spaces, no matter the time of day.

Unfair Word Play

It is not what you say, but how you say it. This phrase is especially applicable in pedestrian-involved accident claims that make their way into a courtroom. Attorneys representing the at-fault party may use wordplay to establish a possible bias.

For instance, instead of saying the driver hit the pedestrian, they say the pedestrian was hit by the vehicle. Both phrases say the same thing, but one leaves the door open to possible fault on the part of the pedestrian. You need someone on your side who will highlight this wordplay and be just as vocal about your innocence.

Any victim of a pedestrian accident deserves to have someone on their side. Speak with an attorney about your pedestrian injuries and your case.  

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