Mississippi’s wonderful climate should make it a perfect place to walk outdoors. Unfortunately, it is all too common for families to come into my office to discuss a severe automobile accident that injured or killed their loved one who was innocently walking down the street. While Mississippi’s climate may be excellent for pedestrians, our roadways are not. We have narrow roads with no shoulders, few street lights, and even fewer bike paths. This combination forces people to walk on the side of the road, often within inches of speeding drivers that may or may not be able to see them. Injuries ensue. Pedestrian accidents pose several novel legal issues that may not be intuitive. I have written the following blog post to help people understand the problems that this type of claim raises.
If you or a loved one was injured or killed as a result of a pedestrian accident, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for his or her injury and recovery. Barrett Law has the experience to help you if you. Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.
To Receive Compensation, You Must Prove Negligence
To attain any compensation, you must show that the person or persons responsible for your injury did not act reasonably and that unreasonableness resulted in your injuries. In a pedestrian injury case, the most common defendant is the person who struck the pedestrian with his or her vehicle. To show that the driver was not acting reasonably, the injured party’s attorney must show that the driver was speeding, driving recklessly, distracted, intoxicated, or some other clear indication that he or she was not operating reasonably at the time of the accident. Texting or checking social media while driving are both common forms of negligence that I have seen a lot of in the past few years.
The second type of defendant is the municipality or government entity responsible for the road. We all know particularly dangerous intersections or stretches of road. If a municipality is “on notice” that one of these areas is particularly dangerous, it has a duty to at least warn citizens of the danger through signage or, better yet, to correct that danger through lighting or changes to the roadway itself.
A Pedestrian’s Own Behavior Influences Whether There Will Be a Negligence Finding
Just because someone is struck by a vehicle does not mean that the driver was negligent, and the same rules of reasonableness also apply to pedestrians. If a pedestrian was intoxicated and walking down the center of an unlit road at night, the odds of proving that an oncoming vehicle hit them negligently are much lower than if he or she was walking on the road’s shoulder during the day. This is more or less a sliding scale, and the more negligent the pedestrian is, the less negligent the driver is usually viewed. Only an experienced personal injury attorney can provide you with an assessment of how a jury will consider a claim, so make sure to seek counsel immediately if you or a loved one is injured.
What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured?
If you or a loved one was injured by a vehicle while walking, you should be compensated for medical costs, counseling, and other expenses. Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, taking pictures of the accident site, attaining expert opinions, and dealing with the defendant’s attorneys. These are essential tasks that only a personal injury attorney can handle for you.
Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury. Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.
