Personal Injury

Pedestrian Accidents
A pedestrian accident can impact the lives of those involved in the accident, as well as the lives of their family members and loved ones. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association reports that each year nearly 5,000 pedestrians die in motor vehicle related accidents and more than 78,000 suffer severe injuries from being hit. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) reports that 9% of total U.S. pedestrian accidents and pedestrian injuries occur in Florida. Pedestrian fatalities in Florida account for about 20% of car accident fatalities and 14% of traffic accident injuries. Because pedestrian accidents most frequently involve small children or elderly individuals, significant injuries often result.
Who is liable?
Pedestrian accidents have many causes. Most frequently, they are attributed to a driver’s negligence or carelessness in preventing the situation. They can also be attributed to the negligence of the people responsible for maintaining the sidewalk or roadway where the accident happened. Injuries resulting from pedestrian accidents can have a huge effect on a person’s life. They can result in economic damages such as wage loss and increasing medical costs. They can even result in intangible damages such pain and suffering and permanent injury, which can affect a person’s capacity to continue living as they had before the accident. |