Articles Tagged with pedestrian accident attorney

Pedestrian accident deaths are a national scourge in the United States. Where other countries have managed to cut pedestrian deaths in recent years, the U.S. has experienced a 46 percent increase over the last decade – rising by 5 percent in just 2020 alone. Last year, Florida ranked No. 2 for pedestrian deaths in the U.S., tallying 899 in 2021 preliminary estimates – a 25 percent increase from the year before and 12 percent of the national total. Broward pedestrian accident lawyer

Alarming as these figures are, they aren’t a total shocker. Florida has consistently ranked among the most dangerous places in the United States to travel on foot – and the U.S. is among the most dangerous countries in the world for pedestrians. As noted in the Dangerous By Design 2022 analysis by Smart Growth America, more than 6,500 people were struck and killed while walking in America in 2020 – about 18 daily. In 2021, the total was 7,485 – more than 20 every single day. Four of the top 10 most dangerous metro areas in America for pedestrians are in Florida. We have 7 metro areas in the top 20, with No. 14 being Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach. No. 1 is Daytona Beach.

Contributing factors include:

  • Poor road designs. This is especially true for non-interstate arterial highways that prioritize large cars moving at very high speeds at the expense of other types of travelers (particularly in poorer income areas). These account for 15 percent of our country’s roads, but 70 percent of all pedestrian deaths.
  • Larger vehicles. SUVs and crossovers account for about 50 percent of the market share for all passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. Average car size is increasing across the board, but Americans have much fewer options for smaller cars compared to their European, South American, and Asian counterparts. Our most popular vehicles increased in average car size by 21 percent from 1982 to 2017.
  • Distracted, careless drivers. This has always been an issue, of course, but smartphones and in-vehicle technology have never before been so immersive. Workers, parents, loved ones – we’re all expected to be engaged and in touch at all times, even at the expense of other key tasks – like driving.
  • An aging population. Older people in some communities are more likely to walk than drive. They’re more vulnerable to accidents because they move slower and their vision, hearing, and reflexes are not what they once were. And when they are involved in pedestrian accidents, they’re at higher risk of serious and fatal injuries.

Florida, along with California, Georgia, Texas, and Arizona, account for nearly half of all pedestrian accident deaths in the country.

Legal Options in Florida Pedestrian Accident Aftermath

Surviving loved ones of those who have been killed in South Florida pedestrian accidents may face several challenges in pursuing justice – both in the civil and criminal justice system. Continue reading

Fort Lauderdale pedestrian accidentTaking a stroll in South Florida could be hazardous to your health. Smart Growth America, an organization dedicated to pedestrian safety, ranks the Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach-Miami metro area as 13th in the country for the most dangerous to those  traversing traffic on foot.

In its Dangerous by Design 2021 report, Smart Growth America notes that 1,675 pedestrians have died in Florida from 2010 to 2019, which amounts to 2.8 pedestrian accident deaths per 100,000 residents. The analysis establishes a Pedestrian Death Index to assess the risks and rank the road safety status in cities and states. It looks at how dangerous it is for people to walk in a given area based on the number of people injured and killed in pedestrian accidents controlled for the population and the number of folks who walk to work as a measure of average overall walking in the region. South Florida’s PDI was 171.9. The metro area with the highest PDI was Orlando, with a PDI of 295 and 3 deaths per 100,000 people.

Among states, Florida was once again No. 1, with nearly 5,900 people killed and a PDI of 201.4. Most other states with high pedestrian danger were in the South, including Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas. New Mexico, Arizona and Delaware were also high on the list. Among the top 13 most dangerous metro areas, regions in Florida held nine of those slots. Continue reading

It’s estimated that nearly 50 percent of all pedestrian accidents involve some type of alcohol use – either by the motorist or the pedestrian. This can become a point of contention in an injury lawsuit because evidence of impairment – even if it’s not an illegal, given the circumstances – can still be used to discredit a witness or to show a person at-fault or at least comparatively at-fault. However, the mere fact of impairment – even if it’s against the law – does not decide liability in a civil case. That’s why even civil cases involving drunk drivers aren’t a shoe-in. pedestrian accident attorney

In Florida, a finding of comparative fault (meaning plaintiff shares some of the blame for what happened) will not prohibit a plaintiff from pursuing the case or from collecting damages. However, per F.S. 768.81, Florida’s comparative fault law, it will proportionately reduce the amount of damages to which one is entitled. So for instance, if a plaintiff is deemed 30 percent at fault and defendant 70 percent at fault, plaintiff will only be able to collect damages on that 70 percent.

In a recent pedestrian accident case out of Pennsylvania, a major sticking point was whether evidence of a decedent pedestrian’s blood-alcohol level was rightly allowed into evidence by the trial court, or whether it was unfairly prejudicial an inadmissible absent any other independent corroborating evidence.  Continue reading

The Florida pedestrian accident death of a 16-year-old on Palm Coast has prompted residents in the community to advocate for increased street and traffic lights and sidewalks on the stretch of road where it happened.street lights

The are in which the teen was walking on the night she was killed is not lighted and has no sidewalks, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The Palm Coast Observer reported the driver who struck her said he couldn’t see her due to her dark clothing. However, that this fact alone does not mean she is responsible for the crash, nor does it means her family is barred from pursuing litigation. These kinds of cases should be weighed by an experienced injury lawyer.

Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released its updated numbers on pedestrian accidents nationally. The results were not encouraging. Continue reading

A Florida man alleges he suffered permanent personal injury in a pedestrian accident he says occurred when two police officers left him intoxicated by the side of U.S. 98 North last summer. The 29-year-old says he’ll never walk again without assistance, and is seeking to collect damages from the department that employed the officers, as well as from the officers personally. crosswalk

He was one of 7,870 people injured in pedestrian accidents in Florida last year, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). The agency’s latest traffic accident statistics report indicates there was a nearly 2 percent increase in pedestrian injuries in the Sunshine State last year. There was a 3 percent increase in the number of overall pedestrian crashes (from 8,838 in 2014 to 9,085 in 2015), as well as a 4.3 percent increase in the number of pedestrian accident fatalities (from 606 in 2014 to 632 in 2015).

The total number of traffic accidents last year was 374,342 – a 9 percent increase from the year before. Pedestrian accidents comprised 2.4 percent of all traffic crashes, but 23.6 percent of all fatal crashes last year.  Continue reading

Contact Information