Snellville Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
Pedestrian Accident Attorneys Assisting Snellville Residents
Pedestrian accidents are on the increase in Georgia. Almost a third of all fatal accidents in Gwinnett County involve pedestrians. Drunk and distracted drivers are disproportionately at fault for collisions with pedestrians. If you’ve been injured as a pedestrian, contact a Snellville Pedestrian Accident Lawyer at Tobin Injury Law today.
Pedestrian collisions on Jimmy Carter Boulevard and other busy Gwinnett County roads are often deadly. Pedestrians rarely survive impact with a vehicle traveling at 45 mph.
Our Snellville pedestrian accident lawyers help injury victims rebuild their lives. When pedestrian accidents are fatal, our Snellville wrongful death attorneys help families rebuild their lives by obtaining the compensation that the victim would want them to have. Our Georgia Wrongful Death Law FAQ explains how compensation for death is determined and distributed.
Who Is to Blame for Pedestrian Accidents Outside of Intersections?
Frustrated pedestrians sometimes cross in the middle of the road rather than walking half a mile to the nearest crosswalk. Georgia law allows pedestrians to cross a road outside of an intersection. Section 40-6-92 of the Georgia Code requires a pedestrian crossing a roadway outside of an intersection to “yield the right of way to all vehicles upon the roadway unless he has already, and under safe conditions, entered the roadway.”
Drivers and pedestrians sometimes dispute whether a pedestrian entered a roadway “under safe conditions” before a car appeared. When the car collides with a pedestrian outside of an intersection, juries often conclude that pedestrians contributed to the accident by negligently crossing the road in traffic.
Georgia law nevertheless imposes a duty on drivers to avoid pedestrians. Section 40-6-93 of the Georgia Code requires drivers to “exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway.” Drivers are also required to anticipate that a child or a pedestrian who appears to be confused or intoxicated might enter the road unexpectedly.
In Fountain v. Thompson, 252 Ga. 256 (1984), the Georgia Supreme Court interpreted § 40-6-93 to mean that the duty to avoid pedestrians includes a duty to discover pedestrians in the roadway. A driver, therefore, has an obligation to avoid a pedestrian who is laying in the road if a driver, exercising ordinary caution, should be able to observe and avoid the pedestrian.
When a pedestrian is in the road a few feet over the crest of a hill, on the other hand, a driver may not have an opportunity to discover or avoid the pedestrian. The Fountain decision noted that a driver might not be liable under those circumstances.
In addition, when a pedestrian “was dressed in black clothing, crossed a major roadway at night outside of an available cross-walk,” and was struck by a driver who was driving under the speed limit and using headlights, the Georgia Court of Appeals held that the driver was not negligent. It would not have been possible for a reasonably cautious driver to avoid a collision under those circumstances. Politzer v. Xiaoyan, 342 Ga. App. 224 (2017).
In most cases, whether a driver could have avoided a collision with a pedestrian is a question that a jury should decide. Our Snellville pedestrian accident lawyers can evaluate the facts and decide whether the evidence warrants a jury trial when pedestrians are injured or killed outside of an intersection.
Who Is to Blame for Pedestrian Accidents at Intersections?
Pedestrians at intersections controlled by a traffic light always have the right of way when they have a “walk” signal. Unfortunately, some “walk” signals do not permit safe crossing, particularly when pedestrians are elderly or disabled. Again, the fact that a driver has a green light is not a license to collide with pedestrians in a crosswalk.
When an intersection is not controlled by a stoplight, section 40-6-91 of the Georgia Code gives pedestrians the right of way when they are in a crosswalk, whether or not the crosswalk is marked. However, the law prohibits pedestrians from leaving the curb and walking “into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impractical for the driver to yield.”
What Happens When the Pedestrian Is at Fault?
When a driver collides with a pedestrian, Georgia juries are asked to apportion fault between the parties. A pedestrian who is more than 50% at fault cannot recover compensation. Ga. Code § 51-12-33(e).
If the pedestrian is less than 50% at fault, compensation is reduced in proportion to the pedestrian’s share of responsibility for the accident. Ga. Code § 51-12-33(a). A pedestrian who is 40% at fault will, therefore, recover 60% of full compensation.
Juries often relate to drivers when adult pedestrians are injured outside of a crosswalk. Our skilled Snellville personal injury lawyers know how to make jurors relate to the pedestrian, as well. We use our experience and judgment to advise pedestrian accident victims whether they should accept or reject settlement offers in light of how a jury is likely to allocate fault for a pedestrian accident.
Our Snellville Pedestrian Accident Attorneys Can Help With Your Case – Call Today
Our Snellville Pedestrian Accident Lawyer wants to help the people who need our help the most. We help victims whose pedestrian injuries resulted in hospitalization, multiple doctor visits, or disabilities. We limit our practice to serious injuries so that we can give every client our full attention.
We want to send a message to drunk drivers, drivers who text instead of watching the road, and drivers who fail to slow down when children are present. We represent pedestrian accident victims in Peachtree Corners, Lawrenceville, Duluth, Sugar Hill, and all other Gwinnett County communities. Our lawyers travel throughout Georgia to help injured pedestrians rebuild their lives. Contact us today. Call (678) 263-3733, email us, or fill out our online contact form.