Maryland Pedestrian Accident Dynamics

When the metal and steel of two vehicles come together,  there is some protection for the drivers and passengers in the vehicles. Devices such as airbags and seatbelts are designed for safety and allow the driver and passengers to be shielded from direct injury. In contrast, pedestrians do not have these same safety features, or even anything protecting them from a collision with a vehicle

Due to this fact, the injuries suffered in Maryland pedestrian accidents can be quite a bit more serious for pedestrians even at low impact speeds because an individual can roll up on the vehicle, on the hood, or on the windshield, as well as be pushed down onto the pavement. All of those impacts to the body and direct blows to the body result in serious injuries to the person.

Unique Dynamics of Pedestrian Accidents

The most common type of accidents involving pedestrians are those where a vehicle is not paying attention and collides with the pedestrian who is crossing the street. Depending on the speed, the pedestrian could be knocked to the ground by the car with great force. If it is a high-speed collision, then the pedestrian could even be rolled up onto the hood or windshield of a vehicle and then launched and thrown a considerable distance.

Those types of collisions result in serious injuries because of a heavy, hard-surfaced vehicle coming into contact directly with the individual causing serious fractures, head injuries, and internal injuries. In addition to broken bones, some of the most serious injuries can be to the skull, resulting in a traumatic brain injury. These can be very long lasting and sometimes permanent.

Bike v. Pedestrian Accidents

Because pedestrians must cross at intersections and crosswalks for their protection, there is more regulation when they cross roadways. In this way, pedestrians have more protection from traffic whereas bicyclists are often riding with the flow of traffic. If the vehicle driver is not paying attention, speeding, or distracted, a collision can happen and usually the vehicle is moving at a faster rate than bicycles.

Therefore, if the driver is negligently causing an accident, the bicycle driver in many instances will not fare any better than a pedestrian because they have a similar amount of protection as a pedestrian but are traveling at greater speeds.

Determining Liability

From a liability standpoint, as long as the pedestrian is crossing safely, reasonably, and in a marked crosswalk, then the vehicle is going to be responsible and held liable for the accident. If the pedestrian is crossing at an unmarked crosswalk when the collision occurs the analysis may change, since the responsibility is on the pedestrian to yield the right of way to the vehicle. It becomes an analysis of the reasonableness of both the driver and the pedestrian. Sideline visibility, lighting conditions, weather, and the like are factors that will weigh into the reasonableness of the conduct of vehicle driver versus the pedestrian.

Damages

Damages in these kinds of cases can be significant as a result of the serious injuries that are suffered. Damages consist of medical bills, lost wages, conscious pain and suffering the physical pain, the mental anguish, and inconvenience suffered as a result of the collision. These include both economic-type and noneconomic-type losses that comprise all of the harms and losses suffered by a pedestrian involved in an accident.