Differences Between Pedestrian Accidents and Auto Accidents

Answer:

How is a pedestrian injury claim different than an automobile collision claim in Idaho? The answer is there are many things that are the same and many things that are different, as you know from the fact that it’s a pedestrian claim. There’s generally only one car involved. That’s the car that runs somebody over. In pedestrian cases, the insurance companies that defend negligent, dangerous drivers are almost universally looking for an out. They will claim that somehow the collision is a result of the pedestrian’s failure to do what they should have done. They’ll claim that a pedestrian wasn’t in a crosswalk. They’ll claim that a pedestrian wasn’t in a crosswalk legally; in other words, that they entered the crosswalk after the sign had changed. They will argue that as a matter of law, certain intersections are not crosswalks and misstate the law when doing so. Just two years ago, we had a case involving a woman who is now deceased. She was walking to her local 7-1-1 from her neighborhood. Her road made a tee intersection with a busy road here in Boise. When she came to the sidewalk at the end of her road, she checked both ways. It was clear. She proceeded across the street. As she did so, a young woman just off work, as a waitress in a bar as fate would have it, came up the hill, over the top, and right through this lady who had already cleared three of the four lanes of traffic. The insurance company claimed that they weren’t going to pay because this sweet, old, now deceased woman was not in a crosswalk. Now, they were right; she was not at a crosswalk that was lined out with white paint and little strips, but as experienced pedestrian injury lawyers would tell you, in Idaho, anytime there’s an intersection of two roads at the corner, there is a presumed crosswalk for pedestrian crossing. We brought that case and put it to them. Experienced trial lawyers like those at Hepworth Holzer can help you recover in your pedestrian injury claim.