Common Pedestrian Accidents in Toledo

One of the most common pedestrian accidents in Toledo to happen is when a person is walking in the crosswalk and it hit by a turning vehicle.

Another scenario is when a person darts out from the middle of the street. The question regarding that case is whether an ordinary, reasonable driver would not have a duty to anticipate someone darting out in the middle of the roadway. Also, someone walking in a parking lot and gets hit by a moving vehicle is a frequent way for a pedestrian to get hurt. If you have been injured in one of these types of accidents, or another similar incident, contact a dedicated lawyer who could help you recover damages.

Children in Pedestrian Accidents

Children are often involved in the common pedestrian accidents in Toledo. One of the issues in a case with a child involved is that children under the age of six under Ohio law may not be guilty of contributory negligence. If a five-year-old darts out onto the roadway, the child may not be considered capable of being negligent because they are under the age of six. The driver of the car potentially could be considered negligent for not stopping in time or speeding in a situation, even though the child ran onto the street. If the lawsuit is brought in court, often the driver sues the parents of the small child for not watching them in the situation. Pedestrian small child situations are often complex legal situations.

What Makes Children Susceptible to Accidents?

The qualities that make children susceptible to accident scenarios are age and intelligence. Children over the age of six and under the age of 16 are not going to understand the rules as well as somebody who has a driver’s license. Under Ohio law, if somebody is considered a child, they are held to the standard of how an ordinary, reasonable prudent 11-year-old child would think or act in that situation. Concerning the standard of care, there may be a universal standard of care for an adult, but a child would only be held to the standard of an ordinary child of the same age and intelligence.

Risk Factors for Teens

What makes many people, especially teens, vulnerable to pedestrian accidents are texting, being on the cellphone, and wearing headphones. The use of electronic devices means they probably are paying less attention to risks in an accident situation. Qualities that increase an elderly person’s likelihood of being hit by a vehicle are issues of vision, mental confidence, and the ability to walk and move around.

Incidents Involving Buses

One of the most common Toledo pedestrian accidents involves pedestrians and buses, which includes school buses. The same standard of care exists for buses as with a car. The only difference is that school buses are stopping to let off children and they have a stop sign that comes out that requires others to keep a safe distance away from the bus.

Parking Lot Incidents

Since many parking lots are private, this impacts the way a case is handled. In a typical auto accident case on a roadway, a person is going to have an immediate investigation by a police department. Most of the time if the accident occurs in a parking lot or a private area, police departments do not take the call and do not do a police investigation. In a private parking lot situation, there is often no investigation, witnesses, or photos of the scene. Lawyers need to do their own investigation of the incident.

They have to try to come up with witnesses through the plaintiff. Parking lot incidents are one of the most difficult cases of common pedestrian accidents in Toledo to handle. The plaintiff is at a disadvantage because there is no immediate investigation. The earlier the attorneys get the case the better the investigation they are able to make.

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