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Pedestrians

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Pedestrians

Pedestrian accidents result in approximately 80,000 injuries in the United States each year. Since pedestrians have no impact protection, and are likely to strike both the vehicle and the ground, their injuries can often be severe, even at relatively low impact speeds. Liability in such cases can hinge on a combination of factors such as: location of the impact, crosswalk design, right of way, vehicle speed (determine by an accident reconstruction), perception and reaction time, as well as pedestrian visibility and conspicuity. At signal-controlled pedestrian crossings, traffic light timing and road design are also important factors. In many accidents, the visibility of pedestrians to drivers, and vice-versa, is of central concern.

 

Our experts are skilled at analyzing these and many more aspects of these accidents:  We can often determine who was at fault for a pedestrian’s injury, how fast the vehicle was traveling before impact, and whether the accident could have been avoided had the vehicle been traveling at a lower speed (e.g. the speed limit).  We can also determine whether the pedestrian darted out in front of the vehicle, not giving the driver a chance to avoid the accident.

Our engineers have been assisting attorneys and insurance representatives in investigating accidents since 1990. We have a highly qualified staff of engineers with advanced degrees from top-tier universities who have provided testimony on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants at trial

Previous Cases

Bus Striking Boy in Crosswalk

A young boy was crossing a street with his aunt in New York City. Before he reached the other side, he was struck by a city transit bus whose driver claimed to have had a green light. We were able to show, based on the timing of the lights and measurements of the roadway, that the bus driver had more than enough time to perceive and react to the boy in the crosswalk and could have safely stopped the bus before impact, and further that the boy was not walking unusually slow.

Child Darting onto Roadway

A car driver struck a boy running across a wide, busy roadway. Based on one accident investigation, it was not clear why the boy and driver did not see one another before the impact. We hypothesized that there must have been a nearby traveling vehicle between them obscuring the line of sight. A deposition witness later testified that such a car was present. This cleared the driver of negligence and resulted in a minimal settlement.