Vermont has rules for pedestrians, including instructions for where people should cross a street. Typically, you should cross in a marked crosswalk or, if none is available, then in an unmarked crosswalk at the intersection. When you cross the street somewhere else, in violation of the law, then you are jaywalking.
Jaywalking is certainly dangerous. Motorists are expecting pedestrians to cross at the intersection, not leap out into the road wherever they feel like. What happens if you were jaywalking when amotorist crashes into you? Can you receive compensation if you were jaywalking at the time of the accident?
The answer is, “It depends.” (That’s the answer to most legal questions.) Vermont’s comparative negligence law will come into play, but you still might make a valid injury claim. Contact Larson & Gallivan Law to speak with a Vermont personal injury attorney.
Why Do People Jaywalk?
Most jaywalking happens because people are in a hurry. You might be running late for an appointment or trying to get home at the end of the day. Instead of walking up to the intersection, you jump into traffic and cross where it is convenient.
On long rural roads, of course, it’s often unrealistic to walk up to the “intersection” before crossing, which could be miles away. This article deals with the more common situation: you crossed a street in town, when you could have walked a little way up to the intersection to cross there.
What Causes Pedestrian Accidents?
Motorists must operate their vehicles with reasonable care so that they don’t crash into other cars or pedestrians. Sadly, there are some common reasons for wrecks:
- Distraction—cell phones and other devices are huge distractions for drivers, who can’t see someone crossing the street or walking beside it.
- Fatigue—tired drivers might nod off briefly, which means they can’t see something up ahead and fail to slow down. Accidents naturally occur.
- Speeding—it takes longer to come to a full stop when a vehicle is speeding. Even if a driver sees you, they might be unable to stop in time.
- Drunkenness—an intoxicated driver will have slower reflexes and probably be unable to control their car.
There are other reasons for accidents which are unrelated to the driver. On rural roads, a lack of light means that accidents increase at night. A car’s headlights can only pick out a pedestrian walking in the dark a few seconds before the vehicle is upon them.
How Comparative Negligence Affects Your Claim
Vermont has acomparative negligence rule which applies to personal injury cases, including pedestrian accidents. To receive compensation, your contributory negligence must not be greater than the driver’s negligence. That means that you can be up to 50% at fault for a pedestrian crash but not even a little bit over.
Anyone who is 51% or more at fault is prohibited from receiving any compensation. That is a dramatic consequence. If you are 50% or less, you can still seek compensation, but your amount gets lowered based on your share of fault.
As a pedestrian, you must yield the right of way to cars on the road when you cross outside the intersection. A careful pedestrian will yield as required by law. However, the car might be far away and you think you can cross in time, so you jump into the road. The car was going faster than expected, and you got hit. This is a common situation.
We will need to compare your negligence to the driver’s negligence. This is often an issue in dispute when negotiating a settlement. The driver’s insurance company will probably argue you were more at fault than the driver. We will argue that you are less to blame.
Everything depends on the facts. We need evidence to argue the driver wasn’t careful. You can help gather evidence after the accident, if you aren’t too injured.
How We Prove Driver Negligence
Strong evidence includes:
- Admissions from the driver. After the crash, the driver should stop to render assistance. Maybe they blurted out, “I was looking at my phone and didn’t see you!” We can use admissions like that to prove the driver wasn’t careful. Share with your attorney any admissions made by the driver.
- Toxicology results. The police should come out to the accident scene. If the driver acts drunk or high, the police should investigate. They might put the driver through a field sobriety test. And they could ask the driver to give a urine or breath sample. We can use the results to show the driver was impaired, which usually makes them responsible for an accident.
- Witness testimony. Other pedestrians might have seen the driver racing down the road or swerving all over the place. Their testimony could help bolster your negligence claim against the driver.
- Absence of skid marks. Skid marks would show the driver tried to swerve to avoid hitting you. If there are no marks, then the driver might not have even looked at the road while driving. This is some evidence we can use.
Minimizing Your Own Negligence
Should you be honest that you were jaywalking at the time of your crash? Yes. For one thing, it’s probably obvious depending on where you were hit by the car. If you’re lying in the middle of the road, then it’s clear you weren’t trying to cross the road at the intersection. There is no reason to lie.
Your attorneys should work to minimize your share of fault. For example, if the accident happened in the middle of the day, then the driver should have seen you on the road.
Let’s discuss your accident in detail. Our firm excels at pinning blame where it belongs: on dangerous drivers who harm pedestrians.
Reach Out to a Vermont Pedestrian Accident Lawyer!
Our firm has years of experience helping people like you receive financial compensation in a settlement. Any injured pedestrian can make a claim on the at-fault driver’s liability policy. Let us explain more in a free consultation. We don’t charge a fee unless we win your case, so there is no risk to calling us or submitting your details online.