Pedestrian accidents can happen any time of year, but weather conditions often play a major role. Slippery roads, reduced visibility, and distracted driving during storms can all increase the chances of a driver striking a pedestrian.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a pedestrian due to poor weather, you may have a personal injury claim.
How Weather Directly Causes Pedestrian Accidents
While drivers are responsible for operating their vehicles safely, research shows weather can also be a direct cause of pedestrian accidents. Here are some of the most common ways weather conditions lead to pedestrian crashes:
Slick Roads
Wet, icy, or snow-covered roads reduce traction and make it much harder for drivers to stop. Large trucks and other vehicles may skid if they attempt to brake suddenly on slick pavement. Even at slow residential speeds, this can easily cause a driver to hit a pedestrian they would have otherwise avoided.
Limited Visibility
Heavy rain, snow, fog, and other conditions can severely limit visibility. Drivers may not see pedestrians attempting to cross or walking along the side of the road. Reduced visibility is especially dangerous at dawn, dusk, and nighttime when lighting conditions are already poor.
Driver Distraction and Fatigue
Coping with adverse weather often leads to driver distraction and fatigue. Motorists may become focused on windshield wipers, defrosters, and other vehicle features rather than the road. Driving in storms is also tiring and leads to delayed reaction times. Both distraction and drowsiness make drivers less likely to notice pedestrians.
Hydroplaning and Loss of Control
Intense rain or flooding can cause vehicle tires to completely lose contact with the road. This hydroplaning makes it impossible for drivers to steer or brake, leaving them unable to avoid pedestrians in their path. Changing road conditions may also cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles and leave their lane.
Blowing Debris and Reduced Mobility
Strong winds during storms can blow debris and cause mobility issues, especially for pedestrians with disabilities. Flying branches or obstacles can strike pedestrians, while mobility aids like wheelchairs and walkers are harder to control on slick surfaces. Icy conditions also increase fall risks.
The next time you hear about a pedestrian being struck during a storm, it’s likely one of these factors was a root cause. Understanding the effects of weather can help in claiming compensation after an accident.
Weather Conditions and Liability After Pedestrian Accidents
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed by a driver during harsh weather, you will need to consider legal liability and fault when filing an injury lawsuit. An experienced accident lawyer can help analyze liability based on the conditions at the time of the crash.
Driver Negligence in Adverse Weather
In a legal claim, the burden of fault typically falls on the driver who struck the pedestrian. Even in poor weather, drivers have a duty to operate their vehicles prudently and avoid endangering others. An aggressive, distracted, or impaired driver who hits a pedestrian may still be deemed fully liable.
However, some weather-related factors could reduce driver liability if they follow prudent protocol:
- Maintaining safe speeds and following distances for the conditions
- Ensuring full visibility by clearing ice/snow from windshields
- Avoiding unnecessary trips in extremely hazardous weather
- Exercising additional caution around pedestrians in low visibility
By following best practices for driving in poor weather, a driver can reduce liability for pedestrian collisions, though they are rarely absolved entirely.
Shared Liability in Certain Cases
In some accident cases involving weather conditions, liability may be shared between the driver and the pedestrian. Comparative negligence laws determine how much blame applies to each party.
Factors that could indicate pedestrian negligence include:
- Crossing outside of intersections or against traffic signals
- Failing to wear bright outerwear in low-light conditions
- Walking while distracted by mobile devices in severe weather
- Not taking additional precautions near roadways in poor visibility
However, the driver is still obligated to make every reasonable effort to see and avoid pedestrians. A skilled accident lawyer can argue that even a partially negligent pedestrian should still recover damages.
Government/Infrastructure Liability
In rare cases, poor maintenance of roads, signals, or crosswalks by a government body may contribute to an accident. Examples include:
- Failure to repair known potholes or cracks
- Not salting/plowing roads promptly
- Leaving damaged stop lights unrepaired
- Allowing vegetation to block signs or crossings
Claiming government liability for infrastructure issues requires extensive evidence and legal expertise. However, it can provide another source of compensation if negligence contributed to a crash.
Establishing Exact Causes and Liability
Weather conditions can make it much harder to reconstruct the exact causes of a pedestrian crash. Evidence like skid marks may be erased quickly. Witnesses may have limited visibility of the accident events. And both the pedestrian and driver recollections can be affected by shock or injury after the incident.
This makes the early involvement of an accident lawyer critical. An expert investigation can identify and preserve evidence before it washes away. All possible factors, including weather, road conditions, visibility, driver actions, and pedestrian behavior must be explored. Witnesses who may not be present later should be located immediately. Photographs, videos, police reports, medical records, and other resources can lock in important details while they are still fresh.
Accurately establishing causes and liability is the only way for an injured pedestrian or their family to claim fair compensation through a settlement or court award. An experienced personal injury firm knows how to build a compelling liability case after any type of accident.
How Weather Impacts Compensation and Damages
If you are eligible for compensation after being hit as a pedestrian in poor weather, the specific monetary damages involved may be affected by the conditions at the time of the crash. An accident lawyer can maximize recovery by accounting for how weather contributed to injuries and losses.
Medical Expenses
Weather conditions often worsen collision injuries for pedestrians. Icy conditions can lead to more broken bones and serious head/brain trauma. Delayed medical care due to storms can also increase complications. Documenting how adverse weather contributed to injury severity strengthens an accident claim.
Lost Income
In severe weather, pedestrians struck while commuting or traveling for work may face huge income losses. Reconstructing how weather-related delays, closures, and absences impacted earnings demonstrates lost wages from the accident.
Pain and Suffering
A pedestrian hit by a vehicle in freezing rain or similar hazards experiences greater shock and trauma. Negligence claims can be supplemented by detailing this amplified pain and suffering.
Wrongful Death Damages
If negligence in stormy conditions leads to a fatal pedestrian accident, weather factors into wrongful death claims. Sudden loss of income, loss of future earnings, and severe grief among family members can increase damages.
With an attorney’s help, considering how weather played a role can significantly expand compensation through negotiation or in court. Don’t let an insurer deny weather-related factors when calculating what you or your family deserve.
Why Pedestrian Accident Victims Need a Lawyer
After any motor vehicle collision, injury victims face an uphill battle to receive just compensation, especially when weather is involved. Hiring experienced pedestrian accident lawyers like Husain Law + Associates, PC pedestrian lawyers levels the playing field. Legal representatives can handle the entire claims process for you as you recover from your injuries.
Deal Directly with Insurance Companies
Insurers quickly dispatch adjusters and accident reconstructionist to minimize payouts after crashes. They exploit bad weather and attempt to shift blame onto pedestrians. A lawyer deals directly with insurers on your behalf to prevent under-compensation.
Collect and Preserve Evidence
Vital evidence of what occurred can vanish quickly after accidents in rain, ice, or snow. Accident lawyers know how to immediately locate video footage, eyewitness accounts, police reports, and other documentation before it disappears.
Prove Liability and Overcome Denials
Insurers routinely deny pedestrian claims, alleging comparative negligence and denying driver responsibility. Skilled accident lawyers rely on weather and forensic evidence to build strong liability cases against negligent drivers.
Estimate Full Current and Future Damages
It takes legal experience to tally every current and future cost after an accident, factoring in medical care, permanent disability, lost income, pain and suffering, and reduced quality of life. A lawyer fully quantifies how your life has been impacted.
Negotiate Fair Out-of-Court Settlements
Most injury claims settle out of court, but insurers typically offer far less than cases are worth. Accident lawyers apply negotiation tactics and prepare cases for trial to extract full settlements. If a fair offer isn’t secured, they won’t hesitate to take your case to court.
Level the Legal Playing Field
As an individual injury victim, you are always at a disadvantage against teams of insurance defense accident lawyers aiming to limit compensation. Your legal team matches their resources and legal firepower.
Allow You to Focus on Recovery
With attorneys handling everything, you can concentrate fully on your health instead of paperwork, calls, negotiations, and proceedings. Let a lawyer take on the burden while you recover.
Pedestrian accidents involving poor weather require legal advocates on your side. Don’t rely on insurers for fair treatment – their priority is protecting profits. Immediately contact experienced pedestrian accident attorneys to protect your rights and maximize compensation.
Finding the Right Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
Choosing the right accident attorney is crucial to getting full and fair injury compensation. Here are some essential tips for finding an effective legal representative:
- Experience with pedestrian claims – Make sure your lawyer has extensive background specifically with pedestrian accident cases, including incidents that happened in bad weather.
- Resources to take on insurers – Boutique firms may lack the manpower and financial resources to litigate major injury claims against large insurance carriers if needed. Select a sufficiently large firm.
- Willingness to go to trial – Some attorneys focus on quick settlements instead of maximizing compensation. Find an attorney with a track record of taking cases to court when necessary.
- No out-of-pocket costs – Accident attorneys work on contingency fees, meaning they only get paid if you win damages. You should pay nothing upfront or during your case.
- Strong negotiators – Since most claims are settled out of court, hire expert negotiators who can extract the full value of your case in a settlement.
- Personalized attention and service – You need attorneys who give each client’s case focused attention, not just process claims en masse. Ensure you get VIP treatment.
- Multi-disciplinary support – A larger firm can provide both legal guidance and dedicated medical experts, economists, investigators, and others to strengthen your case.
Don’t leave money on the table or make legal mistakes that jeopardize your claim. Consult a [top pedestrian accident law firm] near you for a free case review so you fully understand your legal options. The right accident lawyers can help you recover and rebuild your life after a weather-related pedestrian crash.
Frequently Asked Questions
I was hit by a driver who hydroplaned in heavy rain. Do I have an accident claim?
Yes, drivers are still required to reduce speeds for wet conditions. Hydroplaning drivers often bear primary liability unless they were traveling well below the speed limit.
How does crossing mid-block in rainy weather affect my legal claim after a pedestrian crash?
While mid-block crossing is dangerous, drivers must still yield to visible pedestrians per law. However, damages may be reduced somewhat based on comparative negligence if you jaywalked.
My loved one was killed in a hit-and-run pedestrian accident during a blizzard. What are my options?
Report the crash immediately and contact both police and accident lawyers to help locate the driver. You may also make a claim against your own uninsured motorist policy. Hit-and-run claims in bad weather require quick action.
Can I still pursue a pedestrian accident case if I was distracted by my cell phone when I was struck?
Yes, but cell phone distraction could be argued as comparative negligence, potentially reducing your claim value slightly. However, the driver is still mostly liable for failing to avoid a visible pedestrian.
Can weather reports be used as evidence in my accident claim after I was hit crossing in a storm?
Yes, weather records, forecasts, and warnings may help establish conditions and whether the driver was exercising proper caution. Your attorney can submit key weather data.
