Injury lawyers in Tallahassee know that accidents with the most serious injuries are often those where a motor vehicle hits someone who is walking or riding a bicycle. Because the driver of a car or truck or even a motorcycle is much better protected than a pedestrian or cyclist, a collision will often result in catastrophic injuries or death for the bicyclist or pedestrian, while the motorist may not be injured at all.

For that reason, many people automatically assume that the motorist bears all the liability for the accident. However, legal liability is a complex issue, and a proper assessment of liability requires investigation and consideration of a wide array of factors. If you’ve been injured as a pedestrian or cyclist, you cannot automatically assume you are entitled to compensation as the victim, regardless of the severity of your injuries. Instead, you need to work with an attorney who is prepared to investigate, preserve evidence to support your claim and make the most persuasive arguments to show why others involved in the accident should be held liable. Otherwise, attorneys for the other side will find ways to make you appear responsible.

To understand why, it is necessary to look at the factors that affect liability in accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists under Florida law.

Negligence and Other Sources of Liability

Accidents are incidents that are, by definition, not caused by intentional wrongdoing. No one in their right mind deliberately tries to collide with someone else unless they’re on a bumper car course. An accident is unintentional. However, someone can still be held responsible for the results of an accident if they are found to be legally liable for causing the accident. This liability is usually based on negligence or possibly recklessness.

You are legally negligent and can be held liable for the harm caused to another person if the four following factors apply:

1. You owe a duty of care to that person
2. You failed to fulfill that duty, either because you did something you should not have or you failed to do something you should have
3. Your failure or breach of duty was the cause of the incident
4. The incident resulted in injuries

While you may think that you only owe a duty of care to certain people in your life, such as your children, the fact is that the law places you under a duty to behave responsibly toward the people around you in all types of situations. 

Anyone who is driving a vehicle owes a duty of care to others on the road to follow the law and pay attention to what they are doing. However, pedestrians and cyclists owe a duty of care as well. Florida laws and local Tallahassee ordinances set rules for those walking and riding in public spaces, and pedestrians and bicyclists are obligated to obey them.

When a motorist, cyclist, or pedestrian fails to fulfill the duties they owe to others and that failure causes an accident, they can be held liable, even if they were injured.

Actions That Can Make a Pedestrian or Cyclist Liable for an Accident

Many people in Tallahassee are aware of the irresponsible things that drivers do to cause accidents. They often follow too closely and cause a rear-end collision or focus their attention on their cell phone rather than the road ahead and stray out of the lane, causing a head-on collision. Drivers are required to follow numerous rules, and disobeying any of them can lead to liability for an accident.

However, pedestrians and bicyclists can also be held liable for causing a collision by doing things such as:

• “Jaywalking” or crossing a street in the middle of a block where motorists are not looking for you
• Crossing a street when traffic in the opposite direction has a green signal
• Walking in the road when a sidewalk is available
• Riding a bicycle against traffic
• Failing to stop at a stop sign

It becomes extremely important to collect and preserve evidence showing what happened before, during, and after the accident because this can indicate how each party’s actions contributed to the collision and resulting injuries. An attorney can help with this process, and the best time to do so is immediately after the accident when the evidence is fresh.

Liability is Often Shared

In most cases, accidents are the result of a combination of circumstances, and the factors that lead to the accident often result from the actions of more than one person. A judge can allocate liability among two or more parties in a case based on the actions taken and the role those actions played in causing the accident.

How do they decide how much responsibility to allocate to each person? It’s all based on the evidence presented by the attorneys representing each party. When a car or truck driver is involved in an accident, their insurance company will bring in experienced attorneys who know how to use every trick in the book to show that their policyholder is not liable for the accident. If a pedestrian or bicyclist does not have a skilled and experienced attorney representing their interests, the court may be persuaded that the majority of the blame lies with them, and that will prevent them from recovering damages even if they are severely injured in the accident.

The Comparative Fault Rule in Florida

Florida lawmakers recently revised the comparative fault rule that applies to injury lawsuits in the state. When someone who is injured is found to have some share in fault for causing the accident that led to their injuries, they may be able to recover compensation from the others who were found to be at fault, but only if they meet certain requirements. They must be able to prove that their own actions were responsible for no more than 50% of the cause of the accident. This makes every piece of evidence and every argument presented to the court extremely critical.

Searcy Denney in Tallahassee Helps Prove the Liability of Others Involved in Your Pedestrian or Bicycle Accident

Life moves quickly, and when the actions we take combine unfavorably with actions taken by others, an accident can result. When the accident causes injuries, it is important to be able to show that your actions were not the primary cause of the accident and that the others involved should be held liable.

The experienced team at Searcy Denney Tallahassee knows how to uncover and present persuasive evidence to show how liability should be allocated to others so that you can recover compensation after an accident. But the sooner we begin working on a case, the more opportunities we have to gather and preserve vital evidence. For a free case evaluation to learn how we can help you recover after an accident, contact our team today.

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