Articles Posted in Pedestrian Accidents

WHO IS AT FAULT IN A PEDESTRIAN BIKE LANE ACCIDENT?

IN MIAMI, THE PERAZZO LAW FIRM SHARES INSIGHT FOR UNDERSTANDING AND DETERMINING FAULT IN A PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT THAT OCCURS IN A BIKE LANE

As if pedestrians didn’t have enough to worry about when crossing the street, as of late they’ve had to face even greater challenges to avoid falling victim to personal injury given the growing number of bike lanes and rad bike riders that use them. At first, pedestrians had to be on the look out for drunk or careless drivers. Then came smartphones, which at present keep drivers connected to apps and social media platforms while behind the wheel of their motor vehicle. As a matter of fact, texting and driving has become the second leading cause of most motor vehicle accidents. In Miami, the Perazzo Law Firm, with ample experience handling personal injury claims stemming from car accidents, understand that texting and driving is the number one reason for the increase in rear-end collision car accidents, most of which occur at red lights and stop signs. Now, bike riders join this growing trend of negligence by taking to bike lanes as if pedestrians were intruders to crosswalks running past their misconstrued right of way.  At one time, only one of the parties involved in an accident could be considered liable or at fault an accident. However, the more modern conception could hold both the bicycle rider and the pedestrian at fault. The truth is that both the pedestrian and the cyclist owe a duty of care and awareness as to safeguard their own personal safety and wellbeing to prevent accidents. According the the personal injury attorneys at the Perazzo Law Firm, the common guidelines of negligence can be applied to all those that take to the streets and roadways and includes bicycle riders or cyclists. The basic principles of any example for negligence are a duty of care to the individual that has suffered injury, and a breach of that duty which has injury, losses, or damages as the end result. Since Florida is home to the most number of bicycle riders, it obviously ranks first in the nation with close to 6 million fatal bike accidents and over 100 fatal bike accidents per year. Fortunately, a very small proportion of these fatal bicycle accidents involve pedestrians. Sadly, Broward and Miami-Dade are where the largest number of fatal bike accidents take place.