Pedestrian accident cases frequently arise from the legal concept of negligence, meaning one party wasn’t being as cautious as they reasonably should have been. Whether the driver who hit a pedestrian was negligent will usually depend on several factors.
Those factors can include:
- The speed of the car
- Whether the driver was texting or distracted
- The presence of a crosswalk
- Lighting conditions
- Time of day
- If there were any nearby traffic lights, signals, or signs
- Who had the right-of-way
A seasoned Atlanta pedestrian accident lawyer will use several pieces of evidence to find out which party was at fault. Most of these investigations begin with the police report. This report should detail the responding officer’s observations from the scene of the accident. It will also provide statements from any witnesses who were available to speak with the officer.
In urban regions like Atlanta, surveillance cameras from nearby businesses or intersections might also reveal what happened. However, a pedestrian accident attorney must move quickly to find them since most companies will record over their surveillance footage in only a few days. Eyewitnesses are also critical. Numerous witnesses may know more than they initially told the responding officer. They may have only provided the officer with their contact information before they left the scene of the accident. A reputable pedestrian accident attorney will work to find them.
It’s usually very clear who was at fault if the driver who hit you was drinking and driving or committed a hit-and-run (left the scene without stopping or providing their information). Drinking and driving is negligence. The act of a hit-and-run shows that the driver ran away from the scene, which generally means that they were at fault for the accident and didn’t care about what happened to the pedestrian in the accident.
