OHIO PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT LAWYERS

Drivers Who Injure Pedestrians Should be Held Financially Accountable

Walkers are uniquely vulnerable to negligent drivers on Ohio roads. A slight tap that might leave little to no damage on another vehicle could send a pedestrian sprawling and result in severe injuries like broken bones, lacerations and concussions. Drivers have a duty to follow traffic laws and avoid accidents in all situations, and a driver’s failure to do so when pedestrians are present can have catastrophic consequences.

If you or a loved one have suffered an injury due to a driver or bike rider’s carless, negligent or reckless actions, you may benefit from speaking with a lawyer. The personal injury attorneys at the Buckeye Law Group have represented walkers of all types who have been injured in auto accidents. You can trust them to aggressively pursue the compensation you need to recover physically and financially.

Pedestrian Laws in Ohio

The laws pertaining to pedestrians on Ohio roads are not dissimilar from the laws in other states. Pedestrians have the right of way when crossing the street in a crosswalk, including when there’s no traffic control signal at the crosswalk. Cars who pull up behind another vehicle that’s stopped at a crosswalk shouldn’t try to pass the stopped vehicle. Pedestrians shouldn’t run out into the street.

All these laws are standard, but it may leave some injured pedestrians with some unanswered questions. For instance, what happens if you are hit by a vehicle while jaywalking or crossing mid-block where there’s no crosswalk?

Situations vary, but there is one overriding constant – it’s never okay or legal for a vehicle to hit a pedestrian, regardless of whether that pedestrian is in the street illegally or not.

There are scenarios where a pedestrian may be impossible to avoid or see. For example, if a pedestrian wearing all black dashes into the road in front of oncoming traffic at night. In that type of scenario where it would be unreasonable to expect the driver to avoid the collision, the pedestrian would likely be found to be solely at fault.

However, if the driver should have seen and avoided a jaywalking pedestrian, the driver will share some of the blame. In these types of pedestrian accidents, culpability may be shared between the driver and the pedestrian.

Ohio has a comparative negligence doctrine, meaning that you can still collect damages if you’re less than 50 percent at fault for the crash. Even if you were doing something that’s technically illegal, like jaywalking, you may still be able to collect compensation if you were struck by a vehicle.



Every case is unique, which is why it’s important to speak with a pedestrian accident lawyer as soon as possible. The sooner they can begin investigating your situation, the better your chances will be to uncover evidence showing the driver could have but failed to avoid the accident.