Whenever a car crash occurs that involves a pedestrian, the personal injuries that result are usually severe or fatal. Personal injury claims and wrongful death claims are frequently made in accidents between automobiles and pedestrians, and our injury attorneys have handled many such cases in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and other Virginia and North Carolina cities, each situation having its own special facts.
Click here to learn about Virginia laws that pertain to pedestrians injured in a crosswalk.
In a normal automobile accident involving a pedestrian, the law requires that a pedestrian either crossing a road or walking on one, yield the right of way to cars that may be traveling on the road. This is because cars on most normal stretches of highway/roads have the right of way unless there is a stop sign or yield sign controlling their area of travel.
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An important exception to this rule in Virginia (VA) involves a pedestrian crosswalk, and personal injuries at crosswalks. A pedestrian crosswalk is a painted area at an intersection on a highway which has a speed limit of 35 miles or less. When a pedestrian is crossing a highway in a clearly marked crosswalk and the speed limit is less than 35 miles per hour, the driver of any automobile approaching that crosswalk is required to change course, slow down or come to a complete stop, if that maneuver is necessary to allow the pedestrian to cross safely. This is a special law that offers extra protection to pedestrians who are crossing streets in clearly marked crosswalks, and protects them from personal injury or death in crosswalks.
Personal injuries received in these types of crosswalk cases usually favor the personal injury victim who was the pedestrian and not the driver of the personal injury car. To avoid serious personal injuries or even death, it is important to always cross a highway or road in a crosswalk if one is available for your use. If you or a family member are ever involved in a crosswalk injury situation, contact one of our firm’s personal injury attorneys for advice as early as possible.