Palm Springs Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Understanding Pedestrian Rights and Comparative Negligence

The concept that pedestrians always have the right of way is so prevalent that many people assume the driver is automatically at fault. However, California is a comparative negligence state, meaning that both the pedestrian and the driver can be held partially or completely responsible if they are proven to have acted without caution. Our Courts have given a jury instruction to correct this notion that the pedestrian somehow has to be just as cautious as the driver:

“While it is the duty of both the driver of a motor vehicle and a pedestrian, using a public roadway, to exercise ordinary care, that duty does not require necessarily the same amount of caution from each. The driver of a motor vehicle, when ordinarily careful, will be alertly conscious of the fact that he is in charge of a machine capable of projecting into serious consequences any negligence of his own. Thus his caution must be adequate to that responsibility as related to all the surrounding circumstances. A pedestrian, on the other hand, has only his own physical body to manage and with which to set in motion a cause of injury. While, usually, that fact limits his capacity to cause injury, as compared with a vehicle driver, still, in exercising ordinary care, he, too, will be alertly conscious of the mechanical power acting, or that may act, on the public roadway, and of the possible, serious consequences from any conflict between himself and such forces. And the caution required of him is measured by the possibilities of injury apparent to him in the conditions at hand, or that would be apparent to a person of ordinary prudence in the same position.” (Cucinella v. Weston Biscuit Co. (1954) 42 Cal.2d 71, 75−76, 81 [265 P.2d 513] [proposed jury instruction correctly stated the law].)”

With this powerful and commonsense jury instruction, my clients have had great success. Remember, just because somebody tells you that you are bound to lose, Call me Chris Vader, and with some hard work, we are likely to convince the wrongdoer and their insurer that you simply must watch for pedestrians. However, even if you are shown to be partially at fault for the accident, you may still be eligible to receive some compensation. At Christopher C. Vader PC, we may be able to help you navigate the very subjective comparative negligence laws of California.