833.888.8801

We get you maximum compensation while you recover.

Queens accident lawyers warning pedestrians | Personal injury may not carry the same liability.

Languages

Pedestrians’ texting within moments of an accident may not carry the same liability?

Pedestrian Accident

Injured Pedestrians who were texting at the time of the incident may not be protected under state law. New York State courts have repeatedly upheld the responsibility of a person to “see what there is to be seen.”  New York State courts have repeatedly upheld the responsibility of a person to “see what there is to be seen.”

This is often relevant in the event of a motor vehicle pedestrian accident. This responsibility to “see what there is to be seen” lands equally on the pedestrian and the driver, and the failure of a pedestrian to heed their surroundings is a sufficient basis to find comparative fault. This remains true where the pedestrian has the right of way, even in a crosswalk. Under these circumstances, a pedestrian’s failure to look to the left or right before entering the crosswalk for virtually any reason creates an issue of fact as to whether the pedestrian contributed to his or her own injury. The pedestrian is charged with exercising his or her right of way in while using due care in light of all circumstances, and heeding any danger that confronts him or her. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of decisions allowing the introduction of a pedestrian’s cell phone records to show that it was in use at the time of the accident, tending to prove that the pedestrian was inattentive and distracted and at least partially responsible for his or her own injuries.