Pittsburgh Man Recovers after Car Accident; Driver to Stand Trial

Car accidents frequently result in injuries, but when a car hits a pedestrian, injuries are almost guaranteed. A retired University of Pittsburgh professor is recovering from fractured vertebrae and head cuts after being hit by a car while standing on the sidewalk in front of his house. Having just finished a bicycle ride, the man was getting off his bike when the car accident occurred.

The car ramped up onto the curb, collided with him and then drove away. The suspect was later caught and connected to the hit-and-run after he caused another crash later in the evening. He will face arraignment next month for reckless driving and causing damage and injury.

Because of how vulnerable a pedestrian is when facing a car accident, an estimated 78,000 pedestrians are injured in motor vehicle accidents every year. Every accident investigation has to establish what happened and who was at fault in the collision.

Criminal charges against a driver at fault can result in jail time or fines, but a civil suit is what yields monetary damages to a victim. In a lawsuit, a victim might accuse the other driver of negligence. In order to prove negligence, the victim would need to show that the driver had a legal duty to exercise care toward the victim, failed to do so and that failure resulted in injury.

A victim of an auto-pedestrian accident may be able to recover compensation for medical bills, future loss of earning potential or even punitive damages designed to punish the driver for particularly offensive behavior in the hopes of deterring future wrongdoing.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Man to head to trial in crash that injured Highland Park man,” (http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2012/09/11/Man-to-head-to-trial-in-crash-that-injured-Highland-Park-man/stories/201209110217) Sept. 11, 2012