Tupelo Pedestrian Accidents

Crosswalks are located at almost every busy intersection. Additional crosswalks can also be found in between intersections on busy roadways. They are intended to provide pedestrians with a safe and efficient way to get where they are going.

Mississippi law requires drivers to stop for pedestrians crossing the street inside a crosswalk, but distracted and impatient drivers often hit unsuspecting pedestrians as they legally cross the road.

Whenever pedestrians are walking or jogging along busy roadways, they should use sidewalks wherever possible. In cases where a sidewalk is not available, however, pedestrians should keep to the far right-hand side of the street. If drivers fail to notice pedestrians due to poor weather conditions or decreased visibility, nighttime conditions, or inclement weather, they could cause a fatal accident.

These accidents frequently take place in parking garages, parking lots, and streets where vehicles backing out of driveways have limited visibility of the road. Drivers are responsible for being aware of their surroundings and reversing slowly enough to react in time if a pedestrian enters their path.

Drivers who are in a hurry prioritize their time over other people’s safety. An example of this is drivers who overtake school buses that are stopped with their lights and stop sign arm activated. Drivers like this need to be held accountable for their irresponsible and negligent actions.

These accidents occur when a pedestrian crossing an intersection is struck by a car driving straight through. This can happen when a driver deliberately runs a stop sign or traffic light, a traffic signal malfunctions, or an intersection does not have a traffic control device. Through vehicle accidents are typically the driver’s fault and they could be liable for damages.

In a multiple threat accident, a pedestrian passes between two stopped cars and into the next lane causing them to be struck by a vehicle whose driver never saw them. There is often comparative liability involved in these accidents depending on how fast the car was traveling when the collision happened.

Midblock and mailbox accidents take place when a car hits a pedestrian while they interact with a vehicle on the side of the road, such as an ice cream truck, or check their mail. The driver could be fully liable if they were speeding or distracted when the accident occurred.

Traumatic brain injuries are one of the more common and devastating forms of pedestrian injuries. A TBI happens when the victim’s head is struck with significant force or penetrated by an object.

Traumatic brain injuries may cause life-long complications associated with:

• Coherent thoughts
• Processing emotions
• Memory loss
• Inability to reason
• Logical thinking
• Experiencing sensation
• Speech and language processing
• Effective and intelligible communication

Due to the fact that pedestrians have no protection from oncoming vehicles, head injuries are more severe than other types of injuries. When a head makes contact with an object, like the hood of a car, it can result in significant trauma to the brain.

Internal injuries can be fatal for a pedestrian when the body is punctured or hit with blunt force, like a vehicle. Internal organs can be heavily damaged and massive internal bleeding can occur.

One of the more serious forms of injury that occurs in a pedestrian accident is damage to the spinal cord. A spinal cord injury takes place when the spinal cord, which controls communication between your brain and the rest of your body, is damaged. An injury to the spinal cord can cause everything below the injured area to be permanently paralyzed.

Bone fractures are not uncommon and can happen even when there are no other serious injuries. When a pedestrian is knocked to the ground, fractures to the elbow, skull, collar bone, wrist, and hips frequently occur.

We have already established that pedestrian accidents can result in incapacitating injuries, but they could also leave the victim disfigured or with permanent physical scars. These injuries are painful, traumatic, and, in some cases, disabling.

When a pedestrian is not just hit, but also run over by a vehicle, they experience crush injuries. Crush injuries, when they aren’t fatal, usually result in the amputation of a limb.

Someone involved in a pedestrian accident can endure more than just bodily harm. Psychological trauma, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety are frequently experienced by victims.