Auto accidents can cause severe injuries for pedestrians in Maryland. While collisions involving pedestrians are far too common on local streets, state roads, and residential and business areas, they are far less common on interstate highways. Unlike most streets, which typically have sidewalks or another form of pedestrian access, interstate highways may even ban pedestrians from walking on them for their own safety or that of the drivers. However, pedestrians are still injured in serious crashes on the interstate, especially as drivers often travel at high speeds.
Maryland’s approach to negligence
In some cases, it may be difficult to recover your damages after sustaining an injury in a pedestrian accident on a highway, even if the driver was mostly at fault for the incident. This is because Maryland uses a contributory negligence system to assess personal injury claims, and an accident victim may be denied recovery even when their behavior was only a small contribution to the overall motor vehicle accident.
Causes of pedestrian crashes
There are many reasons why pedestrians might be injured on or near an interstate highway. While some stretches of highway bar pedestrians, this ban is not necessarily total nor does it cover all areas. For example, pedestrians going to a rest stop could be hit by another driver entering the roadside area. Others may be injured after they were already forced to pull over due to car trouble. There are also cases where some aspect of the construction or maintenance of the highway were primarily responsible for the accident due to their negligence.
Each situation is unique
Many pedestrian accidents are caused by driver error or negligence. For example, pedestrians may be injured while working on their car on the side of the road after a breakdown. In almost 90% of cases, pedestrian highway crashes take place at night. Despite the doctrine of contributory negligence, there are many cases where negligent drivers can be held accountable for the harm that they caused.
