Whilst zebra crossings are intended to allow pedestrians safe right of way when crossing the road, they are in reality accident hotspots. Unfortunately drivers who are not paying attention don’t always stop when they should do where the zebra crossing allows right of way for the pedestrian.
We were of course more than happy to assist our client after they were the innocent victim hit on a zebra crossing, and we are pleased to have obtained him an award of £3,000.
Thankfully he wasn’t hurt badly!
We have represented people for serious brain injuries and multiple limb fractures for pedestrian road accident cases, but in this case our client managed to escape with soft tissue damage and a considerable degree of shock; which is entirely understandable.
As is the case with some claims, the insurers were not very efficient when it came to responding to us and properly corresponding with us. We actually needed to issue court proceedings before the insurers instructed their own lawyers and we were able to settle the case amicably in the sum of £3,000 which our client was happy to accept.
Zebra crossings – rights of way
We take on and win a lot of claims where an innocent person has been hit on a pedestrian crossing. They are clearly marked on the road and lights are usually visible to warn drivers to slow down and keep an eye out for pedestrians who may be crossing. Whilst pedestrians should of course keep an eye out and make sure not to step out or run out in to the road on zebra crossings, the greater duty is on the driver to stop.
What to do
Contact our legal team on 0800 634 7575 for help and advice. If you don’t have the details of the driver at fault then we can try and obtain them from the Police if the accident was reported, but this can sometimes take a while, so we encourage victims to try and get this information themselves. This can save a lot of time as the system used for obtaining details from the Police can be lengthy.