Pedestrians are often placed in vulnerable positions when they are crossing intersections that are populated by automobile drivers. This is why, for your safety, it is important to avoid jaywalking at all costs. What’s more, it may place you at fault in the event of an accident. Read on to discover what happens if you were jaywalking at the time of your accident and how a seasoned St. Mary’s County pedestrian accident lawyer at The Dorsey Law Firm can help you build a solid legal strategy.
By definition, what is jaywalking?
Simply put, jaywalking is considered to be a pedestrian’s illegal crossing of the road. Examples of such illegal crossing are as follows:
- You do not yield to motor vehicles before crossing a road without traffic lights.
- You do not walk within a marked crosswalk when crossing a road.
- You do not wait for a green light or “walk” signal to turn on before crossing a road.
You may be fined anywhere between $40 to $500 for jaywalking in the state of Maryland. What’s worse, though, is that jaywalking may put you in a dangerous position to potentially get hit by an automobile driver.
What is the state of Maryland’s contributory negligence law?
The state of Maryland is one of the few states that follow contributory negligence law. This law establishes that you cannot file a personal injury claim if you are found to be more than one percent responsible for your pedestrian accident. To reiterate, jaywalking is considered an illegal activity. So, you may likely have more than one percent of the blame placed against you.
So, even if a negligent automobile driver is determined to be 98 percent at fault, you may still be barred from pursuing legal action against them. In addition, you may find difficulty in recovering financial compensation from an insurance company. Unfortunately, this is regardless of whether your injuries and damages are life-altering or life-threatening.
What should I do if I was jaywalking at the time of my pedestrian accident?
Though contributory negligence law makes it difficult to win a pedestrian accident claim if you were jaywalking, it does not make it impossible.
That is, you may still make an effort toward earning full compensation for your injuries and damages by arguing that your jaywalking made you less than one percent at fault for your accident. With this, you may provide evidence that points to the fact that a driver’s negligence or a government entity’s unkept roads made up more than 99 percent of the blame.
You should not have to go through your personal injury claim proceedings alone. Rather, you should seek the assistance of a competent St. Mary’s County auto accident lawyer from The Dorsey Law Firm. Call our firm today.
