Most pedestrians who are walking on sidewalks rather than roads expect that they will be safe from motor vehicle traffic. As pedestrian accidents throughout the nation illustrate, this is false sense of safety. A recent pedestrian accident in the Pittsburgh area is an example of how this can happen.

According to Pittsburgh police, a man, who had just returned home on his bicycle, was injured when as he prepared to go into his house, a car driven by a man from Valencia left the road. The vehicle then proceeded to leave the scene of the accident.

The pedestrian suffered injuries to his back and head. Accordingly, after being found by the police lying on the sidewalk, the man was taken the hospital for treatment. Exactly how bad those injuries are is not known.

The 26-year-old man who was reportedly behind the wheel of the vehicle was located later in the day after crashing the vehicle in another location. He has since been criminally charged with the following:

• Causing an accident resulting in injury
• Causing an accident involving damage
• Driving recklessly

He will be arraigned on those charges next month.

It is not clear whether the man who was hurt in the incident will seek damages in a civil court. Since his injuries appear to be the fault of negligence on the part of the person driving the car that hit him, it is a possibility. Situations such as this one are typically the type in which these lawsuits are filed.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Man to head to trial in crash that injured Highland Park man," Sept. 11, 2012

• Our Pennsylvania law firm handles personal injury cases, including those pertaining to the type discussed in today's post. Please visit our Pittsburgh car accidents page to learn more about us.