How is fault determined in a pedestrian accident case?
Fault in pedestrian accident cases in Washington is determined by the law of negligence. Negligence is a legal concept that means that a person acted carelessly or unreasonably and that their behavior caused harm to another person. In a pedestrian accident case, the pedestrian and the driver must both be determined to have acted negligently in order for there to be a finding of fault. First, the court must determine whether the driver was negligent in causing the accident. Generally, the driver is liable if they breached a duty of care that they owed to the pedestrian. For example, if the driver failed to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the street, their actions would likely be considered negligent. The court must also determine whether the pedestrian was negligent in causing the accident. Generally, pedestrians must act with reasonable care for themselves and for the safety of others when using public roads. If the pedestrian violated a law, such as jaywalking, or acted carelessly when crossing the street, their actions may be considered negligent. If both the driver and the pedestrian acted negligently, then the court may determine that the accident was partially caused by both the driver and the pedestrian. The extent of fault is determined by the comparative negligence law, which assigns different amounts of fault to both parties based on the severity of their negligence.
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