The following includes a list of common pedestrian accidents in the Miami area. If you have been injured in one of these accidents, it is in your best interest to reach out to an attorney for help recovering compensation.

• Hit-and-Run Accidents: Hit-and-run accidents are common in Miami and other Florida cities. Oftentimes, these are caused by a driver who panics after an accident. They may be worried because they do not have insurance or are driving illegally. Hit-and-run accidents are often deadly, and otherwise may result in catastrophic injuries. In some cases, pedestrians may not be able to quickly get medical after the driver leaves the scene. Without the driver present to provide contact or insurance information, pedestrians may have a difficult time obtaining compensation to cover their injuries.
• Intersection Accidents: intersections can be very dangerous for pedestrians since they must share the road with many different types of vehicles. Many of those vehicles are turning in different directions or changing lanes, and on occasion drivers are not focused on pedestrians. An accident can happen when a driver is slightly distracted or misses a pedestrian in their blind spot.
• Back-Over Accidents: in some cases, a car will back over a pedestrian accidentally while traveling in reverse. Many times these types of accidents involve small children who are behind the car and who cannot be seen by the driver. A driver is more likely to back over someone in other areas where cars are parked, like parking lots or structures.
• Crushing Accidents: these types of accidents may occur at an intersections and in other situations when pedestrian are caught in the middle of a rear-end collisions, sideswipe accident, or head-on crash. When a pedestrian is trapped between two vehicles, they can suffer devastating and life-threatening injuries.

Determining Liability for Pedestrian Accidents

Regardless of the type of pedestrian accident you’ve been involved in, you will need to determine who is liable for your injury if you wish to recover compensation. It is possible that you may have a basis for a personal injury claim if the driver of the car was negligent. Or you may have a claim based on Florida laws that protect pedestrians on sidewalks and in crosswalks. In either scenario, the driver of the car that collided with you may defend your claim by attempting to demonstrate you contributed to the accident. This can be both a time-consuming and frustrating issue to handle while you are recovering from your injuries.

Contact an Attorney

Recovering from an accident and determining responsibility for a car accident can be a difficult task. You deserve compensation for the injuries and harm caused to you in a pedestrian accident. The Miami car accident attorneys at the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. can help simplify things for you. We can review the facts of your case and advise you on next steps. Please contact us today to discuss how we can help you.

These startling and shocking numbers beg the question: what are Florida’s laws on hit-and-run crashes? The answer to that question has several different considerations that are discussed below.

Duty to Render Aid and Call the Authorities

Florida law is clear as to what a person is required to do following an accident. Florida Statutes 316.062 plainly state that the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident that causes damage to another person or vehicle is required to do the following:

• Give his name, address, vehicle registration number to the other driver of the accident;
• Produce the same information and driver’s license to any police officer investigating the accident;
• Render reasonable assistance to any person injured in the accident; and
• Call and report the accident to the nearest police officer or law enforcement organization.

These are the duties that arise when someone is involved in an accident in Florida. And violation of any of these duties is considered a noncriminal traffic infraction. But there are different penalties for hit-and-run when alcohol is involved, or someone is killed or seriously injured.

Florida’s New Law on Hit-and-Run Accidents

In 2014, Florida’s new laws on hit-and-run accidents went into effect. Under the terms of the new law, if someone is in an accident where another person is seriously injured or killed, and they fail to fulfill the obligations as outlined above, they can be found guilty of a number of felonies as follows:

• Leaving the scene of an accident where another was simply hurt can result in a third degree felony.
• Leaving the scene of an accident where another was seriously hurt can result in a second degree felony.
• Leaving the scene of an accident where another was killed, or where the person leaving was driving under the influence of DUI, can result in a first degree felony conviction and a mandatory minimum jail term of 4 years.

These mandatory minimum jail terms and felony convictions are in addition to the threat of losing a driver’s license.

As you can see, Florida’s laws on hit-and-run accidents have severe consequences for violations. Violating them can result in serious jail time, licence suspension, and fines. But beyond the criminal liability is civil liability as well. The civil law places on each Florida driver a duty to drive their vehicle reasonably. If a driver fails to drive reasonably (a hit-and-run accident, for example) and causes damage to another, they are liable for those damages.

We all need to remember that we are sharing the roads as we drive. But when someone forgets, and causes an accident, they should be held responsible. At Alan Goldfarb, P.A., we believe that injured victims should be compensated fairly and justly. We serve clients in the Miami area, and are prepared to assist you today.

This tragic incident occurred around 6:15 in the morning on July 1st on an otherwise clear morning with no weather problems. Rodriquez was traveling along the Florida Turnpike when his motorcycle broke down and had an accident. Just then, he was hit by a driver who sped off and left him there without stopping, calling the police, or seeking medical help for Luis.

State troopers are confident there were other drivers on the road when this happened, and they may have seen something. Now the family is asking for help from those who possibly witnessed this hit-and-run accident, and they are pleading that the person responsible come forward.

Rodriguez’s sister, Yesenia Barrios, said that her “brother was an exceptional father, an exceptional brother, probably one of the best people you could ever meet.” Rodriguez was looking forward to a new, promising job at a Honda dealership, but now leaves behind grief-stricken and heartbroken family members trying to put all the pieces together.

The family wants to know what happened to their loved one so his child can someday know, and so they can understand why this might have happened. In an a final plea from Barrios, she said “just picture it being one of your family members and what you would have wanted for somebody to do for your family if you were caught in the same situation.”

Hit and Run Accidents are Rising in Number in U.S.

Unfortunately hit-and-run accidents are not an uncommon occurrence in the United States. In a 2013 story by USA TODAY, it was reported that hit-and-run crashes are on the rise. In fact, the number of fatal hit-and-run crashes rose each year from 1,274 in 2009, to 1,393 in 2010, to 1,449 in 2011. This is a shocking trend that wreaks havoc on families everywhere.

Not only do hit and run crashes cause unspeakable tragedies to families and loved ones of victims, but they also can leave financial troubles. There are reasons why Florida and other states require drivers to have insurance, and one of those reasons is so victims can be compensated in the wake of tragic accidents. But when drivers hit and then run from the scene, the families are left behind to deal with all the resulting consequences.

The family of Rodriguez is being represented by our firm, Alan Goldfarb, P.A. At a news interview in his downtown office, Alan Goldfarb said that he is certain Rodriguez was alive after the motorcycle broke down, and that it was the hit-and-run driver who caused the death.

Now the family, police, and the family’s attorneys are asking that anyone with any information about the hit-and-run accident contact the police.