In the morning hours of Friday, September 20th, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a dump truck near the intersection of Northwest 10th Avenue and 15th Street in Miami. The victim was transported in critical condition to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, which was located about half a mile from the scene of the accident. Unfortunately, the pedestrian was not able to recover and died at the hospital from his wounds. This tragic event is sadly but one more reminder of the high rate of pedestrian accidents and deaths in Miami.
U.S. 14th Most Dangerous City
The 2019 Dangerous by Design report from Smart Growth America ranks Miami 14th in the country on its list of the most dangerous walking cities. Shockingly, eight of the top ten most hazardous cities in America for pedestrians are in Florida, but the actual number of deaths which occur in these cities is nowhere near the death toll in Miami. Between 2008 and 2017, 1,549 pedestrians lost their lives in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area. This figure accounts for more than a quarter of the 5,433 pedestrian deaths in the entire state of Florida over the same period. Florida leads the nation as the most dangerous state for walking according to the metrics established in Dangerous by Design.
Why So Dangerous?
Pedestrians are completely unprotected in the event they are struck by a motor vehicle. Even a slow-moving vehicle delivers enough force to cause broken bones, internal injuries, or instant death in a pedestrian accident. The heavier the vehicle, the greater the force of impact; the average dump truck weighs over 25,000 pounds before it is even loaded and can reach weights over 35 tons when filled with dirt or other materials.
Pedestrians have the right-of-way at marked crosswalks and are mostly forbidden by law from crossing elsewhere due to safety concerns. Nevertheless, the vast majority of pedestrian accidents happen in crosswalks, mostly from drivers making right turns without checking for pedestrians, as well as drivers speeding through intersections or turning left after the light has changed. Outside of crosswalks and intersections, another leading scene of pedestrian accidents comes from cars entering and exiting parking lots and side streets while pedestrians are crossing.
Civil Liability for Pedestrian Accidents in Miami
Pedestrian accident victims can recover compensation for their significant injuries by filing a claim or lawsuit against the negligent driver. If you own a vehicle and carry Personal Injury Protection insurance, then you can access your PIP coverage if you are hit as a pedestrian. If you don’t have PIP, you can access the at-fault driver’s no-fault insurance coverage instead.
Remember, Florida’s no-fault PIP coverage only pays for 80% of your medical costs and only 60% of your lost wages up to $10,000, or as little as $2,500 if you didn’t seek emergency medical treatment within 14 days of the accident. No-fault benefits are in lieu of civil damages, but if your injuries are “serious” under Florida law, you can instead sue the at-fault driver for the full measure of your medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other legal damages. In the event of a fatal pedestrian accident, families and estates can sue for wrongful death and recover damages such as final medical expenses, funeral and burial costs, loss of future earnings, loss of companionship, and mental pain and suffering.
What about Pedestrian Accidents and Miami City Vehicles?
The vehicle which struck the man in this recent accident was initially reported to be a garbage truck but was later identified as a dump truck owned by a private company. The City of Miami does allow for negligence claims in traffic accidents caused by city vehicles, but accident victims or their families must follow special procedures. First, the claimant must give the city a Notice of Claim and then give the city six months to investigate. If the claim is not settled during that period, only then can the victim file a lawsuit. Also, claims against the city are limited to $200,000 per person and $300,000 per accident.
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