Pedestrian Injuries
Occasionally, people are injured while walking and being struck by cars or trucks. There are laws that govern the interplay between pedestrians and drivers.
The Wisconsin statutes define "right of way" as the privilege of the immediate use of the roadway. At an intersection or crosswalk where traffic is not controlled by traffic control signals, the driver of a vehicle must yield the right of way to a pedestrian who is crossing the roadway within a marked or unmarked crosswalk. An unmarked crosswalk is formed by extending imaginary lines the width of the sidewalk at an intersection, across the roadway, to the sidewalk on the opposite side of the intersection.
At an intersection or crosswalk where traffic is controlled by traffic control signals, the driver of a vehicle must yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing or who has started to cross the highway on a green or 'WALK' signal. The pedestrian retains the right of way if he or she has started or partially completed the walk to the far side when the light changes to “Do Not Walk”.
Still, a pedestrian, who enters and crosses a street or highway on a crosswalk, must use ordinary care to observe the presence, location, and movement of motor vehicles that may be approaching.
If a pedestrian crosses the roadway and was not within a marked or unmarked crosswalk, then it is the pedestrian’s duty to yield the right of way to approaching traffic. When a pedestrian crosses at a place other than a crosswalk, it is the pedestrian's duty to maintain such a lookout as is reasonably necessary to enable the pedestrian to yield the right of way to motor vehicles.
There are special rules that apply when children are known to be in the area. Drivers of motor vehicles are chargeable with the knowledge that children of tender years do not possess the traits of mature deliberation, care, and caution of adults. The driver must increase vigilance if the driver knows, or in the exercise of ordinary care should know, that children are in, or are likely to come into, the driver's course of travel.
Similarly, rules of the road protect highway workers. Momentary diversion of attention or preoccupation of a worker in the performance of work minimizes or reduces the degree of care that would otherwise be required of him or her. Still, a worker has the duty to use the same degree of care for his or her safety that an ordinarily prudent worker would use under the same conditions. Furthermore, a safety statute provides that a driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way to persons engaged in maintenance or construction work on a highway whenever the driver is notified of their presence by flagmen or warning signs.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a car, truck, or other motorized vehicle, as a pedestrian, in another automobile, or on any road or highway in Wisconsin, we can help. Please contact the personal injury lawyers at Herrick & Hart right away for a free initial consultation, or submit your case today for a free initial review.
Herrick & Hart is a Wisconsin law firm located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Their lawyers are very experienced in litigation, personal injury, and wrongful death cases. Herrick & Hart also provides legal counsel in the areas of divorce and family law, business and commercial law, estate planning, criminal defense law, and environmental law. For a comprehensive review of the area of practice on which Herrick & Hart focus, please review the Firm Overview and Practice Areas pages.
Herrick & Hart represents people in Wisconsin, and most often appears in courts located in the folllowing areas.
| Ashland County: Ashland, Odanah, Wisconsin |
| Barron County: Barron, Rice Lake, & Cameron, Wisconsin |
| Bayfield County: Bayfield, Mason, & Washburn, Wisconsin |
| Chippewa County: Chippewa Falls, Cadott, Cornell, New Auburn, & Stanley, Wisconsin |
| Clark County: Abbotsford, Colby, Neilsville, & Thorp, Wisconsin |
| Douglas County: Superior, Wisconsin |
| Dunn County: Boyceville, Menomonie, Colfax, & Downing, Wisconsin |
| Eau Claire County: Eau Claire, Altoona, Augusta, Fairchild, Fall Creak, & Seymour, Wisconsin |
| Jackson County: Black River Falls, Taylor, Merrillan, and Alma Center, Wisconsin |
| Juneau County: Elroy, Mauston, Necedah, Union Center, Wisconsin |
| La Crosse County: La Crosse, Brice Prairie, Onalaska, Holmen, & West Salem, Wisconsin |
| Marathon County: Wausau, Abbotsford, Colby, Brokaw, Evergreen, Marshfield, Mosinee, Rothschild, Schofield, Spencer, Unity & Weston, Wisconsin |
| Monroe County: Sparta, Wisconsin |
| Pierce County: Bay City, Ellsworth, River Falls, Spring Valley, Wisconsin |
| Portage County: Stevens Point, Amherst, Plover, Rosholt, & Whiting, Wisconsin |
| Rusk County: Ladysmith, Hawkins, & Weyerhauser, Wisconsin |
| Sawyer County: Hayward, Wisconsin |
| St Croix County: Baldwin, Hudson, New Richmond, North Hudson, River Falls, Spring Valley & Wilson, Wisconsin |
| Taylor County: Medford, Gilman, & Stetsonville |
| Wood County: Wisconsin Rapids, Port Edwards, Nekoosa, & Marshfield, Wisconsin |
