In the State of Florida, 9,084 pedestrian collisions occurred in 2015. Florida’s Integrated Report Exchange System reports 632 pedestrians were killed in the same year. Florida’s death rate in pedestrian accidents is much higher than the national average.
Florida is the second most dangerous state in terms of pedestrian deaths in motor vehicle collisions, with only New Mexico having a higher death rate. Palm Beach Post reports 2.96 pedestrians died in Florida for every 100,000 residents. New Mexico, the state with the nation’s highest pedestrian death rate, had a rate of 3.55 fatalities per 100,000 residents. Minnesota, which had the lowest pedestrian accident death rate of all states, had a fatality rate of .27 pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 people.
Pedestrians are more likely to be hurt or killed in motor vehicle accidents in urban, rather than in rural, areas. Seniors 65 and over and young children are the demographic groups with the highest likelihood of death in pedestrian accidents. Even when accidents are survivable, victims of all ages routinely suffer severe and sometimes permanent injuries such as spinal cord or brain damage.
The victim of a pedestrian accident may be able to recover partial payment of medical bills and lost wages through either his own personal injury protection (PIP) coverage or from the PIP coverage of any household member. PIP coverage must be purchased by automobile drivers, and Florida Statute 627.736 explains this type of coverage, as well as the compensation available through PIP following pedestrian collisions.
If another motorist was at fault for the pedestrian accident and serious or fatal injuries were sustained, the pedestrian car accident victim could pursue a civil lawsuit.