I commute to/from campus on a motorcycle, and I was on my way out behind Broughton/Riddick on the one way towards the steam plant, and as I was making that blind left curve towards the bus stop, a skateboarder came flying around the corner going the wrong way right in the middle of the road. Of course, slammed on my brakes and my tires were still cold (had only been moving about 200 yds) and so the rear locked up and I barely dodged him, but made it out in one piece and went on my way.

Now, for all the e-lawyers out there - Had I hit him, would I be held responsible or would he? And if I wasn't responsible and I went down, would I be able to hold him liable and have repairs etc. covered? Just curious, as I'm sure this won't be the last time I run into this situation. Opinions?

3/16/2011 12:00:37 PM

No e-lawyer here but if someone is skating/cycling/driving the wrong way on a street then I assume they would have full liability.

3/16/2011 1:22:32 PM

If you were obeying traffic laws and he wasn't, then he's liable for anything that happens. Pretty much common sense here.

3/16/2011 1:25:31 PM

send a pm to eleusis he has taken the bar in most of the southeastern states

[Edited on March 16, 2011 at 1:26 PM. Reason : he's an expert]

3/16/2011 1:26:10 PM

It matters if a skateboard takes the skateboarder out of the realm of "pedestrian."

Since pedestrians always have the right of way, it could be argued you would be responsible.

Any reasonable person would probably call it no one's fault, but you can't ever trust people to be reasonable.

[Edited on March 16, 2011 at 2:12 PM. Reason : ]

3/16/2011 2:11:56 PM

Quote :

"Since pedestrians always have the right of way, it could be argued you would be responsible."

Pedestrians have no business going the wrong way in the middle of the road. Crossing a crosswalk would be the only right of way a pedestrian has, that I can think of right now.

3/16/2011 2:17:26 PM

Quote :

"Pedestrians have no business going the wrong way in the middle of the road. Crossing a crosswalk would be the only right of way a pedestrian has, that I can think of right now."

no, they don't have any business doing that, but i'm 99% sure that, according to NC law at least, it would be the fault of the vehicle unless you could get a judge to say otherwise

3/16/2011 2:24:18 PM

Quote :

"no, they don't have any business doing that, but i'm 99% sure that, according to NC law at least, it would be the fault of the vehicle unless you could get a judge to say otherwise"

Vehicles normally have the "last clear chance" to avoid the accident. So a lot of times, even if the pedestrian would seem to be at fault, they driver will sometimes be liable because they weren't paying attention, they were speeding, they didn't have their lights on, etc...

The one instance where it almost always seems to be the pedestrians fault and the driver will not be at fault, is when a pedestrian is darting in and out of traffic (running across the street when they aren't suppose to, jumping out from behind parked cars, etc). Basically making it impossible for the driver to avoid the collision. I'm pretty sure cyclists and skateboarders have a little more responsibility than pedestrians, but I'm no 100% sure on that one.

I know this pretty well, being that the biggest lawsuit I've made bank on was when a friend got hit by a car walking his dogs. There were tons of other circumstances in that situation, but I've done tons of research on car/pedestrian accidents.

3/16/2011 4:14:49 PM

When I was 13 I got hit by a car riding my bike. I basically ran a stop sign and pulled right out in front of him. I don't remember for sure, but I think it was still ruled "no fault" at the scene. I just remember that my parents didn't have to pay for damages to the car, so I assume it was ruled "no fault".

3/16/2011 4:27:45 PM

or your mother slept with the dude that hit you

forrest gump style

[Edited on March 16, 2011 at 4:49 PM. Reason : he he he]

3/16/2011 4:49:37 PM

Maybe your parents sued that dude, got $millions, and never told you about it because they didn't want to give you a cut.

Quote :

"Since pedestrians always have the right of way, it could be argued you would be responsible."

Not true...As jbrick83 pointed out the pedestrian can be found at fault if he darts into traffic and creates an unavoidable accident. This instance would almost certainly be considered one of those cases.

Someone on here hit a guy on Western Blvd. a couple years back. I can't find the thread, but I'm pretty sure they had to pay for a new hood on his truck or something.

3/17/2011 12:30:12 PM

I almost ran over a bicyclist at the same spot while on my motorcycle earlier this week. What is wrong with people?

3/17/2011 1:02:26 PM