OHTA.ca

Hello,

I'm looking for advice on an accident I was involved in. I was stopped at a red light waiting to make a left hand turn. The light is on a hill making it difficult to see the crosswalk. Once I had the green light I proceeded to make my left hand turn, looking at the curb for pedestrians. What I failed to see (I have no idea how) was a pedestrian already crossing in the middle of the road. She called out, I hit my brakes but the front left of my car hit her leg. She slammed her hands on my hood and went down to the ground. An ambulance ended up being called and she was taken to the hospital. She had a stress fracture in her leg and was required to wear a brace.

I don't know what will happen now? What happens if she sues me? Will my insurance cover all costs? how much could she get?

Also, should I fight this ticket in court? Will me simply paying the fine and admitting guilt make it easier for her to get a liability judgement against me if she does sue?

Thanks for the advice. I hope someone has been in a similar situation and can tell me things will be alright?!

I would probably pay the ticket if I were you.

Insurance has to cover your costs in cases like this, unless you did something that would void the insurance (e.g. drove suspended, or something to that effect). So although the judgement is against you, the insurance company will pay it out. However, they will, of course, raise your rates significantly and hitting a pedestrian places you 100% at fault for the collision according to the insurance Fault Determination Rules. What she will get will depend on many different things, but if you have at least $1 million in liability coverage I'm fairly sure it will be ok.

If you plead guilty (or fight it), it is not likely to have a huge effect on a civil proceeding (meaning, if she sues). They are basically separate. The ticket aspect of it covers whether or not you complied with the Highway Traffic Act, which by your admission, you didn't. As far as a lawsuit goes, that doesn't so much look at Highway Traffic Act as much as it does whether you had a duty of care when driving, etc. She may sue, she may not. You need to notify your insurance company if that happens.