Pedestrian and Bicycle Injury Claims in Prince George's County, MD
Pedestrians and cyclists absorb the full force of a collision, and the injuries are correspondingly severe. They are also the claimants Maryland's contributory negligence rule punishes most harshly, because the defense in nearly every such case is that the person on foot or on the bicycle stepped out, crossed outside a marked crossing, wore dark clothing, or failed to look. A finding of any contributory fault ends the claim.
The Legal Framework
Maryland's Transportation Article assigns right of way in and around crosswalks and defines the duties of drivers approaching pedestrians, and it separately grants cyclists the rights and imposes on them the duties of vehicle drivers, with modifications. Establishing that a driver violated a specific statutory duty is valuable in these cases not only because it supports the negligence claim but because it shifts the narrative away from the pedestrian's conduct, which is where the defense wants it.
Prince George's County Context
Prince George's County contains several arterial corridors that were engineered for vehicle throughput and carry substantial pedestrian traffic in spite of it, with long distances between signalized crossings and inconsistent sidewalk continuity. Indian Head Highway is the most frequently discussed example. Where the design or maintenance of a roadway, a crossing, a signal, or lighting contributed to a collision, a claim against the responsible state or county agency may exist alongside the claim against the driver—and that claim carries the notice deadlines described at https://www.peoples-law.org/suing-state-maryland-maryland-transit-administration-or-local-government-maryland-tort-claims-acts.
Hit & Run, and Uninsured Drivers
A pedestrian or cyclist struck by an unidentified or uninsured driver may still have a claim through uninsured motorist coverage, which can be available through the injured person's own auto policy or the policy of a resident relative even though no vehicle of theirs was involved. This coverage is routinely overlooked. Prompt reporting to law enforcement and to the carrier is generally a condition of it.