Pedestrian accidents can prove catastrophic in many cases since they involve a much larger vehicle striking a person who is not protected by having another vehicle surrounding them during the collision. Whenever Missouri pedestrian accidents cause significant injuries to individuals, they may have the right to file personal injury lawsuits against the drivers who hit them. One such recent accident caused serious injuries to a 26-year-old man.

According to initial reports, the pedestrian was working at the front of a vehicle. The 1993 GMC pickup truck had stalled in the northbound lane of traffic. The man was beneath the truck’s hood at the time that another vehicle struck his truck from behind.

The 60-year-old driver of the other vehicle, a 2010 Toyota, slammed into the rear of the pedestrian’s pickup truck. The truck was forced forward and hit the pedestrian with sufficient force to seriously injure him. Emergency personnel transported the 26-year-old man to a nearby hospital. The 60-year-old man suffered more minor injuries in the collision, but was also taken to the same hospital in order to receive medical treatment.

Immediate reports did not indicate exactly why the 60-year-old man’s vehicle rear-ended the other man’s truck. In pedestrian accidents like this one, Missouri law often provides victims the opportunity to seek compensation for their damages in a personal injury lawsuit. Victims must present evidence at a civil trial that demonstrates that the negligence of another person either caused or contributed to the collision which caused them injuries. While there is no word on whether that will happen in this specific case, it does remain a possibility.

Source: Boonville Daily News, “Truck strikes pedestrian in serious accident,” Nov. 26, 2012