Child Injured After Being Hit by Car Backing Up in Jacksonville, Florida
An 18 month old girl was injured and taken to the hospital after she was hit by a car that was backing up in an apartment complex in Jacksonville, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The article indicates that the vehicle was backing out of a parking spot in the apartment complex and ran over the 18 month old child. The driver took the child to Shands Hospital, where she remained in a coma. One of the witnesses stated that children are often playing in that area.
We have previously discussed on the Shorstein & Lasnetski Florida Injury Attorney Blog the serious risks involved when drivers back up in apartment complexes and other neighborhoods where kids run around and play. From the age when kids can move on their own to teenagers, kids are often unpredictable and may find themselves behind a vehicle ready to back up without realizing the danger. When a person assumes the responsibility of driving, it is up to him/her to recognize the surroundings and make sure the path is clear before backing up. Obviously, small children can be hard to see behind a vehicle, whether it is a regular passenger car, an SUV or large truck. All too often, in personal injury cases, wrongful death cases and just observing on the roads, we see and hear about drivers who back up first and look second. Usually, nothing bad happens, but when it does and children are involved, the results can be catastrophic.
In a personal injury or wrongful death case that results from a child or other person being injured after a person backs up without properly looking, two of the primary issues regarding liability are the character of the area and to what extent the driver looked and made him/herself aware of the surroundings. Obviously, in an area where kids are known to be, the driver has a duty to carefully look and make sure no kids are near the vehicle before starting to back up. In any other area where kids are not readily apparent or the driver's vision is obstructed, the driver still has a duty to look and be on constant alert for the possibility that someone may be behind the vehicle before backing up.
