Young Jacksonville Girl Injured After Hit by Backing Vehicle
A 16 month old girl was injured after she was hit by a vehicle backing out of a driveway in Jacksonville, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. We have mentioned these kinds of serious accidents before, when a person is backing up a vehicle and hits or runs over a small child. As expected, these occur mostly in residential areas, and the drivers always say they did not see the child.
Obviously, it is believable when the driver says he/she did not see the child, but these accidents are too common and too many people back up without looking properly, particularly in residential areas where children are often playing. Children cannot be trusted to always watch where they are going and be mindful of hazards. It is almost never a valid excuse for any vehicle to back into or run over a child unless, perhaps, the child darts into the vehicle's path. The bottom line, and the argument any personal injury or wrongful death lawyer would use in a lawsuit on behalf of an injured or deceased child, is that if a driver cannot be sure the path is clear, particularly if children or others may be around, the driver should not move that vehicle. When a child has been injured, or worse, a jury in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit would likely be more sympathetic to that argument than one where the driver says he/she did not see the child.
