Ross Moore Law is highlighting critical legal protections for pedestrian accident victims following Georgia Department of Transportation data showing 294 pedestrian deaths statewide in 2024, which GDOT characterized as a continuing surge. The firm notes that pedestrians accounted for 20.1 percent of all Georgia roadway deaths that year, meaning one in five people killed on Georgia roads in 2024 was on foot rather than in a vehicle.

The stark statistics emerge alongside a Propel ATL report confirming that Metro Atlanta traffic crashes killed 425 people across Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties in 2024, exceeding the 410 homicides in the same area. Atlanta averaged 14.2 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents between 2013 and 2023, nearly three times Chicago's 5.7 rate and more than three times Seattle's 4.3 rate.

GDOT data reveals that 84 percent of Georgia pedestrian deaths occur at night and 95 percent occur outside of marked crosswalks. These statistics directly affect how insurance defense teams assign fault to pedestrian accident victims, often arguing the pedestrian was walking where they should not have been or was not visible to the driver. According to GDOT's pedestrian safety data, nine out of ten people struck by a vehicle traveling at 40 miles per hour will die, illustrating why Atlanta's high-speed surface roads, where posted limits of 35 to 45 mph are routinely exceeded, produce disproportionate pedestrian fatality rates.

"When GDOT publishes that 84 percent of pedestrian deaths happen at night and 95 percent occur outside crosswalks, insurance adjusters immediately use these statistics as defense arguments against injured pedestrians," said Ross Moore, Founding Attorney at Ross Moore Law. "Under Georgia's comparative fault standard, adjusters only need to establish 50 percent fault against the victim to eliminate all recovery. That's why Ross Moore Atlanta pedestrian accident lawyer teams respond to these cases by immediately gathering evidence of driver speed, distraction, and visibility conditions before the defense narrative takes hold."

Propel ATL's analysis found that just 20 roadways, representing 1.2 percent of all Metro Atlanta roadways, account for nearly 11 percent of all fatal crashes. The deadliest corridors are large state highways where bus stops create pedestrian conflict points, with 59 percent of all pedestrian crashes in the five-county area occurring within walking distance of a bus stop in 2024.

Georgia's modified comparative fault standard allows pedestrian accident victims to recover damages as long as they are found less than 50 percent at fault. However, insurance adjusters handling Atlanta pedestrian claims routinely argue that crossing outside a crosswalk or walking at night without reflective clothing constitutes comparative fault sufficient to suppress or eliminate recovery. An Atlanta pedestrian accident lawyer can build liability cases that establish driver fault from crash scene evidence before defense teams assign blame to the walker.

Ross Moore Law is a personal injury law firm founded in 2012 by Attorney Ross Moore II, representing pedestrian accident victims, car accident victims, and other injury clients throughout Atlanta, Metro Georgia, and Nashville, Tennessee. Ross Moore II has been named to the Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for seven consecutive years from 2020 through 2026. The firm handles all cases on a contingency fee basis, with no upfront costs and free case evaluations available 24 hours a day.

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For more information about Ross Moore Law, contact the company here:

Ross Moore Law
Ross Moore Law
7068907541
info@rossmoorelaw.com
309 North Highland Avenue Northeast A, Atlanta, GA 30307