Please Note: That in order to determine the liability of a specific case (including the situation above) the specific circumstance to your case must be reviewed.  There is less information from this story that is listed in the news for us to determine whether the driver was at fault or not.  

With that said in New York State and in most states the pedestrian has the right of way and drivers - regardless of whether it is a car or a construction vehicle - are supposed to yield to pedestrians.  Not yielding to pedestrians can be dangerous as in this situation where an elderly woman was hit by a dangerous vehicle and can sometimes be fatal due to the severity of the injuries sustained by the accident.  The news reports do not state whether or not the woman was in front of the truck, in back of the truck or where she was in position to the truck when the accident occured.  

A few simple questions need to be answered to determine the liability when a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle.

• Was the driver of the vehicle intoxicated when he/she hit the pedestrian?
• Was the driver of the vehicle distracted by anything when he/she struck the pedestrian?
• Was he/she driving wrecklessly or negligently when the pedestrian was hit?

All of these factors of important in determining the liability and the severity of the liability of the driver in the accident.

If this accident is determined to be the construction truck driver's fault he would be held liable for any injuries that the pedestrian has sustained and for the medical care that she has received now and may need to continue to receive due to her injuries.

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