Wave overtopping under extreme weather conditions can pose a notable threat to the safety of pedestrians on coastal structures. In this paper, physical experiments and numerical simulations based on scale-down models were conducted in accordance with an actual person overboard accident, highlighting the flow characteristics and the fluid force exerted on the pedestrian by the overtopping and reflecting flow on the berm. The determinations of pedestrian instability under various conditions in the Qingdao incident are presented. The accuracy of the numerical wave flume was validated through a comparison with the experimental results. The findings disclose that under various wave height circumstances, the characteristics of overtopping flow are highly in line with the existing conclusions, yet the prediction for reflecting flows is not satisfactory due to the compound structures. The maximum reverse recoil force acting upon the pedestrian is far more prominent when compared to the impact effect of the head-on overtopping flow, which consequently leads to the pedestrians being washed away into the water. The safety of the pedestrian on the viewing berm under various incident wave conditions is analyzed and predicted by comparing with two approaches for the determination of the pedestrian instability, namely, water flow factors and mechanical analysis.