Uh yeah, that's a failure to stop. It's different than avoiding deer. Ever heard of following to closely... i.e. tailgating? It's your responsibility to stop when traffic in front of you stops. It's a whole different situation when someone or something moves in front of you from the side of the road. There is not enough time to stop or slow down. Failing to attempt to avoid such an accident can be negligence.
I'm curious if a child walks out into the road and you do not attempt avoid the child would you tell the police you hit him because you didn't want to take the chance of hitting another car by swerving?
If you swearve to avoid a child in a crosswalk, and you cause injuries or damages to someone else, you will be found liable. See 115.