Described herein are systems and methods that that mitigate avalanche photodiode (APD) blinding and allow for improved accuracy in the detection of a multi-return light signal. A blinding spot may occur due to saturation of a primary APD. The systems and methods include the incorporation of a redundant APD and the utilization of time diversity and space diversity. Detection by the APDs is activated by a bias signal. The redundant APD receives a time delayed bias signal compared to the primary APD. Additionally, the redundant APD is positioned off the main focal plane in order to attenuate an output of the redundant APD. With attenuation, the redundant APD may not saturate and may have a successful detection during the blinding spot of the primary APD. Embodiments may include multiple primary APDs and multiple secondary APDs.