Practice area
Lawyers for pedestrians hit by cars
When a person on foot is hit by a vehicle, the person always loses the physical contest. The legal one is different. Free case review, no fee unless we win.
A pedestrian has no bumper, no seatbelt, and no crumple zone. When a vehicle and a person on foot collide, the injuries land almost entirely on the person — which is why pedestrian cases so often involve fractures, head trauma, and long recoveries even from what a driver might describe as a low-speed impact.
California law recognizes this imbalance. Drivers must yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks and in unmarked crosswalks at intersections — the crossing does not need painted lines to be legally protected. And even when a pedestrian is crossing somewhere else entirely, the driver's duty of care does not switch off; drivers must always exercise due care for people on foot. Yet in claim after claim, insurers argue as if stepping off a curb were an assumption of risk.
Expect the comparative-fault playbook: you were outside the crosswalk, you were looking at your phone, you wore dark clothing, you "darted out." These arguments are meant to shave percentages off your recovery, and they work best against people who have no one answering back. Our job is to answer back — with the physical evidence, the intersection's design, witness accounts, and any available camera footage. The review is free, and you pay nothing unless we recover for you.
The right of way — what California actually requires
Drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing in a marked crosswalk, and also in unmarked crosswalks — the legal crossings that exist at most intersections whether or not paint is on the ground. Many people assume no lines means no protection; that is exactly backwards at an intersection.
The right of way is also not a license to ignore what drivers can see. Even where a pedestrian crosses mid-block, drivers are required to exercise due care. A driver who had time to see and avoid a person on foot, and did not, bears responsibility regardless of where the crossing happened.
Arguments insurers make against pedestrians
The recurring themes: the pedestrian was outside a crosswalk, entered against a signal, was distracted by a phone, was hard to see at night, or moved suddenly into the vehicle's path. Some of these are legitimate factors; more often they are asserted reflexively, before the adjuster has seen any evidence at all, because every percentage point of fault assigned to you reduces what the insurer pays.
The response is factual: where exactly the impact happened, what the driver could see and when, how fast the vehicle was going, what the lighting and signal timing were. Intersection cameras, vehicle data, and witness statements frequently contradict the driver's initial narrative — but only if someone gathers them before they are gone.
What compensation can cover
Pedestrian injuries are often among the most serious we handle. A claim can cover emergency and ongoing medical treatment, rehabilitation, lost income and lost future earning ability, out-of-pocket costs, and compensation for pain and the ways the injury has reshaped your daily life. Where a death results, the family may bring a wrongful death claim.
No credible assessment of value is possible before the medical picture is understood. What matters early is preserving the evidence and making sure no deadline passes while you focus on treatment.
How the process works
We start with a free conversation about what happened and an honest read on whether you have a case. From there we secure the collision report, canvass for cameras and witnesses, and document the scene — crosswalk markings, signal timing, sight lines — while you concentrate on recovery.
When your treatment reaches a stable point, we present the insurer with a documented demand and negotiate. If the offers do not reflect the harm, we file. Insurers track which firms will actually try a case, and it changes the numbers they put on the table.
California law that protects people on foot
- Drivers must yield the right of way to pedestrians in marked crosswalks and in unmarked crosswalks at intersections — a crossing does not need painted lines to be legally protected.
- Even outside a crosswalk, drivers owe pedestrians due care. Crossing mid-block may affect the fault allocation, but it does not strip you of the right to recover.
- California's pure comparative negligence rule means partial fault reduces your recovery by your percentage — it never automatically bars the claim, no matter what an adjuster implies.
- Most pedestrian injury claims must be filed within two years under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
- If a dangerous public condition contributed — a malfunctioning signal, an obstructed crosswalk, poor intersection design — a claim against the public entity generally must be presented within six months.
Frequently asked questions
I wasn't in a crosswalk. Do I still have a case?
Very possibly. Drivers owe pedestrians due care everywhere, not just at crossings. Being outside a crosswalk may give the insurer a comparative-fault argument that reduces your recovery by some percentage, but under California law it does not eliminate the claim. The facts — speed, visibility, what the driver could have seen — decide how much weight that argument really carries.
The driver says I "darted out" and it wasn't their fault.
This is one of the most common defenses, and it is frequently contradicted by the evidence: the impact point on the vehicle, the distance you were thrown, camera footage, and simple time-and-distance analysis of what the driver could see. Do not accept the driver's version as the official story — it is one account, from the person with the most to lose by being wrong.
It was a hit-and-run. Is there anything I can do?
Report it to the police immediately and get medical care. Beyond that, if you or a member of your household carries uninsured motorist coverage on an auto policy, that coverage can often apply to a pedestrian struck by a hit-and-run or uninsured driver — many people do not realize their car insurance can protect them while walking. We can review the policies available to you as part of a free case review.
The signal or crosswalk itself was a problem. Does that change anything?
It can change everything, including the deadline. If a public entity's dangerous condition — a broken signal, an obscured crosswalk, a design that hides pedestrians from turning drivers — contributed to the collision, a government claim generally must be presented within six months. That is a fraction of the normal two-year window, so raise it early.
I was hit at low speed and feel mostly okay. Should I bother?
See a doctor first, regardless of any claim. Pedestrian impacts transfer force directly to the body, and injuries — especially head and soft-tissue injuries — can emerge days later. Getting checked protects your health and creates the medical record that connects your injuries to the collision if symptoms grow.
What does hiring you cost?
Nothing up front and nothing unless we win. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, the initial review is free, and if we think you can handle the claim well without a lawyer, we will tell you that.
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The case review is free and confidential, and you pay nothing unless we win. Tell us what happened, and we will tell you honestly where you stand.