California Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
A person on foot absorbs the entire force of a collision. There is no bumper, no belt and no airbag, which is why a pedestrian struck at even moderate speed often ends up with injuries that take a year to stabilize. The legal question is usually narrower than people expect: who had the right of way, and what does the driver's insurance actually cover.
Right of way, and what drivers are required to do
Vehicle Code section 21950 is the central provision. A driver must yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing within any marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. The unmarked part surprises people: at most intersections, the invisible extension of the sidewalk line across the roadway is a legal crosswalk even with no paint on the ground.
The statute also says something important about driver conduct generally. It directs drivers to exercise all due care and to reduce speed or take other action as necessary for safety, and it states that the pedestrian's right of way does not relieve a pedestrian from using due care. Both sides carry obligations, which is exactly how these cases end up being argued over percentages.
Related provisions come up constantly:
- Section 21950(c) prohibits a driver from passing a vehicle that is stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross. This is the mechanism behind a large share of multi-lane crosswalk collisions.
- Section 21952 requires a driver to yield to a pedestrian on a sidewalk when crossing it to enter or leave a driveway or alley, which covers the parking lot and shopping center cases.
- Section 21954 requires pedestrians crossing outside a crosswalk to yield to vehicles, while still requiring drivers to exercise due care.
- Section 21956 governs walking along a roadway without a sidewalk, where pedestrians are generally required to walk on the left facing traffic.
The Freedom to Walk Act changed the jaywalking argument
Effective January 1, 2023, Assembly Bill 2147 limited when police may cite a pedestrian for crossing outside a crosswalk. An officer may generally only issue a citation when there is an immediate danger of a collision. Routine jaywalking enforcement against someone crossing a clear street is no longer permitted.
This matters in a civil claim for a practical reason: the absence of a citation removes an easy talking point for the defense. It does not eliminate comparative fault. If you crossed mid-block into traffic, a jury can still assign you a share of responsibility, and the insurer will argue for a large one. What the Act changed is the inference that gets drawn from the police response, and that is worth understanding before an adjuster characterizes the report to you.
How these collisions actually happen
The scenarios repeat, and each has its own evidence problem.
The right turn on red
A driver turning right looks left for cross traffic and rolls into the crosswalk without ever looking right at the person already in it. Signal timing data and intersection video, where it exists, decide these.
The left turn across a crosswalk
A driver with a green light turning left focuses on the gap in oncoming traffic and enters a crosswalk that has a walk signal. The pedestrian did everything right. Establishing the phase of the signal at the moment of impact is the whole case.
The multi-lane crosswalk
A car in the near lane stops for a pedestrian; a car in the far lane passes it and strikes them. This is a direct violation of section 21950(c) and generally the clearest liability picture of any pedestrian case.
Parking lots and driveways
Backing collisions and drivers exiting driveways across a sidewalk. Low speed does not mean low injury when the victim is elderly, and these are the cases where private security camera footage usually exists and is usually overwritten within two weeks.
Dark conditions
Expect a visibility defense and a comment about your clothing. The answer is usually technical: headlight illumination distances, the driver's actual speed, stopping distance at that speed, and whether street lighting was functioning. If a light was out, a public entity claim may exist and the six-month deadline applies.
Where the money comes from
This is the part pedestrians most often get wrong. You do not need to have been in a car for auto insurance to apply to you.
- The driver's bodily injury liability coverage is primary. Since January 1, 2025, California's minimum is $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident, which a serious pedestrian injury will frequently exhaust on hospital charges alone.
- Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage generally applies when you are struck as a pedestrian, if you own a vehicle with that coverage. A resident relative's policy may also apply.
- Medical payments coverage on your own auto policy pays treatment without regard to fault.
- In a hit and run, uninsured motorist coverage is often the only available source. See the note below about the physical contact requirement.
- If the driver was working, delivering, or driving for a rideshare at the time, a commercial or rideshare policy with far higher limits may apply.
- Where a dangerous crossing, a non-functioning signal, obscured sightlines or a missing crosswalk contributed, a public entity claim under Government Code section 835 may exist, with its six-month administrative claim deadline.
Documenting a pedestrian injury properly
Pedestrian impacts produce a characteristic pattern: a lower leg or pelvic injury from the initial strike, then a second set of injuries from the hood or windshield, then a third from hitting the ground. Treating each as a separate problem in separate records is how claims lose value, because the whole mechanism never appears in one place.
- Fractures of the tibia, fibula, femur and pelvis, often requiring internal fixation and later hardware removal.
- Traumatic brain injury, including injuries that do not show on initial imaging. Cognitive and mood symptoms reported weeks later need to be in the record.
- Spinal injuries, from disc herniations to fractures.
- Internal organ injuries, which are the reason a CT scan matters even when nothing is visibly broken.
- Scarring and permanent limp or gait change, which are compensable and should be documented photographically and by a physician rather than described.
Where a case involves a child or an elderly person, two specific things change. For an injured child, the two-year deadline is tolled until the 18th birthday under CCP 352, and any settlement generally requires court approval. For an elderly person, the question of pre-existing condition versus aggravation becomes central, and the correct legal answer is that a defendant is responsible for the harm caused to the plaintiff as they actually were, not as a healthier person would have been.
Reviewed October 2026. General information about California law, not legal advice. Statutes and case law change; confirm anything you intend to rely on.
Questions people actually ask
I was not in a crosswalk. Can I still recover?
Often yes. California's pure comparative fault rule reduces recovery by your percentage of fault rather than barring it, and drivers retain a duty of due care even toward pedestrians outside a crosswalk under Vehicle Code 21954. Since the Freedom to Walk Act took effect in 2023, police can generally only cite a pedestrian when there was an immediate hazard, which changes the inferences drawn from the police report.
The driver fled. What now?
Report it to police immediately and notify your own auto insurer promptly. Uninsured motorist coverage is typically the source of recovery in a hit and run, and it generally requires physical contact with the vehicle plus prompt reporting. Nearby business cameras and traffic cameras are also worth pursuing quickly, because footage is often overwritten within two weeks.
I do not own a car. Does any insurance cover me?
The driver's liability coverage applies regardless of whether you own a vehicle. Beyond that, a policy held by a resident relative may cover you, and your health insurance applies to treatment. If the driver was uninsured and no UM coverage reaches you, the practical options narrow considerably, which is a reason to evaluate every possible policy early.
The intersection has had other crashes. Does that matter?
It can. A pattern of collisions at the same location supports a dangerous condition of public property claim under Government Code 835, and prior incident history is discoverable. The catch is the deadline: an administrative claim against a public entity is generally due within six months, not two years.
My child was hit walking to school. Is the deadline different?
Yes. For a minor, the two-year statute is tolled until age 18 under CCP 352, so the window typically runs from the 18th birthday. That does not apply to claims against a public entity such as a school district, where the six-month claim requirement still governs, so these cases should be evaluated immediately rather than deferred.
How is the value of a pedestrian case different?
The injuries tend to be more severe, so the available insurance limits are more often the real constraint rather than the injury value. That shifts the work toward finding every applicable policy, including UM/UIM, employer coverage and any public entity exposure, rather than simply negotiating against one adjuster.
Tell us what happened. We will tell you where you stand.
The review is free, there is no obligation, and if you do not have a claim worth pursuing we will say so. If you do, we will explain the deadlines that apply to you and what happens next.