Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

A pedestrian accident can change a life in seconds. When a person on foot is hit by a car, truck, SUV, bus, motorcycle, or rideshare vehicle, the injuries are often serious because the pedestrian has little protection. These cases commonly involve broken bones, head injuries, back injuries, internal injuries, surgery, hospitalization, missed work, and long-term pain. In California, drivers must yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks and unmarked crosswalks at intersections, and drivers approaching pedestrians in those crosswalks must use due care and reduce speed or take other action necessary to protect pedestrian safety.

Anderson Franco Law represents injured pedestrians in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and throughout California. If you were hit while walking in a crosswalk, at an intersection, in a parking lot, on a sidewalk, or near a driveway entrance, the key questions are usually the same: who had the duty to yield, what traffic law was violated, how serious are the injuries, what insurance is available, and how much time is left to act. California law gives most injury victims two years to file suit, but claims against public entities are often subject to a much shorter claim-presentation deadline.

Do Pedestrians Always Have the Right of Way in California?

Not always, and that is one reason pedestrian accident cases require careful analysis.

California Vehicle Code section 21950 says a driver must yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. The same statute also says pedestrians still must use due care for their own safety and may not suddenly leave a curb and move into the path of a vehicle that is so close that it creates an immediate hazard. The law also makes clear that drivers still must exercise due care for pedestrian safety.

California Vehicle Code section 21954 addresses pedestrians crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk. In that situation, the pedestrian generally must yield to vehicles that are close enough to be an immediate hazard, but the statute still does not relieve the driver of the duty to use due care for pedestrian safety. In other words, a pedestrian does not automatically lose a case just because the collision happened outside a crosswalk.

That is why the real issue in many pedestrian cases is not a simple yes-or-no question about “right of way.” The real issue is how the collision happened, what each person was doing, what the roadway looked like, whether the driver was speeding or turning unsafely, whether there was a signal, and whether the pedestrian was visible and lawfully using the roadway.

Common Ways Pedestrian Accidents Happen

Many pedestrian collisions happen when a driver turns through a crosswalk without seeing the person already crossing. California Vehicle Code section 22107 prohibits turning or moving right or left on a roadway unless the movement can be made with reasonable safety and, when another road user may be affected, only after giving an appropriate signal. Unsafe turns are a common fact pattern in pedestrian cases.

Other cases happen when a driver runs a red light or turns right on red without yielding to a pedestrian lawfully in the adjacent crosswalk. California Vehicle Code section 21453 requires a driver facing a steady red signal to stop before the crosswalk or intersection, and a driver turning right on red must yield the right of way to pedestrians lawfully within the adjacent crosswalk.

Speed also matters. California’s basic speed law, Vehicle Code section 22350, prohibits driving at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent for the conditions and forbids driving at a speed that endangers persons or property. In a pedestrian case, even a driver traveling below the posted speed limit may still have been driving too fast for visibility, traffic, congestion, weather, or a busy intersection.

Pedestrian injury cases also arise from drivers who fail to watch for people in parking lots, drivers exiting driveways, drivers backing up, drivers who focus on oncoming traffic but not on crosswalks, and drivers who strike pedestrians near schools, transit stops, or commercial corridors. The legal question in each case is whether the driver used reasonable care under the circumstances and whether a traffic-law violation helps prove fault. Under Evidence Code section 669, failure to exercise due care may be presumed when a person violates a statute, the violation causes injury, the injury is the kind the law was designed to prevent, and the injured person was in the class the law was designed to protect.

Injuries in Pedestrian Accident Cases

Pedestrian collisions often cause injuries that are much more severe than ordinary soft-tissue car-accident complaints. A pedestrian may be thrown onto the hood, windshield, pavement, curb, median, or another vehicle. Even a low-speed impact can cause major harm, especially to the head, spine, hips, knees, ribs, and internal organs.

Common injuries include traumatic brain injury, concussion, facial injuries, fractures, ligament damage, herniated discs, spinal injuries, pelvic injuries, nerve injuries, and internal bleeding. Some people recover after a period of treatment. Others deal with surgery, permanent impairment, chronic pain, or lasting cognitive and physical limitations. In the most serious cases, a pedestrian collision can become a wrongful death case.

What Compensation May Be Available?

A pedestrian injury claim may include compensation for past and future medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other damages allowed by California law. The value depends on liability, the severity of the injuries, the medical evidence, the course of treatment, future limitations, and the insurance available.

A strong pedestrian case is not just about showing that a crash happened. It is about proving how the crash happened, documenting the injuries thoroughly, and connecting the collision to the treatment, limitations, and losses that followed.

What If the Pedestrian Was Also Partly at Fault?

That issue comes up often.

A driver may claim the pedestrian crossed outside the crosswalk, entered too quickly, wore dark clothing, crossed against a signal, or was otherwise careless. Those arguments do not automatically defeat the case. They are fault arguments. The facts still have to be analyzed carefully.

California pedestrian law itself shows why these cases are nuanced. Section 21950 imposes duties on both drivers and pedestrians in crosswalk situations, while section 21954 imposes duties on pedestrians crossing outside crosswalks but still preserves the driver’s duty of due care. That is why many pedestrian cases turn on comparative fault arguments rather than all-or-nothing liability.

What Evidence Helps a Pedestrian Accident Case?

The strongest pedestrian cases are usually built early.

Important evidence often includes the traffic-collision report, photographs of the scene, surveillance video, dashcam footage, bodycam footage, intersection design, signal timing, crosswalk markings, skid marks, debris fields, vehicle damage, cell-phone evidence, eyewitness statements, 911 recordings, EMS records, emergency-room records, and follow-up medical treatment. In some cases, nearby businesses, transit vehicles, or homes may have video that disappears quickly if it is not preserved.

In serious cases, the physical layout of the intersection or roadway matters a great deal. Was it a marked crosswalk? An unmarked crosswalk at an intersection? A driveway exit? A multi-lane turn? A right-on-red? A backing collision? A commercial loading area? Those details affect both fault and case value.

Pedestrian Accidents Involving Buses, City Vehicles, or Dangerous Public Property

Some pedestrian cases involve a city bus, county vehicle, school district vehicle, public-transit vehicle, or a dangerous condition of public property, such as a poorly designed crossing, dangerous signal timing, obstructed sightlines, or a dangerous roadway condition. When a California public entity may be involved, Government Code section 911.2 generally requires presentation of a claim for death or personal injury no later than six months after accrual of the cause of action. That is a very different deadline from the ordinary two-year personal injury statute in Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.

That shorter deadline can matter a lot in pedestrian cases involving municipal buses, county vehicles, school transportation, or road-design issues.

How Long Do You Have to File a Pedestrian Accident Claim in California?

For most California personal injury cases, Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 provides a two-year limitations period for injury to, or death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another.

But if a public entity may be responsible, the claim-presentation rule in Government Code section 911.2 can require action within six months. Missing that deadline can create major problems.

Because pedestrian accident cases can involve both private drivers and public-entity issues, waiting can be costly.

What To Do After a Pedestrian Accident

Get medical care first. Serious pedestrian injuries are sometimes underestimated in the first hours after a collision.

Then, when possible, preserve the case. That usually means getting the police-report number, identifying witnesses, preserving photographs, keeping damaged clothing and shoes, documenting the exact location, and avoiding assumptions about fault before the evidence is reviewed. If the driver fled the scene, uninsured or underinsured motorist issues may also need to be evaluated under available insurance. California’s Department of Insurance explains that uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is for accidents when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough insurance, and that carriers must offer that coverage, although an insured may decline it.

Why Hire Anderson Franco Law for a Pedestrian Accident Case?

Clients hire Anderson Franco Law for pedestrian accident cases because of their success in handling the cases. Pedestrian cases are rarely just “person hit by car” cases. They are liability cases, evidence cases, injury cases, and insurance cases all at once.

Anderson Franco Law focuses on serious injury matters in California. In a pedestrian case, that means looking carefully at roadway law, crosswalk rules, driver conduct, scene evidence, medical proof, insurance coverage, and deadlines. It also means understanding that insurance companies often try to reduce value by shifting blame to the pedestrian, minimizing the injuries, or arguing that the treatment was excessive.

A pedestrian injury claim should be built around the actual facts, not just the insurance company’s first version of events.

Frequently Asked Questions About Pedestrian Accidents

Can I still have a case if I was not in a crosswalk?

Yes, potentially. California Vehicle Code section 21954 says pedestrians outside marked or unmarked crosswalks generally must yield to vehicles that are an immediate hazard, but the same statute also says that drivers still owe a duty of due care for pedestrian safety. Whether a viable case exists depends on the facts, including speed, visibility, roadway design, driver conduct, and whether the pedestrian was actually visible in time to avoid the collision.

What if the driver says I crossed against the light?

That does not automatically end the case. Vehicle Code section 21453 says a pedestrian facing a steady circular red or red-arrow signal generally shall not enter the roadway unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian control signal, but the same statute also says the driver still has a duty to use due care for pedestrian safety in the roadway.

What if the driver ran a red light while I was crossing?

That can be important evidence. Vehicle Code section 21453 requires drivers facing a steady red signal to stop before the crosswalk or intersection, and a driver turning right on red must yield to pedestrians lawfully in the adjacent crosswalk.

What if the collision happened at a San Francisco intersection?

The same California traffic rules still apply, but urban intersections often create added evidentiary issues, including camera footage, signal timing, Muni or other transit involvement, multiple witnesses, and roadway-design questions. If a city or public entity may be involved, the six-month claim-presentation rule may matter.

How long do I have to file suit?

Usually two years for ordinary personal injury cases under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, but potentially six months to present a claim if a public entity may be responsible under Government Code section 911.2.

What if the driver does not have insurance or fled?

Insurance issues still need to be checked. The California Department of Insurance explains that uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is designed for accidents where the at-fault driver has no insurance or insufficient insurance, and that this coverage must be offered with liability coverage unless declined.

Speak With a California Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

If you were hit while walking in San Francisco, the Bay Area, or anywhere in California, the case may involve more than a simple insurance claim. Crosswalk rules, signal rules, turn rules, speed, visibility, serious injuries, public-entity deadlines, and comparative-fault arguments can all shape the outcome. California law imposes duties on both drivers and pedestrians, but it also preserves the driver’s duty of due care throughout these situations.

Contact Anderson Franco Law to discuss your pedestrian accident case.