Pedestrian accident claims: whose insurance pays

Where and when pedestrians are hit#

NHTSA counted 7,080 pedestrians killed and an estimated 71,635 injured in US traffic crashes in 2024. Most deaths share a few features:

• 84% happened in urban areas.
• 76% happened in the dark.
• 73% happened away from intersections.
• 43% of fatal pedestrian crashes involved alcohol, for the driver, the pedestrian or both.

These patterns shape the arguments in a claim. When someone is hit crossing mid-block at night, the insurer is likely to argue that the pedestrian shared the blame. The answer usually turns on lighting, the driver's speed and attention, and whether the driver could have stopped in time.

Whose insurance pays#

Several kinds of coverage can pay after a pedestrian crash, and more than one may apply:

Many people do not realize their own car insurance can pay when they were not in a car. Under Florida's no-fault law, for example, personal injury protectionPersonal injury protection (PIP). Coverage under your own policy that pays medical bills and some lost income after a crash, whoever caused it. Glossary covers people hit by a motor vehicle while not riding in a self-propelled vehicle, if the vehicle physically struck them. If you own a car in Florida, your own PIP generally pays. If you do not, a relative's policy may cover you if you live in the same household, and in some cases the PIP of the car that hit you pays instead. Florida PIP is $10,000 per person.

Outside the no-fault states, medical payments coverageMedical payments coverage (MedPay). Optional or required coverage on your own auto policy that pays medical bills after a crash, up to a set limit, whoever caused it. Unlike PIP, it usually does not pay lost income. Glossary on your own policy may pay medical bills, depending on its terms. Read your policy, or ask your insurer in writing whether you are covered as a pedestrian.

If a health plan or Medicare pays your bills, it may have a right to be repaid from your settlement. For Medicare the rule is strict: Medicare must be repaid its conditional payments when a settlement, judgment or award is paid.

Right-of-way rules vary by state#

Every state has rules about who has the right of wayRight-of-way. The legal right to go first at a crossing, intersection or lane. Traffic laws say who has it; breaking the rule can be evidence of fault. Glossary at crosswalks and signals, and they differ in the details. Texas shows how these rules work:

• A driver must stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk when no traffic signal is working and the pedestrian is on the driver's half of the road, or close enough to be in danger.
• A pedestrian facing a "Walk" signal may cross, and drivers must yield.
• A pedestrian crossing outside a crosswalk must yield to vehicles, and between two working signals may cross only in a marked crosswalk.
• Every driver must use due care to avoid hitting a pedestrian, and take proper precautions on seeing a child or a confused or incapacitated person.

That last rule matters: a pedestrian who breaks a crossing rule can still have a claim if the driver could have avoided the crash. The pedestrian's own fault then reduces the recovery under the state's fault rule. In the few places that still use contributory negligenceContributory negligence. An older rule, still used in a few places, under which any fault of your own can bar you from recovering anything. Glossary, any fault can bar the claim, but Washington, DC has an exception for people on foot or on bikes: A pedestrian, cyclist or other 'vulnerable user' (as defined in D.C. Code § 50-2204.51) hit by a motor vehicle is barred only if their own negligence was a proximate cause and greater than all defendants' combined negligence.

See how your state treats shared fault with the fault-rule explainer, and read the Texas guide for that state's other crash rules.

When the driver leaves the scene#

Pedestrians are often the victims of drivers who flee. In 2024, 24% of pedestrians killed, nearly one in four, were struck in a hit and runHit-and-run. A crash in which a driver leaves without stopping, giving information or helping the injured, as the law requires. Glossary.

If the driver is never found, your own uninsured motorist coverageUninsured motorist coverage. Coverage under your own policy that pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance, or too little. Glossary may pay your losses, as if the driver had no insurance. Call the police right away, and read your policy's conditions, because uninsured motorist claims for hit-and-run crashes may come with reporting requirements. Our guide to hit-and-run accidents explains the steps in detail.

Children and older adults#

Children and older people are at special risk. Among children 14 and younger killed in traffic crashes in 2024, 17% were pedestrians; among people 65 and older, 19% were.

A child's claim is usually brought by a parent or guardian, and some states give children more time to sue. In Texas, for example: A person younger than 18 is under a legal disability; if the disability exists when the claim accrues, the time until the child turns 18 is not counted in the limitations period. For older adults, Medicare may pay medical bills while the claim is pending, and those payments must be repaid from any settlement.

Evidence after a pedestrian crash#

Pedestrian claims often turn on visibility and timing, so the scene itself is key evidence:

• photos of the crosswalk, signals, street lights, parked cars and anything that blocked the view;
• the time of the crash and the lighting conditions;
• video from traffic cameras, buses, shops and doorbell cameras, requested early before it is recorded over;
• names and phone numbers of witnesses, and the police report number;
• your medical records, bills and a daily journal of pain and limits.

The claim process guide explains how this evidence is used in a demand letter and in negotiation.