The arterial
Harlow Boulevard and roads like itIn a crosswalk
The driver yields
Between two signals
Marked crosswalk only
Outside one
The pedestrian yields
Deadline
Two years
Harlow County
Pedestrian Accident Lawyer.
In many states a pedestrian who is hit usually claims the first medical bills on a car policy even though they were on foot, and being outside a crosswalk reduces a claim in proportion to the share of fault rather than ending it.
001 / Two kinds of crossing
Why Is Harlow Boulevard Different?
Because the rule that protects a person on foot is written around a crosswalk, and a wide multi lane arterial puts long stretches of road between one crosswalk and the next. The same traffic code sections govern both of these streets and they land very differently.
The neighborhood street
North Ridley and the row house streetsUnmarked at a junction
Still a crosswalk
Passing a stopped car
Not permitted
Who pays first
A car policy
Report it
The same day
002 / The money question
Whose Insurance Pays When A Pedestrian Is Hit?
A car policy, almost always, and it does not have to be yours. This is the part people on foot assume does not apply to them.
A typical state's first party benefit statute sets an order of priority and works down it. A named insured claims on the policy on which they are the named insured. An insured claims on the policy covering the insured. An occupant of an insured vehicle claims on the policy on that vehicle. And for a person who is not the occupant of a motor vehicle, which is exactly what a pedestrian is, the statute names the policy on any motor vehicle involved in the accident.
So the first question after a pedestrian is hit is not whether you have insurance. It is whether anybody in your household has a car policy, and if not, what was insured on the vehicle that hit you. That answer usually exists, and it is why a person with no car and no health plan can still be treated while a claim runs.
The claim against the driver is a separate thing that comes later, and it is where the argument about the crossing lives. The office's own point, made on the firm's own guidance, is the one worth keeping: except in limited circumstances, pedestrians have the right of way, and drivers are responsible for yielding to a pedestrian lawfully crossing the street.
003 / The report
What Should The Police Report Say?
A pedestrian is rarely the person giving the account at the scene, so the report often records only the driver's version. These are the details worth getting into it, or corrected later.
- Exactly where you were when you were struck, and whether there was a crosswalk marked or unmarked
- Which way the vehicle was traveling and whether it was turning at the time
- The signal phase, if there was one, and who had the walk indication
- The light, the weather and whether the street lighting was working
- Whether another vehicle was stopped and the one that hit you overtook it
- The names of people who stopped, not only the ones the officer wrote down
004 / The clock
How Long Do I Have?
The ordinary dates, plus the shorter one that catches anybody hit on a street or by a vehicle a public body runs.
Most injury actions
Two years
If a government unit is involved
Six months notice
If the person hit is a minor
Minority is not counted
Camera footage on the corner
No rule at all
005 / The argument
What If I Was Not In A Crosswalk?
Four things drivers and insurers say about a person on foot, and what the traffic code and the comparative negligence statute actually provide.
What gets said
- You were jaywalking, so there is no claim
- There was no crosswalk there, so the driver owed you nothing
- You stepped out, so it is entirely on you
- The driver had a green light, so that is the end of it
What the sections say
- Outside a crosswalk a pedestrian yields the right of way, which is a duty, not a bar to a claim
- An unmarked crosswalk at an intersection is still a crosswalk and the driver still yields there
- Damages are diminished in proportion to the share of negligence attributed to the injured person
- A driver approaching from behind may not overtake a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk to let somebody cross
006 / Written up in full
The Two Pieces Worth Reading First.
What Happens If The Driver Did Not Stop?
Still a claimA hit and run does not close the file. The statute's order of priority for first party benefits does not depend on identifying the driver, so the medical side can usually start while the police work on the rest. Report it the same day, get the incident number, and ask somebody to look for a camera on the corner before whatever is on it is recorded over.
The kinds of rule behind the answers above (described generally, they differ by state)
- Crosswalk right of wayDrivers usually have to yield to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk.
- Pedestrian duties at crosswalksA pedestrian usually may not step suddenly into the path of a vehicle so close that the driver cannot stop.
- Crossing outside a crosswalkA pedestrian crossing outside a crosswalk usually has to yield, but drivers still have a duty to take care.
- Which policy pays firstRules that set the order of policies usually look first to your own policy, then to the vehicle you were in, then to a vehicle involved.
- Comparative negligenceWhere the injured person shares the blame, many states reduce the award by that share rather than barring it, up to a limit the state sets.
- Deadlines, and public bodiesMost injury lawsuits have to be started within a set number of years, and a claim against a public body can need written notice within months.
007 / Questions
Questions From People On Foot.
The firm's own guidance makes the point that these happen anywhere a person walks near moving vehicles: car parks, pavements, crosswalks and intersections, and often at night.
Yes. The statute's order of priority ends with the policy on any motor vehicle involved in the accident, for a person who was not the occupant of a motor vehicle. A pedestrian is that person, so there is usually a policy that answers even when you own nothing.
No. Outside a crosswalk the traffic code puts a duty on the pedestrian to yield, and the comparative negligence rule where you were hurt reduces a recovery in proportion to the share attributed to the injured person rather than ending it, unless that share was greater than the other side's.
Less than people think. The section covers a pedestrian crossing within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, so a corner with no paint on it can still be a crosswalk.
That situation has its own subsection. Whenever a vehicle is stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross, a driver approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass the stopped vehicle.
Worth establishing early, because if a government unit is involved a written statement has to be filed within six months of the injury. That deadline is much shorter than the two years and it is the one people miss.