California Pedestrian Accident Lawyer: Right-of-Way, Jaywalking After AB 2147, Hit-and-Run Coverage and Deadlines (Updated November 2026)

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

What to do after being hit by a car in California

1. Get medical care first. Head, knee, hip and spine injuries can look minor on the first day and get worse.
2. Make sure there is a police report. If the driver fled, the report must be made within 24 hours to the city police, or to the sheriff or CHP outside city limits, to keep your uninsured motorist claim against an unknown driver (Ins. Code § 11580.2).
3. Photograph the scene: the crosswalk, the signal, the lighting, the car and your injuries. Note every camera you see, because businesses and doorbell cameras record over footage within days.
4. Tell your own insurer. After a hit-and-run, California requires a sworn statement to your insurer within 30 days of the crash to claim uninsured motorist benefits for an unknown driver.
5. Do not give a recorded statement to the driver’s insurance company before you talk to a lawyer.

Leaving the scene is a crime (Veh. Code § 20001). See hit-and-run in California.

California’s right-of-way rules for people on foot

Crosswalks. A driver must yield to a pedestrian crossing in any marked crosswalk, or in an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. A driver approaching someone in a crosswalk must slow down or do whatever else is needed to keep that person safe (Veh. Code § 21950). An unmarked crosswalk at an intersection gets the same protection as a painted one.

Your duty as a pedestrian. The same section says you may not suddenly leave the curb and walk into the path of a car so close that it is an immediate hazard. Outside a crosswalk, a pedestrian must yield to vehicles close enough to be an immediate hazard, but the driver still owes due care to anyone in the road (Veh. Code § 21954). Between two intersections that both have working signals, you must cross in the crosswalk (Veh. Code § 21955).

The Freedom to Walk Act (AB 2147). Since January 1, 2023, police may not stop a pedestrian for crossing outside a crosswalk, or for most signal violations, unless a reasonably careful person would see an immediate danger of a collision. The law does not legalize jaywalking (SDPD Training Bulletin 22-17), and insurers still argue that a mid-block crossing was careless. Our jaywalking FAQ compares all three states.

When the driver broke the law. Under Evidence Code § 669, a person who violated a safety statute and caused the kind of harm it was meant to prevent is presumed negligent. A driver who failed to yield in a crosswalk starts the case with that presumption against them. See also: hit in a crosswalk.

Deadlines and your share of fault

In Li v. Yellow Cab, the California Supreme Court replaced the old all-or-nothing rule with pure comparative negligence (opinion). If a jury finds you 30% at fault for stepping out mid-block, you still recover 70% of your damages. Our pages on whether the driver is always at fault and comparative fault in CA, TX and WA go further.

When a pedestrian dies, the family’s wrongful death claim has the same two-year deadline: wrongful death statute of limitations in California.

How a California pedestrian claim gets paid

The driver’s liability insurance. This is the first source, and the $30,000 minimum (Veh. Code § 16056) rarely covers a broken pelvis or a brain injury.

Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. California requires every auto liability policy to include UM coverage unless the named insured waives it in writing. The statute defines “insured” to include the named insured, the spouse, and relatives living in the same household “while occupants of a motor vehicle or otherwise” (Ins. Code § 11580.2). “Or otherwise” is what covers you on foot. If you do not own a car but live with a parent or spouse who has a policy, you may still be covered.

Hit-and-run. UM coverage pays for an unknown driver only if the car made physical contact with you, the crash was reported to police within 24 hours, and you gave your insurer a sworn statement within 30 days. See hit by an uninsured driver in California.

Government vehicles. The same statute says a vehicle owned by the state or a city, county or other public agency is not an “uninsured motor vehicle.” If a police car, city truck or transit bus hits you, the claim goes to the agency, under the six-month rule below.

Other coverage. MedPay on your own policy can pay medical bills regardless of fault (how MedPay works in California). Commercial trucks carry larger policies (hit by a truck while walking or biking).

Dangerous streets and claims against public agencies

A city, county or Caltrans can be liable for a dangerous condition of its property when the condition caused the injury, created a foreseeable risk of that kind of injury, and either an employee created it or the agency had notice in time to fix it (Gov. Code § 835).

The leading pedestrian case is Bonanno v. Central Contra Costa Transit Authority (2003) 30 Cal.4th 139. A woman walking to a bus stop near Martinez was struck in the crosswalk on Pacheco Boulevard. The California Supreme Court held that the location of a bus stop can be a dangerous condition when riders must cross a dangerous road to reach it (opinion). California’s jury instructions cite it for that rule (CACI No. 1102).

The deadline is short. A claim for personal injury or death must be presented to the agency within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2). If the agency rejects it in writing, you have six months from that notice to file suit (Gov. Code § 945.6). Our news desk recently covered a woman in a Van Nuys crosswalk allegedly struck by an LAPD patrol car responding to a call (Woodman Avenue, Van Nuys). A claim like that starts with this six-month rule. More: a city or county vehicle hit me, the six-month claim rule and crashes caused by potholes and dangerous roads.

Pedestrian deaths in California

• A San Diego police release funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety says 1,090 people were struck and killed while walking in California in 2024, 28% of all traffic deaths in the state (OTS-funded release, SDPD, Sept. 2026).
• The Governors Highway Safety Association’s preliminary count for 2025 is 828 pedestrian deaths in California, down 239 from 2024. That was the largest drop of any state, but California still had the most pedestrian deaths. Its rate was 2.13 deaths per 100,000 residents, against 1.97 nationally (GHSA).
• Nationally, 76.5% of pedestrian deaths in 2024 with known lighting happened after dark. Drivers fled the scene in 23.8% of all pedestrian deaths that year (GHSA report).

In September 2026 a driver hit two people at Venice Boulevard and Abbot Kinney Boulevard and fled, on a stretch the city lists in its High Injury Network (Venice hit-and-run). For the city view, see the most dangerous intersections in Los Angeles and common causes of pedestrian accidents.

We have local pages for Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Palm Springs, Perris, Victorville, Hesperia, Adelanto and Moorpark.

Evidence that wins pedestrian cases

• Video, requested in writing from businesses and neighbors right away.
• Signal timing records from the city, to show you had the walk signal.
• The car’s data and the driver’s phone records, to show speed, braking and distraction.
• Your medical records from day one. Gaps in treatment are the first thing an insurer points to. See what a pedestrian claim is worth.

Related pages

• Texas pedestrian accident lawyer
• Washington pedestrian accident lawyer
• Los Angeles pedestrian accident lawyer
• Pedestrian hit by a car in California
• Hit-and-run in California: what to do
• California truck accident lawyer

Common questions

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.