Who pays if you are hit as a pedestrian in California and the driver has no insurance?

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

First, check whether the car was insured

Often the driver has no insurance but the car does. A California auto liability policy generally must cover anyone driving the insured car with the owner’s permission, to the same extent as the named insured (Insurance Code section 11580.1(b)(4)). If the driver borrowed an insured car from a friend or relative, that policy may be the first place to claim.

If the driver’s insurer denies coverage, or admits it only with a reservation, the car counts as an “uninsured motor vehicle” for your own UM claim (Ins. Code 11580.2(b)).

Your uninsured motorist coverage protects you on foot

A California auto liability policy must include UM bodily injury coverage. The named insured can delete it, or lower it to the state minimum, only by signing a written agreement in wording set by statute (Ins. Code 11580.2(a)(1)-(3)). If an insurer says you have no UM, ask for a copy of that signed form.

The coverage is not tied to the car. When the named insured is an individual, “insured” means the named insured, the spouse, and relatives of either who live in the same household, “while occupants of a motor vehicle or otherwise” (Ins. Code 11580.2(b)). For a pedestrian, that means:

• You can claim on your own policy even though your car was parked at home.
• If you have no car, check the policy of a spouse, and of a parent, adult child or other relative you live with.
• If several household policies apply, a policy may cap your damages at the highest single limit and split payment among the insurers (11580.2(d)). Limits are never added together (11580.2(q)).

UM excludes a car owned or driven by anyone in your household, and vehicles owned by a government (11580.2(b)). If a California city, county or state vehicle hit you, a claim usually must be presented to that agency within six months (Gov. Code 911.2).

Hit-and-run: the car must have touched you

When the driver or owner cannot be identified, UM applies only if three conditions are met (Ins. Code 11580.2(b)(1)-(2)):

1. The injury arose out of physical contact between the car and you.
2. You, or someone for you, reported the crash within 24 hours to the city police, or in an unincorporated area to the county sheriff or the local California Highway Patrol office.
3. Within 30 days after that, you filed with your insurer a statement under oath that you have a claim against a person whose identity cannot be found, with facts to support it.

The contact rule hurts people who jump out of the way and fall. Without contact, UM for an unknown driver does not apply. If you are in the hospital, a family member can make the report. Driving away from an injury crash is a crime under Vehicle Code section 20001. See what to do after a hit-and-run in California.

How a UM claim works, and its deadlines

You claim against your own insurer, but it can dispute fault and the value of your injuries just as the driver’s insurer would. If you cannot agree on fault or the amount, a single neutral arbitrator decides (11580.2(f)).

Do not settle with, or take to judgment, anyone responsible without your insurer’s written consent (11580.2(c)(3)). If you have no lawyer and your claim is pending, your insurer must warn you in writing at least 30 days before the time limit runs (11580.2(k)). A policy may reduce UM by MedPay paid (11580.2(e)).

Paying medical bills while the claim is open

MedPay is optional auto coverage that pays medical expenses regardless of fault. Whether yours covers you while walking depends on the policy wording, so read its Medical Payments section and our MedPay guide. Health insurance can also pay.

Medi-Cal covers treatment, and the state can recover the reasonable value of those benefits from the person responsible or from a UM insurer (Welf. & Inst. Code 14124.71). Its repayment comes only from the part of a recovery that represents medical expenses (14124.76).

Victim compensation when the driver was impaired or fled

The California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) helps crime victims, but most crashes do not qualify. Under Government Code section 13955(e)(2), a driving injury counts only in listed cases, including a driver who fled the scene, a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs, an intentional act, certain vehicular manslaughter, and a police pursuit. A careless driver who simply had no insurance does not qualify.

CalVCB pays only expenses no other source covers, up to $70,000 per approved application, expects you to cooperate with police and prosecutors, and must be repaid if a lawsuit pays you later (CalVCB). If the driver is convicted, the criminal court must order restitution for economic losses such as medical bills and lost wages (Penal Code 1202.4(f)).

Collecting from the driver and the car’s owner

You can sue the uninsured driver. Proposition 213 bars pain and suffering damages only for an injured person who owned an uninsured vehicle involved in the accident, drove one without proof of financial responsibility, or was convicted of DUI for the crash (Civil Code section 3333.4). A person hit while walking was neither owner nor driver of a vehicle in the crash, so the law does not reduce your claim, even if you have no car insurance yourself.

If the driver used someone else’s car with permission, the owner is liable under Vehicle Code section 17150, but only up to $15,000 for one person unless the driver was the owner’s employee or agent (Vehicle Code section 17151(a)).

A judgment can be enforced for 10 years and renewed (Code Civ. Proc. 683.020, 683.110). If the driver leaves a judgment unpaid for 30 days, you can send certified court records to the DMV, which must then suspend the driver’s license (Vehicle Code 16370), and a debt for injuries caused by intoxicated driving cannot be wiped out in bankruptcy (11 U.S.C. 523(a)(9)). Collecting still depends on the driver’s wages and property.

What this means for your case

1. If the driver fled, make sure police get a report within 24 hours.
2. Ask every adult you live with for their auto policy declarations page, and ask each insurer for any signed UM waiver.
3. Notify your insurer promptly, and file the sworn statement within 30 days for a hit-and-run.
4. Do not settle with the driver without your UM insurer’s written consent.
5. Mark the date two years after the crash.

See also hit by an uninsured driver in California. Read more on our California pedestrian accident lawyer page, or call Beverly Law at (310) 552-6959 for a free review in English or Spanish. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

Common questions

Related pages

California pedestrian accident lawyer · California uninsured motorist lawyer · California hit-and-run accident lawyer · Hit by an uninsured driver in California · MedPay in California: how it works · Pedestrian hit by a car in California

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. Last reviewed: November 11, 2026.