What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident

After a car hits you on foot, call 911, get medical care, and collect the driver’s name, insurance and plate before anyone leaves. Then protect the deadline: in California you generally have two years to sue for your injuries (CCP 335.1), two years in Texas and three years in Washington. A claim against a public agency moves much faster.

What should you do at the scene?

If you can move safely, get out of the traffic lane and call 911. Ask for an ambulance if anything hurts, even a little.

The driver has legal duties at the scene:

• California: a driver who injures someone must stop immediately (Veh. Code 20001), give the person struck their name, address, vehicle registration and the owner’s name and address, and give reasonable help, including arranging a ride to medical care (Veh. Code 20003).
• Texas: the driver must stop, check whether anyone needs aid, stay at the scene, and give their name, address, registration number and the name of their liability insurer (Transp. Code 550.021 and 550.023).
• Washington: the driver must stop, give name, address, insurance company, policy number and license plate, show a driver’s license, and render reasonable help (RCW 46.52.020).

If you can, photograph the car, plate, crosswalk and your injuries, and get witnesses’ phone numbers. Note any cameras facing the street.

Who has to report the crash, and when?

The police report is often the first record an insurer reads, so ask the officer for the report number before you leave.

Each state also requires a written report from the driver:

• California: a driver must report to DMV within 10 days when anyone is injured or killed, or property damage exceeds $1,000 (Veh. Code 16000). The DMV handbook says each driver files form SR 1, even for minor injuries and whether or not they caused the crash, and a driver who skips it faces suspension (California DMV).
• Texas: after an injury crash, the driver must notify police or the sheriff immediately by the quickest means, and an investigating officer files a written report with TxDOT within 10 days (Transp. Code 550.026 and 550.062).
• Washington: a driver in a crash that injures anyone must file a report with local police, the sheriff or the State Patrol within four days, unless an investigating officer files a report (RCW 46.52.030).

If the driver fled, your own reporting clock matters for insurance. A California uninsured motorist claim for a hit and run requires physical contact, a report to police or CHP within 24 hours and a sworn statement to your insurer within 30 days (Ins. Code 11580.2). In Washington, a “phantom vehicle” claim, where no contact occurred, needs a police report within 72 hours and corroborating evidence (RCW 48.22.030).

Which insurance pays your medical bills?

Keep every appointment; gaps in care let the insurer argue you healed. Use your health insurance meanwhile.

Several policies can come into play:

• The driver’s liability insurance pays for your losses if the driver was at fault, up to the policy limit.
• Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may apply when the driver had no insurance, too little, or drove away. California requires insurers to include it unless you waived it in writing, and allows the policy to reduce it by medical payments already paid (Ins. Code 11580.2). Texas requires UM/UIM unless rejected in writing (Ins. Code 1952.101), and Washington has the same written-rejection rule (RCW 48.22.030).
• Personal injury protection (PIP). Texas policies must include PIP unless rejected in writing; it pays medical bills and lost income regardless of fault, and the statute requires no more than $2,500 per person in total benefits (Ins. Code 1952.151 to 1952.155). In Washington, PIP is offered unless the named insured rejects it in writing (RCW 48.22.085), and its definition of an insured includes a pedestrian struck by the insured car (RCW 48.22.005).

Hospitals can claim part of your recovery. A California hospital that gave emergency and ongoing care has a lien on your damages for reasonable charges (Civil Code 3045.1), and a Texas hospital that admitted you within 72 hours can secure a lien by filing notice with the county clerk (Prop. Code 55.002 and 55.005).

Did the driver have to yield, and what if you were partly at fault?

California drivers must yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, and the pedestrian’s own duty of care does not excuse a driver from using due care (Veh. Code 21950). In Texas, where no signal is working, a driver must stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk on the driver’s half of the road, while a person crossing elsewhere must yield to vehicles (Transp. Code 552.003 and 552.005). Washington drivers must stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk (RCW 46.61.235).

Insurers often blame the person walking. In California, your damages are reduced by your percentage of responsibility (CACI 405). Washington also reduces the award without barring it (RCW 4.22.005). Texas reduces damages by your share and bars recovery above 50 percent (CPRC 33.001 and 33.012).

Example only: a jury values the harm at $100,000 and finds the walker 30 percent at fault. In all three states the recovery drops to $70,000. At 55 percent fault, California and Washington allow $45,000, while Texas allows nothing. The actual facts decide every case.

How long does it take to settle a pedestrian accident?

There is no standard timeline, and any single number would mislead you. These are the things that set the pace:

• Finishing treatment. Most claims wait until your doctors can say what care you will need in the future. Settling earlier risks leaving future surgery or therapy unpaid.
• Liens. If Medicare paid, its recovery center issues a conditional payment letter and a final demand after the settlement is reported (CMS). Hospital liens also have to be resolved before the money is paid out.
• Policy limit demands. In California, a time-limited demand to settle within the policy limits must give the insurer at least 30 days to accept, or 33 days by regular mail (CCP 999.1).
• Disputes over fault or injuries. A contested claim may need a lawsuit and discovery.
• A child’s claim. In California, a parent’s settlement of a minor’s claim is valid only after the superior court approves it (Probate Code 3500).

What to do now

1. Get checked by a doctor today, and keep every follow-up visit.
2. Write down the driver’s name, insurer, policy number and plate.
3. Get the police report number.
4. Photograph the scene and your injuries, and list witnesses and cameras.
5. If the driver fled, report within 24 hours and tell your insurer in writing.
6. Do not give a recorded statement to the driver’s insurer before getting advice.
7. Keep bills, receipts and pay stubs in one folder.
8. Talk to a lawyer before the claim deadline approaches.

Talk to us

If you were hit by a car while walking, call Beverly Law at (310) 552-6959 for a free case review in English or Spanish. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

Common questions

Related pages

Personal Injury Questions · Pedestrian hit by an uninsured driver in California · Who is at fault in a Washington crosswalk crash · What to do in a hit and run · How long do I have to report a car accident? · Law Blog

Important: This page is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Beverly Law. Laws change and every case is different; talk to a lawyer about your own situation. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. You owe no fees or costs unless we win. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: 2026-11-13.