Fresno Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Being hit by a car while crossing the street or walking through a parking lot can change your life in an instant. In addition to dealing with your injuries, you may be juggling medical appointments, time away from work, and pressure from the insurance company before you’ve had a chance to focus on your recovery. If you’re helping an injured parent, spouse, or adult child, you’re not just managing their recovery—you’re also responsible for keeping their case on track, which is difficult without help.

When a car hits a person, the body takes the full impact. Even at lower speeds, a pedestrian can suffer serious harm—fractures, head trauma, or joint damage that may not show up for days.

Some injuries lead to pain, stiffness, or limited movement that disrupts walking, sleeping, and work. Recovery may take longer for older people or those with prior medical conditions.

Insurers May Dismiss the Full Impact

Insurance companies rarely account for how a crash affects daily routines. If symptoms aren’t recorded early and tracked through consistent treatment, the insurer may question whether they exist at all.

Headaches, dizziness, anxiety, or sleep loss are harder to prove if they’re not in the medical file. Scans don’t capture symptoms like fatigue or disrupted sleep. Without a clear record, insurers may disregard what isn’t documented.

How We Strengthen the Case

We help clients document injuries from the start. That includes early provider reports, functional limitations, and specific ways the crash changed their daily life. By the time the insurer starts picking apart the file, the foundation of the case is already in place.

Attempts to Shift Fault to You

Drivers rarely accept full responsibility after hitting a pedestrian. Instead, they may claim that you were not in the crosswalk, stepped out too quickly, or ignored the traffic signal. Even if the driver admits fault, their insurance company may still dispute your injuries. If you waited a few days to seek medical treatment or missed follow-up care, they will argue your injuries are not related or not serious. 

Similarly, if no video footage exists and the police report lacks detail, the insurance company will take advantage of this lack of evidence to shift the blame onto you. Their goal is simple: minimize what they owe. That means they attempt to push an early settlement, question the medical care you received, and control the narrative before you even finish treatment.

Our attorneys step in early to secure footage, gather records, identify witnesses, and prevent the insurance company from building their version of the story uncontested.

Where The Risk Increases for Pedestrians in Fresno

Damages a Strong Pedestrian Accident Case Can Account For

A pedestrian accident can lead to more than hospital bills. Even with insurance, costs stack up quickly—especially if the insurer pushes for settlement before the full extent of the harm is clear.

We help document every category of loss that can be recovered:

• Ongoing medical expenses: Follow-up appointments, physical therapy, pain management, and long-term treatment tied to the injury.
• Out-of-pocket costs: Transportation to appointments, medical equipment, medications, and help at home if you can’t manage tasks on your own.
• Lost income: Missed work during recovery, reduced hours, or loss of reliability that affects your pay.
• Reduced future earning ability: If you can’t return to the same job—or your injuries affect your ability to advance—we work with providers and financial experts to document the impact.
• Functional limitations: If pain or restricted movement affects your ability to walk, stand, or perform daily routines, we include that in the case valuation.
• Psychological effects: Anxiety around traffic, loss of independence, and other disruptions that affect how you move through your day.

We don’t rely on the insurer to define what was lost. We build the record from the start—so nothing gets left out, and nothing gets undervalued.

Determining Fault in Pedestrian Accident Cases

California law gives pedestrians the right of way in marked crosswalks. But even when the pedestrian followed the rules, fault can still be disputed—especially if the police report is brief or no video footage exists. Insurance companies look for any gap they can use to shift blame.

When documentation is limited, the case needs to be built around other sources. That can include signal timing, vehicle movement, and contact points on the body or clothing. Eyewitness accounts may also fill in what isn’t shown on video. We focus on evidence that connects those details clearly—so the facts are harder to challenge later.

California’s Comparative Fault Rule and What it Means for Your Case

California follows a comparative negligence rule in personal injury claims. That means both you and the driver can share fault for the accident, and the insurance company can reduce your compensation in proportion to your assigned percentage. Even an hour delay in seeking medical treatment or having been a few feet outside the crosswalk can become leverage for the insurance company to argue partial fault.

Our method of building pedestrian accident cases leaves little room for the insurance company to shift the blame.

The Risk of Settling Before You Know the Full Extent of Your Injuries

It is common for the at-fault driver’s insurance company to reach out within days of the accident. They may sound friendly, ask how you are feeling, or say they just need your version of the events. What they are doing is attempting to elicit a statement they can use later to downplay your injuries.

The insurance company may also offer a settlement before you have finished treatment or know the full cost of your recovery. However, this offer will rarely reflect the cost of ongoing treatment, loss of earning capacity, or long-term limitations that have not even become apparent. Once you sign the release, you cannot go back and request additional compensation, even if your condition worsens.

We do not allow clients to sign away their rights without a full accounting of their damages and an assessment of the compensation they require. That timeline may not move as fast as the insurance company wants, but it puts you in a position to recover more of what you have lost.

Fatal Pedestrian Accidents: Wrongful Death Cases

Some pedestrians are too injured to handle their own case. Others don’t survive. In either situation, a spouse, adult child, or other close relative may need to step in.

We work directly with family members to gather time-sensitive evidence and keep the case moving. You don’t need medical records or a police report to call—just a reason to ask what happens next.

If the crash leads to a wrongful death, California law allows certain family members to pursue a case for the financial and personal losses connected to that death. Those cases still depend on early documentation. We help families preserve what’s needed before key details are lost.

Timeline and Deadlines You Cannot Afford to Miss

The first few weeks after a pedestrian accident are critical. Medical records, surveillance video, and witness contact information are all easier to gather early. Waiting too long allows the insurance company to control the narrative and reduces your ability to prove what happened. Getting a lawyer involved early keeps you ahead of the insurance company and helps preserve the facts before they are lost or altered.

The Statute of Limitations for Pedestrian Accident Claims in California

Under California law, the general deadline to file a pedestrian injury lawsuit is two years from the date of the accident. However, if the case involves a government vehicle or agency, you will need to file a separate claim within six months.

If the injured party is a minor, the law pauses the statute of limitations until they turn 18. But even then, delayed action carries significant risks. Medical records may fade from memory, witnesses may move, and the insurance companies may take your silence as a reason to close the file.

If you are unsure of the applicable statute of limitations in your case or whether it has expired, we can confirm the deadline and any special requirements upfront, so you don’t miss your chance to file a claim.