What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident
The steps you take in the minutes, hours, and days after being hit can shape your whole claim. Here is a simple checklist to protect your health and your rights.
Get to safety and call 911
If you can move, get out of the roadway, and call 911 so police create an official report and paramedics can check you. Even if you feel able to stand, let responders evaluate you.
Document everything you can
If you are able, photograph the vehicle and its plate, the crosswalk or intersection, the signals, and the scene. Get the driver's information and the names and numbers of any witnesses. If you cannot, ask someone to help.
Get medical care — even if you feel okay
Adrenaline can mask serious injuries, and some appear hours or days later. Prompt care protects your health and ties your injuries to the crash. Keep every record and bill.
Be careful with insurers
Be cautious about giving a recorded statement to the driver's insurer, and do not accept a quick settlement, before you have advice. An early statement can be used to blame you.
Protect your claim
Keep a file of everything — photos, bills, the crash report, and communications — and note any filing deadlines, then consider a free case review.
The deadlines and rules depend on your state
The steps above apply wherever you were hurt. Filing deadlines, fault rules, and limits on damages differ by state — pick yours for what applies to pedestrian accidents.
Not sure where you stand?
A quick, confidential review can tell you — about two minutes, no cost, no obligation.
This is general information, not legal advice. Every situation is different, and the law differs by state.