California Pedestrian Accident Attorneys

Pedestrian accidents often raise questions about who had the right of way, whether a driver was paying attention, and what happened in the moments before impact. Because pedestrians have no physical protection from a moving vehicle, these collisions can cause severe injuries, lengthy recoveries, and significant financial losses. Kermani LLP represents injured pedestrians and their families throughout California, helping clients investigate disputed liability, identify negligent parties, and pursue compensation for the harm they have suffered. Our California pedestrian accident lawyers are prepared to gather evidence, build a strong case, and hold responsible parties accountable.

Pedestrian Accident Cases Kermani LLP Handles in California

Pedestrian accidents can happen in many different settings, including intersections, crosswalks, parking lots, residential streets, and busy urban areas. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, more than 14,000 pedestrians were injured in traffic crashes, and nearly 900 were killed. California’s pedestrian fatality rate is also almost 25% higher than the national average. These crashes often involve driver distraction, speeding, failure to yield, poor visibility, or unsafe turns. The type of collision can play an important role in determining how the accident happened and who may be responsible. Our California pedestrian accident lawyers represent people injured in a wide range of incidents, including:

• Crosswalk Accidents: These often happen when a turning driver checks for oncoming traffic but not for a pedestrian already partway across on a walk signal.
• Intersection Accidents: Multiple vehicles moving through the same intersection at once, some turning, some going straight, create more conflict points for a pedestrian than a mid-block crossing does.
• Left-Turn and Right-Turn Accidents: A driver watching for a gap in cross-traffic is frequently the same driver who misses a pedestrian stepping off the curb in the direction they're turning.
• Hit-and-Run Accidents: When the driver leaves the scene, identifying them, often through traffic cameras, paint transfer, or witness plate numbers, becomes the first issue in the case, before liability is even reached.
• Parking Lot Accidents: Low speeds don't mean low risk here; a car backing out of a space, poor lighting, or an obstructed sightline between rows of parked vehicles are common contributing factors.
• Backing-Up Accidents: These cluster in driveways, parking lots, and loading areas, and larger vehicles' blind spots directly behind them are frequently the reason a pedestrian isn't seen in time.
• Distracted Driving Accidents: A driver looking at a phone, GPS, or dashboard screen for even a few seconds travels the length of a crosswalk without seeing it, and phone records often become central evidence in these claims.
• Speeding-Related Accidents: A vehicle's speed at impact affects both the odds a pedestrian survives and how far they're thrown, making the speed itself one of the first things reconstructed after the crash.
• Drunk or Drug-Impaired Driving Accidents: Beyond the usual negligence claim, an impaired driver's conduct can also support a request for punitive damages, which isn't available in most other pedestrian cases.
• Failure-to-Yield Accidents: These typically involve a driver exiting a driveway or parking lot, or completing an unprotected turn, without yielding to a pedestrian who already had the right of way.
• School Zone Accidents: Reduced speed limits during school hours don't account for children darting between parked cars or crossing outside a marked crosswalk, which is why these cases often turn on whether the driver was actually going the posted speed.
• Residential Street Accidents: Many residential streets have no sidewalk and no marked crossing at all, so pedestrians and vehicles are sharing the same strip of pavement by default, not by exception.
• Public Transit and Bus-Related Accidents: When the bus is operated by a public transit agency, the case can involve a government entity, which comes with a much shorter claim-filing deadline than a typical pedestrian case.
• Rideshare-Related Pedestrian Accidents: A pedestrian hit by an Uber or Lyft driver still has to sort out whether the driver's app was on at the time, since that determines which of the company's insurance tiers applies.

Liability in a pedestrian accident is not always limited to the driver who struck the victim. Depending on the circumstances, responsibility may also involve a vehicle owner, employer, government entity, or another party whose conduct contributed to the collision. Kermani LLP examines the available evidence, determines how the incident occurred, and works to hold each responsible party accountable for the injuries and losses caused.

What Causes Pedestrian Accidents in California?

Pedestrian accidents often occur when drivers fail to notice people crossing the street, ignore traffic laws, or make unsafe decisions near crosswalks and intersections. Because pedestrians have little protection from the force of a vehicle, even a moment of negligence can lead to serious injuries. Common causes of pedestrian accidents in California include:

• Driver Behavior and Attention: A driver only needs to look away for a few seconds to miss a pedestrian stepping off a curb, which is often the real story behind a crash that gets filed simply as "distracted driving" or "failure to yield." Alcohol and drug impairment work the same way, slowing reaction time at the exact moment a driver needs it most.
• Roadway and Infrastructure Design: Wide, high-speed arterial roads with long crossing distances and no median refuge are consistently more dangerous for pedestrians than narrower residential streets, and nationally, roughly two-thirds of pedestrian deaths happen on stretches of road with no sidewalk at all. When a dangerous road design or a missing crosswalk contributes to a crash, a city or county may share responsibility alongside the driver.
• Time of Day and Visibility: About three out of every four pedestrian fatalities happen after dark, even though far less walking happens at night than during the day, pointing to poor lighting and reduced visibility as a major factor rather than just higher traffic volume.
• Vehicle Size and Design: Research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that SUVs, pickups, and vans with a hood height above 40 inches are about 45% more likely to cause a fatal pedestrian injury than a car with a lower, sloped front end, largely because of how and where the impact strikes the body.

Evidence from the scene can be critical in showing how a pedestrian crash happened and whether a driver or another party violated a duty of care. Kermani LLP can examine surveillance footage, vehicle data, witness accounts, police records, traffic controls, and roadway conditions to build a clearer picture of liability and support a claim for compensation.

Injuries Caused by Pedestrian Accidents in California

Pedestrians have almost no protection when struck by a car, truck, or other vehicle, which means even a relatively low-speed collision can cause serious harm. Injuries may require emergency treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, time away from work, and ongoing medical care. Our California pedestrian accident attorneys have represented clients dealing with injuries such as:

• Traumatic brain and head injuries: A pedestrian may strike the vehicle or roadway, resulting in brain bleeding, memory loss, confusion, loss of consciousness, or persistent post-concussion symptoms.
• Pelvic, hip, and lower-extremity injuries: Direct impact from a vehicle can cause pelvic fractures, broken hips, shattered knees, and serious injuries to the legs, ankles, or feet.
• Spinal cord and back injuries: Being thrown or knocked to the ground may cause vertebral fractures, disc injuries, nerve compression, loss of sensation, or partial or complete paralysis.
• Chest and abdominal trauma: Blunt-force impact can fracture ribs, damage the lungs, or cause internal bleeding and injuries to organs such as the liver, spleen, or kidneys.
• Facial and dental injuries: Contact with a vehicle or pavement may cause facial fractures, dental damage, eye injuries, deep cuts, or permanent scarring.
• Crush injuries: Pedestrians who are pinned beneath or between vehicles may suffer severe muscle, nerve, blood vessel, and soft tissue damage, sometimes resulting in amputation or permanent loss of function.
• Shoulder and arm injuries: A person instinctively trying to brace for a fall may suffer wrist fractures, shoulder dislocations, torn ligaments, or other upper-extremity trauma.
• Psychological effects: Being struck by a vehicle can also lead to anxiety, sleep disruption, fear of crossing streets or being near traffic, and other lasting emotional symptoms.

Pedestrian injuries can affect mobility, independence, employment, and everyday activities long after the collision. A pedestrian accident lawyer at Kermani LLP can document the medical and financial impact of your injuries, evaluate future care needs, and pursue the compensation available under California law.

What Compensation Can You Recover After a Pedestrian Accident in California?

Being struck by a vehicle can create expenses and losses that continue long after the initial hospital visit. A pedestrian may need surgery, rehabilitation, mobility equipment, follow-up care, or help with daily activities while recovering. If another party is legally responsible for the collision, a claim may seek compensation for both these financial costs and the broader effect the injuries have had on your life.

Depending on the facts of the case, compensation may include:

Economic Damages

Economic damages can address documented and reasonably anticipated financial losses, including:

• Ambulance and emergency treatment
• Hospital stays and surgical procedures
• Follow-up appointments and specialist care
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Prescription medications
• Mobility devices and assistive equipment
• Home modifications required because of a disability
• In-home care or assistance
• Lost wages during recovery
• Reduced future earning capacity

Non-Economic Damages

Pedestrian injuries may also interfere with movement, independence, relationships, sleep, and participation in activities that were part of everyday life before the collision. Compensation may be available for losses such as:

• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Physical impairment
• Disfigurement and scarring
• Anxiety related to walking near traffic
• Loss of independence
• Inconvenience caused by the injuries

The value of a pedestrian accident claim is not determined by medical bills alone. The length of recovery, whether the injuries are permanent, the amount of work missed, future care needs, available insurance, and the degree of fault assigned to each party can all affect the amount that may be recovered. Kermani LLP can assess these factors and pursue compensation that reflects the full impact of the pedestrian accident.

California Pedestrian Laws That Affect Your Claim

Several California laws may affect liability, compensation, and filing deadlines in a pedestrian accident case:

• Crosswalk right-of-way — CVC § 21950: Drivers generally must yield to pedestrians in marked and unmarked crosswalks, while pedestrians must still use reasonable care and avoid stepping into the path of an immediate hazard.
• Crossing outside a crosswalk — CVC § 21954: Pedestrians crossing outside a crosswalk must yield to vehicles that are close enough to create an immediate hazard, but drivers still have a duty to exercise reasonable care.
• Freedom to Walk — AB 2147: Since 2023, California has limited police enforcement of certain pedestrian crossing violations unless there is an immediate danger of a collision. The law does not eliminate a pedestrian’s duty to act reasonably.
• Pure comparative fault: A pedestrian may still recover compensation even if partly responsible for the accident, although the award is reduced by their percentage of fault. This is especially important when insurers argue that the pedestrian caused or contributed to the collision.
• Statute of limitations — CCP § 335.1: Most California personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years, although different deadlines may apply in certain circumstances.

A California pedestrian accident attorney at Kermani LLP can evaluate these rules, challenge unfair attempts to shift blame, and determine which deadlines apply to the claim.

Discuss Your Pedestrian Accident Claim with Kermani LLP

After a pedestrian accident, questions about insurance coverage, fault, medical treatment, and future expenses can arise quickly. Kermani LLP helps injured pedestrians and their families understand their legal options and determine who may be responsible for the collision. Our California pedestrian accident lawyers can gather evidence, communicate with insurers, assess the full extent of your losses, and pursue a claim on your behalf. Contact Kermani LLP for a free consultation to discuss your pedestrian accident case and the next steps that may be available.