Hit by a Car as a Pedestrian in Texas: Your Rights, Deadlines, and What to Do

If you were hit by a car as a pedestrian in Texas, you have the right to recover compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering — and you have 2 years to act. Pedestrian accidents cause some of the most severe injuries possible: spinal damage, traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures, and internal bleeding. With TxDOT reporting over 800 pedestrian fatalities in Texas in recent years, this is one of the state’s most serious traffic safety crises.

Understanding your rights — and the steps to protect your claim — is critical before you speak with any insurance company.

Texas Law on Pedestrian Rights: What Drivers Must Do

Under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 552, drivers have specific duties toward pedestrians:

• Yield at crosswalks: Drivers must yield the right of way to pedestrians lawfully within a marked crosswalk or at an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection
• No passing a stopped vehicle at a crosswalk: A driver may not pass a vehicle that has stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross
• Exercise due care: Drivers must exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian — this applies even outside of crosswalks
• Give audible warning when necessary: Drivers must sound their horn when necessary to warn a pedestrian of an approaching vehicle

Pedestrians also have duties — following traffic signals, using crosswalks when available, and not suddenly stepping into traffic. But violating a pedestrian rule does not eliminate your right to recover; Texas’s comparative fault system still allows recovery if the driver was primarily at fault.

Compensation Available After a Pedestrian Accident in Texas

Texas law allows pedestrian accident victims to recover all economic and non-economic damages caused by the collision:

• Medical expenses — emergency care, surgeries, hospitalization, physical therapy, and all future medical costs related to the accident
• Lost wages — income lost while recovering, plus reduced earning capacity if permanent disability affects your ability to work
• Pain and suffering — physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life
• Permanent impairment — loss of limb function, scarring, paralysis
• Wrongful death damages — if the pedestrian died, surviving family members can recover funeral costs, loss of financial support, and loss of companionship

Texas pedestrian accident settlements average $150,000–$600,000 for serious injuries, with cases involving paralysis or wrongful death often exceeding $1 million. Because pedestrians have no vehicle to absorb the impact, injuries are typically far worse than those in car-on-car accidents.

Texas Comparative Fault: How Shared Blame Affects Your Recovery

Texas follows a modified comparative fault system under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 33. If you are found partially at fault for the accident, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. You can still recover as long as your share of fault is less than 51%.

For example: if a driver was speeding and ran a crosswalk signal, but you were also crossing against a “Don’t Walk” signal, a jury might assign 80% fault to the driver and 20% to you. If your total damages are $500,000, you would recover $400,000 (80% of $500,000).

Insurance companies routinely try to inflate the pedestrian’s percentage of fault to reduce what they must pay. An experienced personal injury attorney can gather traffic camera footage, witness statements, and accident reconstruction evidence to establish the driver’s primary negligence.

Steps to Take Immediately After a Texas Pedestrian Accident

The decisions you make in the hours after a pedestrian accident directly affect both your recovery and your legal claim:

1. Call 911 — a police report documents the accident officially and preserves key details
2. Seek emergency medical care — adrenaline masks pain; spinal injuries, internal bleeding, and TBI require immediate evaluation even if you feel okay
3. Document everything — photograph the scene, your injuries, the vehicle’s position, skid marks, and any traffic signals or signs before they are disturbed
4. Get witness information — names and phone numbers of anyone who saw the accident
5. Do not speak with the driver’s insurance adjuster — adjusters are trained to minimize claims; any recorded statement can be used against you
6. Keep all medical records and bills — documentation is the backbone of your compensation claim

The 2-Year Deadline for Texas Pedestrian Accident Claims

Under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.003, you have 2 years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you were struck by a government vehicle — a city bus, police car, or county vehicle — Texas Tort Claims Act requirements impose an even shorter notice deadline, typically 6 months.

Many pedestrian accident victims wait too long to consult an attorney, losing access to critical evidence: surveillance footage is deleted within 30–90 days, witnesses forget details, and skid marks fade. Consulting an attorney within weeks — not months — of the accident preserves your options and your evidence.