The rights of pedestrians hit by a vehicle in Pennsylvania include the ability to seek payment for medical treatment, lost income, pain, physical limitations, and other losses caused by the crash. However, the insurance company responsible for paying first may not be the insurer that covered the driver who struck you. Pennsylvania uses a specific coverage order after a pedestrian accident that can involve your own auto policy, a household member’s policy, or the striking vehicle’s policy.
A pedestrian also has the right to present evidence showing how the driver caused the collision. Crosswalk markings, traffic signals, vehicle speed, visibility, phone use, and witness accounts can all affect the outcome. Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers will identify the available insurance, preserve evidence, challenge unfair fault claims, and pursue the full amount supported by the injuries.
Who Pays First? The Order of Insurance Coverage After a Pedestrian Accident
A pedestrian accident claim PA insurers evaluate usually turns first on which policy has to pay, not on who was at fault. Pennsylvania’s no-fault insurance system generally provides medical benefits without requiring an injured pedestrian to prove that the driver caused the crash. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1713, first-party benefits follow an order of priority. The policy that pays first depends on whether the pedestrian owns an insured vehicle or lives with a relative who has auto insurance.
Pennsylvania’s Insurance Priority Rules
The usual order is the following:
- The pedestrian’s own Pennsylvania auto insurance policy.
- A Pennsylvania auto policy covering the pedestrian as an insured household member.
- The insurance policy covering the vehicle that struck the pedestrian.
- The Pennsylvania Assigned Claims Plan when no other applicable source exists, and the pedestrian qualifies.
A pedestrian does not need to have been driving or riding in a vehicle for personal auto insurance to apply. This rule often surprises injured people who assume the driver’s insurance must pay every medical bill. A lawyer will review all household policies, policy declarations, coverage waivers, and residency information before determining which carrier has the first payment duty.
Medical Benefits and Additional Damages
The answer to who pays medical bills in pedestrian hit-by-car cases often begins with first-party medical benefits. Pennsylvania auto policies must generally provide at least $5,000 in medical benefits, although many people purchase higher limits.
A separate injury claim against the responsible driver can seek losses that first-party benefits do not fully cover. These losses may include pain, lost earning ability, future treatment, disability, and other damages allowed by Pennsylvania law.
Pennsylvania Crosswalk Laws and How They Affect Pedestrian Fault
Pedestrians have the right-of-way in marked crosswalks. They also have the right-of-way in unmarked crosswalks when there are no traffic-control signals, or the signals do not work. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3542(a), a driver must yield to a pedestrian who is crossing within one of those crosswalks.
A driver cannot avoid responsibility simply by claiming that painted crosswalk lines were not visible at an intersection. An unmarked crosswalk can still exist where two roads meet.
Duties That Pedestrians Must Follow
In addition, per 75 Pa.C.S. § 3542(b), a person cannot suddenly step from a curb or another safe location into the path of a vehicle that is too close to stop safely.
PA crosswalk laws pedestrian claims require a close review of distance, speed, traffic conditions, sight lines, signals, and the pedestrian’s movements. The location of the pedestrian alone does not answer every fault question.
Mid-Block Pedestrian Collisions
Pedestrians crossing outside a crosswalk generally must yield to vehicles under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3543. That rule does not permit drivers to ignore a person in the roadway.
Drivers must still watch the road, travel at a safe speed, respond to visible hazards, and take reasonable steps to avoid a collision. An attorney will examine whether the driver had enough time and distance to see the pedestrian and slow down.
The rights of pedestrians hit by a vehicle in Pennsylvania do not disappear because the collision happened between intersections. Mid-block location is one fact among many. A driver who was speeding, distracted, impaired, turning without looking, or traveling too fast in darkness or bad weather can still bear most or all of the legal responsibility.
Can a Pedestrian Be Partially at Fault? Understanding Pennsylvania’s Shared-Fault Rule
Pennsylvania allows an injured pedestrian to recover damages when the pedestrian’s share of fault is not greater than the combined fault assigned to the defendants. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a), the court reduces the pedestrian’s compensation according to the percentage of fault assigned to that person.
A pedestrian found 20 percent responsible could generally recover 80 percent of the proven damages. Recovery is generally barred when the pedestrian’s share of responsibility is greater than 50 percent.
How Insurance Companies Try to Shift Blame
Insurance companies may focus on clothing color, phone use, crossing location, alcohol consumption, traffic signals, or the pedestrian’s direction of travel. These arguments require supporting evidence and should not be accepted merely because an adjuster states that the pedestrian was careless.
A lawyer will compare the driver’s account with video, vehicle data, witness statements, photographs, police measurements, lighting conditions, and the location of vehicle damage. The investigation will also address whether the driver was speeding, failed to yield while turning, ignored a signal, or had enough time to avoid impact.
Careful evidence review can prevent the insurer from shifting an unfair share of blame to the injured pedestrian. It can also show that the driver’s actions created the danger even when the pedestrian made a mistake.
What Happens If the Driver Fled the Scene: Hit-and-Run and Uninsured Motorist Claims
A driver involved in a crash causing injury or death must stop, remain at the location, provide identifying and insurance information, and render reasonable assistance. Those duties appear in 75 Pa.C.S. §§ 3742 and 3744.
Leaving an injured pedestrian behind can lead to criminal consequences for the driver, but a criminal investigation does not automatically pay the pedestrian’s losses. The injured person must still identify an available source of insurance or compensation.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Insurance coverage may still be available after a hit-and-run pedestrian collision in Pennsylvania. The injured person’s own uninsured motorist coverage may apply, as may coverage under a resident relative’s policy.
Uninsured motorist coverage can address damages caused by an unidentified driver, subject to the policy terms and the evidence establishing that an unknown vehicle caused the injuries. Pennsylvania requires insurers to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, although a policyholder can reject it in writing.
An attorney will obtain policy documents, rejection forms, household information, police records, video, and witness evidence. The attorney will also determine whether the insurance company received the required notice of the hit-and-run claim.
Special Protections for Children and Elderly Pedestrians in Pennsylvania
A child’s age affects how conduct is judged after a pedestrian collision. Young children do not have the same ability as adults to measure vehicle speed, distance, and danger.
Fault arguments must therefore account for the child’s age, development, experience, and ability to understand the risk. A driver may also have more time to notice a child near a school, playground, park, residential street, or a stopped school bus.
Filing Deadlines for Injured Children
Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5533(b), Pennsylvania generally pauses an injured child’s personal statute of limitations until the child turns 18. The usual two-year filing period then begins to run, although separate claims held by the parents may have earlier deadlines.
Parents may still have separate claims, including claims involving medical expenses, that follow different deadlines. Early review remains important even when the child’s individual deadline is extended.
A lawyer will identify every claim held by the child and the parents. The lawyer will also determine which deadlines apply to each claim.
Claims Involving Older Pedestrians
Older pedestrians do not receive an automatic finding in their favor, but age-related physical limits can affect both the collision and the damages. A driver may need to account for a person who walks slowly, uses a mobility aid, or needs more time to finish crossing.
Preexisting arthritis, reduced vision, or other conditions affecting a pedestrian do not excuse a driver who causes a new injury or worsens an existing one. The responsible party remains liable for the harm the crash actually caused, even when the injured person was physically vulnerable.
An attorney will separate earlier health problems from the harm caused by the collision. Medical records, imaging, physician opinions, therapy notes, and testimony from family members can show changes in mobility, independence, memory, pain, and daily activities.
What to Do Immediately After Being Hit as a Pedestrian
The steps you take after a pedestrian accident can impact not only your health but also your case. Here are a few of those steps.
- Call 911 and request medical help immediately, even if your injuries seem minor.
- Move out of traffic only when you can do so safely, and avoid unnecessary movement if you have severe pain, dizziness, or possible head, neck, or back injuries.
- Ask the driver to remain present and provide identification, insurance, and vehicle information. Photograph the vehicle, roadway, traffic signals, crosswalk, visible injuries, and surrounding conditions if your health permits.
- Obtain names and contact details from witnesses.
- Give police a clear account without guessing about speed or fault.
- Preserve damaged clothing and personal items, then follow all recommended medical care.
How Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers Will Help
Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers has represented injured people across Pennsylvania for more than 25 years and has recovered significant compensation for clients in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. We will meet clients anywhere in the state, and we will not charge a fee unless we obtain a recovery.
Our team will prepare the evidence, confront unfair insurance tactics, and pursue accountability from every responsible party. We will also identify all available insurance instead of limiting the claim to the policy covering the striking vehicle.
We Know How to Protect the Rights of Pedestrians Hit by a Vehicle in Pennsylvania
The rights of pedestrians hit by a vehicle in Pennsylvania are strongest when the claim is supported by preserved evidence, complete medical proof, and a full search for insurance coverage. Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers will investigate the collision, explain each available option, and fight for payment that reflects both the immediate injuries and their long-term effect.
Early action gives us a stronger chance to secure surveillance recordings, identify witnesses, inspect the vehicle, and document roadway conditions before evidence changes or disappears. Contact Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers online for a free case review. We will discuss the collision, the available insurance, and the steps required to protect your claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover damages if the vehicle did not physically touch me?
A pedestrian can potentially recover when a driver’s conduct causes an injury without direct contact, such as forcing the pedestrian to jump aside and fall. The evidence must connect the driver’s actions to the injury.
Does health insurance have to be repaid from a pedestrian settlement?
A health insurer, Medicare, or Medicaid may assert a repayment claim against part of a settlement. The amount and enforceability depend on the plan, the payments made, and the rules governing that coverage.
Can I bring a claim if poor road design contributed to the collision?
A public agency or contractor may share responsibility when unsafe signals, blocked sight lines, missing signs, or defective road design contributed to the crash. These claims can involve special immunity rules and shorter notice requirements, so they require prompt review.
