Crosswalk Accident Lawyer in California

Four results for people hit while crossing a street:

• $36 million (2025, Fresno): a child was hit by a commercial delivery van while crossing and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
• $9.1 million (2025, Pasadena): a company truck turning left at high speed hit and killed a pedestrian in a crosswalk, and the case resolved as a wrongful death settlement.
• $5.8 million (2026, Los Angeles): a truck hit a person crossing a city street, causing serious injuries and leg pain.
• $2 million (2026, Emeryville): a driver leaving a store's parking lot struck someone in the crosswalk, injuring an arm and causing neck, back, and leg pain.

The Pasadena and Emeryville cases happened in crosswalks. More pedestrian outcomes are on our settlements and verdicts page. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different.

Many crosswalk injuries happen at signals, when a driver turns across the crosswalk someone is using. A green light doesn't hand that driver the right-of-way: any driver, turning or not, has to give way to anyone lawfully in the intersection or an adjacent crosswalk (Veh. Code § 21451(a)). Our $9.1 million Pasadena result came from a work truck turning left.

These cases are decided on details. Where was the pedestrian when the turn began? What did the walk signal show? How fast was the vehicle turning, and did a roof pillar, a parked truck, or the sun block the driver's view? A driver who says the pedestrian "came out of nowhere" is making a claim that the signal timing and video can test.

On a street with two or more lanes going the same way, a driver who stops for a pedestrian can hide that person from the driver in the next lane. California law bars a driver approaching from behind from passing a vehicle stopped at a marked crosswalk, or an unmarked one at an intersection, to let a pedestrian cross (Veh. Code § 21951).

Parked vehicles can create the same blind spot at the curb, which is one reason the Vehicle Code now keeps the 20 feet before a crosswalk clear of parking, or 15 feet where the curb juts out (Veh. Code § 22500(n)). Photos of the lanes, the stopped car, and anything parked near the corner help show what each driver could see.

Crosswalk cases often turn on a few seconds and a few feet. We gather the collision report, the scene photos, and your medical records, work out how the crash happened, and deal with the insurers while you recover. Other steps depend on the case:

• We may request the signal's timing and maintenance records from the city, the county, or Caltrans, to show what the walk signal displayed.
• We may ask nearby businesses, transit agencies, and homeowners to preserve video before it is recorded over.
• We may collect statements from witnesses, including drivers who stopped for you.
• We may request the vehicle's event data, which in some crashes shows its speed, accelerator, and braking in the moments before the collision (49 CFR § 563.7).
• We may work with reconstruction engineers to map the sightlines, the speeds, and your path across the street.

Sometimes the crossing itself is part of the problem: a walk signal that fails, crosswalk paint that has worn away, or a sign or hedge that keeps drivers from seeing someone step off the curb. Under the Government Code, a public agency can answer for an injury caused by a dangerous condition of its property. The injured person has to show that the condition made this kind of injury reasonably foreseeable, and that an agency employee created it or the agency had actual or constructive notice of it early enough to protect against it (Gov. Code §§ 835, 835.2). Agencies can also raise design immunity for a plan approved in advance (Gov. Code § 830.6), so we review the crossing's records before naming an agency.

Agency claims run on a short clock. The written claim has to be presented within six months of the injury (Gov. Code § 911.2). If the agency sends a written rejection, the lawsuit is due six months after that notice is mailed or delivered (Gov. Code § 945.6). Our step-by-step government claim guide covers what the claim must say and where it goes.

The driver is not always the only one who answers for a crosswalk crash. A vehicle's owner is responsible for the negligence of someone driving with permission, up to dollar limits set by statute (Veh. Code §§ 17150, 17151). A company whose employee was driving for work may be responsible too, as in our Pasadena case.

We pursue compensation for medical bills and future treatment, lost pay and lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering. Families who lost someone in a crosswalk can read about wrongful death claims on our fatal pedestrian accident page, and if the driver fled, our hit-and-run page explains how uninsured motorist coverage works. Our offices across California take crosswalk cases, including in Sacramento and Los Angeles.