Vancouver Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Serving Vancouver, Clark County, and Southwest Washington

Being hit by a car as a pedestrian is different from almost any other kind of crash. You don’t have airbags. You don’t have a steel frame protecting you. When a driver makes a careless decision (looks at their phone, speeds through an intersection, rolls a right turn without stopping), it can change your entire life in a second.

If you or someone you love was hit while walking, running, or standing near the roadway near Vancouver or somewhere else in Southwest Washington it is crucial you understand:

Who may be legally responsible
How Washington pedestrian laws work
What kinds of insurance might apply
What compensation you can ask for
What to do (and what not to do) after the collision
How VanWa Legal PLLC can help you protect your claim

We have offices in both downtown and North Vancouver, Washington and are happy to meet and discuss your case with you in person or on the phone. We can even travel to you if you are too injured to come to us.

Washington Law Protects Pedestrians

Drivers in Washington must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks — including many unmarked crosswalks at intersections — and must stop and remain stopped until the pedestrian has safely crossed. This duty applies whether the pedestrian is in a marked painted crosswalk or simply crossing at an intersection where a crosswalk is legally implied. Washington law is clear that vehicles must slow or stop for pedestrians in these areas.

Washington law also requires drivers to yield to pedestrians on sidewalks and driveways. A driver pulling out of a parking lot, alley, or driveway must yield to pedestrians already walking on the sidewalk. Where a sidewalk does not exist, drivers must also yield to pedestrians walking on the left-most side of the road (facing oncoming traffic).

Simply stated, cars are supposed to watch for you, not the other way around.

That matters because when a pedestrian is injured, the driver (and the driver’s insurance) is often legally responsible for the harm that follows.

Common Ways Pedestrian Collisions Happen

Most successful pedestrian injury claims in Washington involve the same types of careless driving, including:

A driver turning right on red without fully stopping or checking the crosswalk.
A driver driving through a crosswalk or failing to yield while a person is already crossing.
A distracted driver (texting, using GPS, talking on the phone).
Speeding or aggressive driving in dense areas, school zones, or neighborhoods with foot traffic.
A driver backing out of a driveway or parking spot without looking.
Drunk drivers (or drug-impaired).
A driver failing to slow in low-visibility situations: rain, dark clothing at night, poor lighting.

In all of these scenarios, Washington law requires drivers to use reasonable care. When they do not and that failure causes you injury, you need the help of an experienced Washington personal injury lawyer to help you. Proving negligence is how we hold the driver and their insurance financially responsible.

Typical Injuries in Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian injury cases tend to create severe, sometimes permanent injuries because you absorb the entire force of the vehicle. These may include:

Traumatic brain injury or concussion

Spinal cord injury and paralysis

Broken legs, arms, ribs, pelvis

Internal bleeding or organ damage

Facial fractures and dental trauma

Torn ligaments, shoulder and knee damage

Severe road rash and scarring

Wrongful death

These injuries aren’t just medical problems — they are financial problems. A serious pedestrian injury can mean months off work, long-term rehab, future surgeries, or the need for assistive devices. If you are facing catastrophic injuries related to your accident, you may not even fully understand how your injuries can inhibit your life a year, a decade, or a lifetime down the road. You should not assume the first insurance offer will actually cover your needs over your lifetime. Instead, VanWa Legal PLLC can carefully help you determine how much your claim is worth and maximize your recovery.

Who Can Be Held Responsible?

In most Washington pedestrian cases, the at-fault party is the driver who struck you. But there are often additional angles:

Key Federal Rules

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) enforces the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), many of which impact trucking-accident cases. Relevant regulations include:

The Driver: For speeding, distraction, DUI, ignoring a marked or unmarked crosswalk, or failing to yield while turning.
The Vehicle Owner: If the driver was borrowing a car, the vehicle owner’s insurance is often involved.
Commercial / On-the-Clock Drivers: If a delivery, rideshare, work truck, or other commercial vehicle driver hits injures you, the company or its commercial insurance may also be responsible.
In Rare Cases – Government / Road Design Issues: If dangerous road design, missing signage, or obstructed visibility contributed, there can be a potential claim against a city or public entity (these claims have strict notice deadlines so do not delay)

Drivers and their insurers often try to place blame onto the pedestrian by claiming that you darted out in front of them, you were wearing dark clothes, or that you were not in a crosswalk. Do not assume you are to blame. You may have been in the right and just need the right car accident lawyer to help fight for you. Even if you were partially to blame, you may still have a valid and valuable claim under Washington’s comparative negligence laws.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

After a pedestrian collision, you may be able to pursue compensation for:

Medical bills (past and future): ER visits, surgeries, rehab, physical therapy, medications, assistive devices.
Lost wages and lost earning ability: Income you’ve already missed — and income you may not be able to earn in the future if you can’t go back to your old job or hours.
Pain and suffering: Physical pain, emotional distress, anxiety, trauma, loss of enjoyment of life.
Scarring and disfigurement: Visible, permanent changes matter, both physically and emotionally.
Property damage: Clothing, phone, glasses, mobility aids, etc. damaged in the collision.
Wrongful death damages: If a loved one is killed, eligible family members can seek funeral costs and loss of financial and emotional support.

Insurance companies like to act as if your case is worth only whatever your past medical bills are. Do not believe them. They are not on your side. But VanWa Legal can be.

Which Insurance Policies Might Apply?

This is an area that top-performing pedestrian pages go into because most people don’t realize how many different insurance policies can be in play. Here’s what we look at for you:

The At-Fault Driver’s Liability Insurance

This is usually the primary source of compensation. The driver’s auto liability policy is supposed to pay for the harm caused by their negligence.

Your Own Auto Policy (Yes, Even if You Were Walking)

If you personally carry auto insurance, certain coverages may still protect you as a pedestrian:

Personal Injury Protection (PIP): In Washington, many drivers carry PIP, which can help pay your medical bills and sometimes lost wages, regardless of fault.
Medical Payments (“MedPay”) coverage: Some policies include MedPay that pays medical expenses up to a limit, also regardless of fault.
Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM): If the driver who hit you has no insurance or not enough insurance, your own UM/UIM coverage may step in to pay the difference. This is huge in serious pedestrian injury cases, because one hospital stay can blow past a minimum insurance policy very fast.

Commercial / Employer Coverage

If a delivery van, work truck, rideshare driver, or other business vehicle injures you, there may be additional layers of commercial coverage. These policies typically have higher limits than personal insurance.

Health Insurance

Your own health insurance can still help with treatment, but the health insurer may later assert reimbursement rights (called “subrogation”) out of any settlement. We can help you handle these subrogation obligations, so you are not left owing money at the end of your case.

Washington Pedestrian Laws and Deadlines You Need to Know

If you were injured in a recent trucking collision, you may be entitled to recover:

Right of Way in Crosswalks

Under Washington law (RCW 46.61.235), drivers must stop and yield to pedestrians in crosswalks — and must remain stopped until the pedestrian has safely crossed. That protection applies even if the crosswalk is unmarked at an intersection.

Sidewalk / Driveway Duty

Washington law (RCW 46.61.261) also requires that drivers yield to pedestrians on sidewalks and when entering or exiting alleys and driveways.

Speed and Safe Operation

Washington and its cities establish speed limits for a reason. Sometimes those speed limits are set low because of the high number of pedestrians in the area or the relative dangerousness of the location. Lower speed limits are not suggestions, but requirements. If a driver strikes you while speeding, it be an important factor in establishing your injury claim.

Hit-and-Run / Duty to Stop

Washington law requires a driver involved in a collision causing injury to stop, provide identifying information, and render reasonable help. Leaving the scene of an injury crash is a crime, and proof that a driver fled can be powerful evidence in your injury case.

Statute of Limitations (Filing Deadline)

In most Washington pedestrian injury cases, you generally have three years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit for personal injury. Miss that, and you can lose your right to recover anything in court, forever. There may be exceptions to this rule (for minors, for unidentified drivers, and for certain government claims), so it is vital that you consult with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Even if you act before the deadline, every day you delay is another day where evidence can be lost, witnesses can disappear, and insurance companies can try to drag their feet.

What To Do (and What Not To Do) After You’re Hit as a Pedestrian

If you are hit by a careless driver while walking, standing by the roadway, or other pedestrian activities, it is important that you take immediate and decisive action:

Do:

Call 911 and get medical care right away. Even if you initially feel OK, get medically evaluated. Internal injuries and concussions aren’t always obvious on the scene.
Get a police report or incident number. That official police records are very important and will include the at-fault driver’s insurance information for you.
Document everything you can at the scene. Photos of the car, the license plate, the driver, skid marks, the intersection, traffic signals, your injuries, torn clothing, blood on the pavement, etc.
Get witness information. Names, phone numbers, and any statements like “I saw the driver never even slow down.”
Save physical evidence. Don’t throw away damaged clothing, shoes, glasses, backpack, etc.
Call an experienced pedestrian injury lawyer early. The sooner we get involved, the sooner we can help you preserve surveillance footage, identify all insurance policies, and stop the other side from spinning a false story.

Do not:

Do not give a recorded statement to the driver’s insurance company before talking to us. Insurance adjusters are trained to limit what they pay and to get you to say things that hurt your case.
Do not accept a quick check or early settlement offer if you don’t yet know the full extent of your injuries. A lowball “fast settlement” is almost always designed to save the insurer money, not protect your future.
Do not assume you were at fault just because the driver or their insurance says so. Washington law gives pedestrians significant protection, and comparative fault rules may still allow you to recover even if you were partly to blame for the accident.
Do not wait months to talk to a lawyer. Evidence disappears. Your memory fades. Surveillance video from nearby businesses can get recorded over within days.

How VanWa Legal PLLC Helps Injured Pedestrians

At VanWa Legal PLLC, we represent injured pedestrians in Vancouver and throughout Southwest Washington. Here’s what we do for you:

We investigate.

We obtain the police report, witness statements, 911 audio if available, traffic camera or business surveillance footage, and scene photos. We work to prove exactly how the driver’s choices caused the crash.

We identify all available coverage.

We look at the at-fault driver’s liability insurance, any commercial or employer policies if the vehicle was being used for work, and your own PIP / MedPay / UM / UIM benefits to build a complete recovery strategy.

We protect you from the insurance company.

We take over communication with adjusters, so you don’t get pressured into a bad recorded statement or a premature settlement.

We document the full value of your claim.

That includes medical bills, future treatment, wage loss, pain and suffering, scarring or disability, and long-term impact on daily life.

We prepare for trial.

Most cases settle, but the truth is simple: insurance companies take you more seriously when they know your lawyer is prepared to fight in court if necessary. And sometimes it is necessary to go to trial to get you justice. In that case, it pays to have an experienced trial attorney at your side guiding you every step of the way.

We offer a no-obligations free consultation on every case so call us at (360) 397-7103 right away. Plus, we structure our fees so that you do not have to pay for our help unless we recover money for you.

We meet clients in both of our Vancouver offices — downtown Vancouver and in Salmon Creek. We are available to talk about your rights, your recovery, and your next steps.

When to Call Us

Give us a call as soon as possible if:

You were hit while walking, running, or using a mobility aid.
Your child was hit in a school zone, crosswalk, or neighborhood street.
A driver sped through a crosswalk, rolled a turn without stopping, or hit you while distracted.
The insurance company is already calling you and asking for “your statement.”
A loved one was killed in a pedestrian collision and you need to understand wrongful death options.

Pedestrian injury accidents can be amongst the most serious cases. They are high-impact events with life-changing consequences. You deserve representation that understands Washington pedestrian law, knows how insurance really works, and is prepared to hold negligent drivers — and their insurers — accountable.

Call VanWa Legal PLLC today to schedule a free consultation.