Broward County Pedestrian Accident Lawyers
Broward County’s busy streets, beach traffic, and constant visitor flow keep pedestrians close to vehicles at nearly every intersection. Drivers rushing through lights or cutting across crosswalks leave little margin for error, which means a single careless move can change everything for the person on foot.
When a vehicle strikes a pedestrian, the injuries affect every part of life. Medical costs, time away from work, and even basic routines like getting to appointments or caring for family become difficult.
If you were injured as a pedestrian, you may be entitled to compensation. Call our Broward County pedestrian accident attorneys at (954) 495-2715 for a free consultation. If we take your case, you pay nothing unless we recover compensation.
What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident
Medical Care
Visit a doctor, even if you don’t feel “injured”. There may be injuries that don’t manifest immediately. Medical care at the start of the case helps document how your symptoms progress and gives providers a clear record of pain and limits that interfere with daily life. Follow-up visits help show how the accident affects work, mobility, and routine tasks.
Collect Evidence
Preserving evidence at the scene helps to support your case.
- Photos and video of the location and vehicle
- Clothing and damaged personal items
- Notes about weather, traffic, and lighting
- Witness information can fade quickly, so collecting names and contact details keeps the record intact for later statements.
Consult Our Pedestrian Accident Attorneys
Conversations with the driver, the driver’s workplace, or insurance companies carry risk when fault is contested, and the wrong comment can complicate the case. Talk to our pedestrian accident law team for guidance on what to say and what not to say.
Do I Have A Case?
Florida law looks at four basic questions in a pedestrian case. When the answer leans your way on each point, a case against the driver starts to materialize.
1. Duty: Did The Driver Owe You A Basic Level Of Care?
Drivers need to watch for people near intersections, driveways, parking lot exits, and crosswalks, and they need to follow signals and speed limits. A pedestrian case starts with that basic duty to drive in a way that keeps others reasonably safe.
2. Breach: Did The Driver Act Carelessly?
A case needs proof that the driver ignored that duty. Evidence might show a turn through a crosswalk without yielding or phone use that pulled attention away from the road. Facts like those point to conduct that fell below what a careful driver would have done in the same spot.
3. Causation: Did That Conduct Lead To Your Injuries?
Evidence needs to connect the driver’s choices to the crash and to your injuries. Video, scene photos, and a clear timeline help show how the vehicle struck you, and medical records that start close to the crash date help tie current symptoms back to that event.
4. Damages: Did You Suffer Measurable Harm?
A case needs proof that the crash caused measurable loss in your life. Medical records can show treatment and diagnoses, and income records show how time away from work affected your household. Pain, mobility limits, and changes in daily routines also feed into case value when documented clearly.
For a Broward County pedestrian crash, you likely have a case when:
- A driver had a clear duty to watch for pedestrians in the area where you walked
- Evidence points to careless driving, for example turning through a crosswalk without yielding
- Medical records connect injuries and symptoms to the crash date
- Bills, income records, or other documents show financial loss tied to the crash
How to Choose a Pedestrian Accident Attorney
Choosing the right attorney after a pedestrian crash sets the direction for your case and for your stress level while everything plays out. You want someone who understands pedestrian injuries, knows how Broward roads work in practice, and takes time to walk you through hard choices without pressure.
Experience With Pedestrian Injury Cases
Crashes in crosswalks raise different questions about driver conduct than crashes at driveway exits, so you want someone who already handled similar situations and dealt with the same insurance arguments.
Questions to ask:
- How many pedestrian cases have you handled in the last few years?
- Have you handled cases with injuries like mine, for example fractures or head trauma?
Who Handles Your Case Day to Day
Clear ownership over your case means you know which attorney reviews your records and which attorney handles key contact with witnesses and insurers.
Questions to ask:
- Who will be my main contact once I sign?
- How often should I expect updates about progress or offers?
Resources and Willingness to Go Beyond Settlement Talks
Pedestrian cases sometimes need accident reconstruction, medical experts, or life-care planners when injuries run long term. An attorney who prepares for suit and trial, even when the case later settles, puts pressure on insurers that resist paying full value.
Questions to ask:
- Do you bring in experts when the facts call for it?
- How often do you file lawsuits when an insurer refuses to pay a fair amount?
Fee Structure And Case Costs
Most injury firms work on a contingency fee, which means the attorney receives a percentage of any recovery instead of billing by the hour. You still need a clear explanation of percentages, case expenses, and what happens if the case closes without a recovery.
Questions to ask:
- What percentage do you charge at different stages of the case?
- How do you handle case costs like experts, records, and depositions?
Fit and Communication Style
Skill and communication both affect your case. You share private health and money details about your family, so you need someone who listens and speaks plainly, with direct answers even when the news feels hard to hear.
Questions to ask:
- How quickly do you return calls or messages?
- Will you give honest ranges and risks, even if that lowers my expectations?
Fault Rules for Pedestrian Cases in Florida
Florida does not treat every pedestrian crash the same way. Fault can split between you and the driver, and that split changes how much money you can recover and in certain cases whether you can recover at all. Our pedestrian accident attorneys apply Florida fault rules to the facts of your crash and explain how those rules affect your options.
Shared Fault and Effect on Recovery
Florida uses a shared fault system, sometimes referred to as comparative negligence, for most injury cases. In a pedestrian case, each side receives a fault percentage that affects how much the driver’s insurer pays and whether your share of fault blocks recovery. Our lawyers look at witness statements, video, scene photos, and Florida statutes to evaluate where that percentage should land.
Key points about shared fault in Florida:
- A judge or jury can assign part of the fault to you and part to the driver.
- Money you receive can drop by your percentage of fault. For example, a case with a value of $100,000 and a 20% fault share for you could lead to $80,000.
- A fault share above 50% can bar recovery in Florida injury cases, so a driver and insurer try hard to push your number higher.
Shared fault does not automatically end a pedestrian case. Our team focuses on how evidence stacks up on each side and where that fault line falls.
Crosswalks and Traffic Control in Pedestrian Cases
Location and traffic control devices frequently come into play in pedestrian accident fault arguments. Florida statutes treat marked crosswalks and unmarked crossings at intersections differently from mid-block crossings, which can affect how insurers, juries, and judges view driver conduct. Our Florida pedestrian accident lawyers review maps, photos, and roadway details to connect location to fault arguments.
Factors that affect fault around crosswalks and signals:
- Marked crosswalks and “Walk” signals give strong support to a pedestrian case when a driver fails to yield.
- Mid-block crossings or crossings against a signal can raise your share of fault, yet drivers still need to control speed and watch the road.
- Stop signs and yield signs can point back to driver conduct when a crash happens near an intersection or driveway. Posted speed limits add another layer when evidence shows the driver traveled above the limit.
Road layout also feeds into fault. Wide multi-lane routes, faded paint, poor sightlines, and a lack of marked crossings can increase the risk of driver error, and our pedestrian accident attorneys use those conditions to challenge attempts to blame you for a driver’s choices.
Misconceptions About Pedestrian Right of Way
Pedestrian right of way creates confusion in Florida, and short phrases circulate that do not match the statutes. One phrase says pedestrians always have the right of way, and another claims drivers never carry blame when a person crosses outside a crosswalk. Neither line fits Florida law.
Helpful clarifications:
- Pedestrians have strong protections at marked crosswalks and at intersections where signals give a clear walk phase.
- Drivers still need to watch for people near roads and driveways, even when a person crosses outside a crosswalk.
- A pedestrian who breaks a rule can still recover money when driver conduct plays a major part in causing the crash.
Right of way in Florida depends on where you walked and on the signals or signs at that spot. Driver behavior in the seconds before impact also enters that analysis, and our team reviews each detail instead of relying on short slogans about who “always” has the right of way.
The Most Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports steep rises in pedestrian deaths, and its data shows clear trends in when and how crashes happen.
- Darkness and low-light conditions: NHTSA reports that roughly three-quarters of fatal pedestrian collisions happen when it is dark.
- Roadway location outside intersections: A large share of pedestrian deaths occur on roads that lack marked crosswalks or safe crossing areas rather than at intersections.
- Evening and late-night hours: A large share of pedestrian fatalities occur between dusk and midnight, a period when visibility drops, but people still walk, commute, and go out.
Additional Causes of Accidents
Our team sees other frequent contributing factors that tend to appear alongside the conditions cited in the NHTSA report:
- Left turns across crosswalks without adequate yield or check for pedestrians: Drivers focusing on oncoming traffic or failing to scan crosswalks before turning pose high risk to people walking, especially in busy or poorly lit areas.
- Distracted driving: Phone use, in-car screens, navigation devices, and other distractions take attention off the road and delay reaction when a pedestrian steps into a crossing path.
When our attorneys understand whether darkness or distraction played the biggest part in your crash, they know where to focus the investigation and how to explain driver fault to an adjuster or jury. A tighter focus on the cause of the crash can change which experts our attorneys hire and which records they request. It also guides how they frame settlement discussions with the insurer.
Compensation in Pedestrian Accident Cases
A Broward County pedestrian case can pull from several sources of money, and each source changes how far a settlement can go. Our pedestrian accident attorneys review coverage and losses together so you see a grounded estimate instead of guessing.
Sources of Compensation
- At-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage: Pays for your injuries when you prove the driver caused the crash and that policy applies.
- Employer coverage for a working driver: Applies when a delivery or rideshare driver hit you while on the job, which can add another policy layer.
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP): Can pay medical bills and part of wage loss even when you walked instead of drove, if you carry a Florida auto policy.
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM): Helps when the driver flees, has no insurance, or carries limits that fall short of your losses.
- Medical payments coverage and health insurance: Med pay can cover part of your medical bills regardless of fault. Health insurance can keep treatment going while the case moves forward, with possible reimbursement from a settlement.
- City, county, or state responsibility: Can apply when road design, missing crosswalks, or signal problems contribute to a crash. Public agency cases bring tight notice rules and shorter time limits, so our team checks for that issue at the start.
Types of Losses You Can Recover
- Medical care: Emergency treatment, follow-up visits, therapy, prescriptions, and future care that your doctors expect you to need.
- Income and earning power: Missed paychecks, reduced hours, or long-term limits on your ability to stay in the same kind of work.
- Physical limits and needed changes: Mobility problems that lead to assistive devices or home or vehicle changes so you can manage daily tasks.
- Pain, anxiety, and loss of enjoyment: Ongoing pain, sleep problems, fear of walking near traffic, and loss of activities that mattered to you before the crash.
Our attorneys gather records, speak with your providers, and ask detailed questions about daily routines so each category above rests on proof instead of a short line in a demand letter.
Insurance Company Tactics in Pedestrian Cases
Insurance companies look for openings that reduce what they pay, and certain tactics appear again and again in pedestrian cases.
- Recorded Statement Requests – A request for a recorded statement can sound routine, but the questions steer you into fixed answers about distance, timing, or visibility that later limit your case. Speaking with our attorneys first helps you avoid wording that creates problems down the road.
- Blame Arguments – Fault gets pushed in your direction through claims that you stepped into traffic without enough time for the driver to react. Our attorneys will review video, photos, and witness accounts to address arguments like this with documented facts.
- Social Media Reviews – Public posts give insurers a window into your activities, and even harmless photos can be used to claim your injuries healed faster than they did. Pausing public posting protects you from misunderstandings that reduce case value.
- Low Initial Settlement Offers – First offers tend to reflect initial bills without considering long-term medical needs or limits on your ability to work. Our attorneys gather full medical and wage information before you think about accepting any number.
How Long Do I Have to File a Case?
Florida’s Personal Injury Statute of Limitations
Florida’s personal injury statute of limitations gives you a limited period to bring a personal injury case after a pedestrian crash, usually two years from the date of the accident. The clock starts on the crash date, and once that window closes it usually means there is no way to bring a case forward. Our attorneys monitor that deadline from day one and move key steps forward so time does not become an obstacle.
Shorter Notice Rules for Public Agencies
Crashes tied to road design, missing crosswalks, poor signage, or signal problems can trigger special notice rules when a city, county, or state entity is part of the case. Written notice has to reach the agency within a tight window, well before the standard statute closes. Our team checks for any public-agency issues at the start so the notice requirement stays protected.
Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel’s Work on Pedestrian Cases
Multiple 7-Figure Pedestrian Accident Verdicts & Settlements
Our attorneys secured multiple seven-figure verdicts and settlements in pedestrian cases when coverage and evidence supported that level of recovery. Experience with high-value outcomes gives the team a grounded view of how insurers react to serious injuries and what proof tends to move settlement numbers in Broward County, which helps when they evaluate your case and push for the strongest possible result.Experience With Broward Crash Locations
Work on Broward cases gives our attorneys familiarity with local roads and crosswalk layouts in areas where drivers and pedestrians regularly intersect. Local experience speeds fault analysis and helps our team flag roadway details that support your side of the story.Evidence Work After You Call
Once you contact the firm, the team moves to secure time-sensitive proof. Requests go out for video and witness contact details, and basic roadway and medical information enters an organized system instead of scattered notes.Preparation for Negotiation and Trial
As records arrive, attorneys build a clear timeline and damage summary that connect driver conduct with medical treatment and wage loss. Negotiation strategy and trial planning develop in parallel, which leaves your case ready to move into suit when settlement talks stall.Let Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel Fight for You
Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel take on the fight with insurers and defense lawyers so you have a dedicated team pushing your pedestrian case forward. Call Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel at (954) 495-2715 or send a message for a free consultation, and if our team accepts your case you pay no attorney fees unless we recover money for you.
