If a car hit you while you were walking in San Bernardino, California law generally protects your rights. Drivers must yield to pedestrians in marked and unmarked crosswalks and use care around people on foot everywhere else. Even if you crossed mid-block, you can still recover under shared-fault rules. Get medical care, preserve evidence, and talk to a pedestrian accident lawyer in San Bernardino before you speak with the driver’s insurer.
Introduction
Walking should be the safest way to get around. Then a driver rolls through a right turn on Highland Avenue, or speeds up to beat a yellow light on E Street, and suddenly you’re on the pavement trying to understand what just happened. If that’s where you are, you’re not alone, and you have more rights than the insurance company will tell you.
A pedestrian accident lawyer in San Bernardino sees the same pattern again and again. The person on foot takes the full force of the crash. Then the driver’s insurer looks for ways to blame them: you were on your phone, you weren’t in the crosswalk, you stepped out too fast.
This guide explains what California law actually says about pedestrians, how fault gets shared, where the money to pay your bills can come from, and what to do in the days ahead. Plain English, no legal jargon you don’t need.
Your Right-of-Way as a Pedestrian in California
California law requires drivers to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing in any marked crosswalk or in an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. Even outside a crosswalk, drivers must use due care for the safety of people on foot. Your own choices matter too, but the law starts with a duty that falls on the driver.
That rule lives in Vehicle Code section 21950. Many people don’t realize that most intersections have an unmarked crosswalk, even with no paint on the road. It’s the imaginary extension of the sidewalk across the street. If you were crossing there, you were generally considered to be in a crosswalk under the law.
The same section also asks something of pedestrians. You can’t suddenly leave a curb and walk into the path of a car so close that it can’t stop, and you’re expected to use reasonable care for your own safety. Insurers lean hard on that part. But a driver who is speeding, distracted or turning without looking still breaks the duty the law puts on them first.
Right-of-way rules don’t decide a claim on their own. What matters is negligence, meaning whether the driver acted carelessly and caused your injuries. A driver’s failure to yield is often the strongest evidence of that carelessness.
Jaywalking, Shared Fault and What Insurers Will Argue
Crossing mid-block does not automatically end your claim. Since 2023, California’s Freedom to Walk Act has limited jaywalking tickets to crossings that create an immediate danger of a collision. And under California’s pure comparative fault rule, any blame assigned to you reduces your recovery rather than erasing it.
The Freedom to Walk Act (AB 2147) took effect on January 1, 2023. It didn’t give pedestrians permission to step into traffic. People crossing outside a crosswalk still have to yield to vehicles. What changed is that police can only cite a mid-block crossing when a reasonably careful person would see an immediate risk of being hit.
In an injury claim, the bigger question is fault. California follows pure comparative fault, a rule the state Supreme Court adopted in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. If a jury decides you were 20% responsible, your damages drop by 20%. You still recover the other 80%.
That’s why adjusters ask so many questions after a pedestrian crash. Expect to hear some version of these:
- You were outside the crosswalk.
- You were looking at your phone or wearing earbuds.
- You wore dark clothing at night.
- You stepped off the curb against the signal.
Each of these can be tested against the evidence. A driver who was speeding, texting or not looking may carry most of the fault even when a pedestrian made a mistake. Every percentage point the insurer shifts to you saves its company money, so don’t hand over that ammunition in a recorded call while you’re still in pain.
A driver’s duty to watch for people on foot doesn’t disappear because you crossed mid-block.
What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident in San Bernardino
Call 911 and accept medical help at the scene. Pedestrian injuries such as fractures, head trauma and internal bleeding can be far worse than they feel in the first few minutes. Once you’re safe, the steps below protect both your health and your claim.
- Get the driver’s information. Name, license, plate number and insurance. If the driver leaves, note anything you can: color, make, a partial plate, and the direction they went.
- Photograph the scene. Capture where the car stopped, crosswalk markings (or the lack of them), traffic signals, skid marks, lighting and your visible injuries.
- Find witnesses and cameras. Ask bystanders for a phone number. Note nearby businesses, homes with doorbell cameras and buses, since footage is often erased within days.
- Get a police report number. San Bernardino Police usually handle crashes on city streets. The California Highway Patrol handles the freeways and many ramps.
- See a doctor and keep going. Follow every treatment plan. Gaps in care are one of the first things insurers use to argue you weren’t really hurt.
- Keep your clothes and shoes. Damage to them can help show where and how you were struck.
- Say little to the driver’s insurer. You are not required to give a recorded statement. Ask that all questions go through your lawyer.
If you were badly hurt, you won’t be able to do most of these tasks yourself. That’s fine. Ask a family member to collect what they can, and let a lawyer handle the rest.
Who Pays When a Pedestrian Is Hit by a Car?
Usually the at-fault driver’s liability insurance pays first. When that coverage is too small, or the driver fled or had no insurance, your own auto policy’s uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may step in, even though you were on foot. Health insurance and other policies can help fill the remaining gaps.
Start with the driver’s policy. Since January 1, 2025, California’s minimum liability coverage has been $30,000 per injured person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury. A pedestrian with a broken pelvis or a brain injury can blow past $30,000 in medical bills within days.
That’s where your own policy matters. Uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage generally protects you and your household when you’re hurt by a driver with no insurance or too little, and many California policies extend that protection to you as a pedestrian. In a hit-and-run, UM coverage may be your main source of recovery, but policies usually require prompt reporting to police, so don’t wait.
Other possible sources include a household member’s auto policy, an employer’s commercial policy if the driver was working, rideshare coverage if the driver was on an Uber or Lyft trip, and your health insurance or Medi-Cal for treatment. Figuring out which policy pays first is one of the most practical things a lawyer does.
Compensation in a pedestrian case can include medical bills, future care, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and pain and suffering. Every case is different, and no honest lawyer can promise a number.
San Bernardino Streets, Crosswalks and Courts
San Bernardino is a city of wide, fast arterial roads. Highland Avenue, Baseline Street, Waterman Avenue and E Street carry heavy traffic past homes, schools, bus stops and shopping centers, often with long stretches between signals. Ramps for the 215 and the 10 add drivers who are still moving at freeway speed when they reach city crosswalks.
California is working to make those crossings safer. Under the state’s daylighting law (AB 413), vehicles generally may not park within 20 feet of the approach side of a crosswalk, so drivers and walkers can see each other. If a parked truck blocked the driver’s view of you stepping off the curb, that detail may matter in your case.
Poor lighting, missing crosswalks, broken signals or overgrown landscaping can point to a city, county or Caltrans. Claims against a public agency generally require a written government claim within six months. That’s much shorter than the two-year deadline for most injury lawsuits under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
If your case goes to court, unlimited civil cases from the area are typically handled by San Bernardino County Superior Court at the San Bernardino Justice Center on West Third Street downtown.
How a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer in San Bernardino Builds Your Case
A pedestrian accident lawyer in San Bernardino moves fast to preserve evidence, proves how the crash happened, pushes back on blame-shifting, and finds every insurance policy that might pay. They also take over communication with insurers so you can focus on healing.
The first job is evidence. That can mean sending preservation letters to businesses with cameras, requesting 911 recordings, obtaining the police report and photos, and, in serious cases, working with an accident reconstruction expert to show the driver’s speed and line of sight.
The second job is value. Pedestrian injuries often involve long recoveries, follow-up surgeries and time away from work. A lawyer documents the full cost of this crash, including future care and the ways your daily life has changed, so the insurer can’t price your claim on the first month of bills alone.
The third job is coverage. Your lawyer identifies the driver’s policy, any employer or rideshare coverage, and your own UM and UIM benefits, then puts each insurer on notice. No lawyer can guarantee an outcome, but you stop facing a trained adjuster alone.
Learn more about our pedestrian accident practice and broader personal injury work, or visit our San Bernardino personal injury lawyer page for local details.
Your Next Step After a San Bernardino Pedestrian Accident
Two things to remember. First, California law puts a real duty on drivers to watch for people on foot, and crossing mid-block does not automatically cost you your claim. Second, the first weeks matter: camera footage gets erased, witnesses move on, and insurers start building their version of events right away.
Oracle Law Firm represents injured pedestrians across San Bernardino and the Inland Empire, with an office nearby in Ontario.
Been in an accident or hurt on the job? You don’t have to navigate insurance companies alone. Oracle Law Firm fights to get you the compensation, control, and clarity you deserve.
Get a Free Consultation or call 888.597.4099.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have a case if I was hit outside a crosswalk in San Bernardino?
Possibly, yes. California drivers must use due care for pedestrians everywhere, not just in crosswalks. Under the state’s pure comparative fault rule, crossing mid-block may reduce your recovery by your share of fault, but it does not automatically bar your claim.
What if the driver who hit me drove away?
Call police right away and report everything you remember about the car. If the driver is never found, your own uninsured motorist coverage may pay for your injuries, but policies usually require prompt reporting. A lawyer can also look for camera footage that identifies the vehicle.
How long do I have to file a pedestrian accident claim in California?
Most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the accident under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If a city, county or state agency may share the blame, you generally must file a government claim within six months.
Will my car insurance cover me if I was walking?
Often, yes. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your auto policy typically protects you and household members when a driver with no insurance or too little insurance hits you, including while you’re on foot. Medical payments coverage, if you have it, may also help.
How much does a pedestrian accident lawyer in San Bernardino cost?
Oracle Law Firm offers free consultations, and we typically handle pedestrian accident cases on a contingency fee. That means you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.
