Pedestrian Hit by Car? Protect Yourself by Taking the Right Steps
Posted on: September 23, 2025In Central Florida, pedestrian crashes happen far too often—more than 800 a year in Orange and Seminole Counties alone. And when they do, the person on foot is usually the one who suffers most.
Being hit by a car can leave you facing a long and uncertain recovery. But the good news is that Florida law gives injured pedestrians clear rights. Knowing those rights—and how to protect them—can make all the difference in your recovery, both physical and financial.
Serious Injuries Mean Serious Compensation
When a pedestrian is hit by a car, the injuries are rarely minor. Broken bones, spinal injuries, head trauma, and other life-changing conditions are far more common than scrapes or bruises. Even worse, these injuries can affect your health, your ability to work, and your financial stability for years to come.
That’s why compensation in pedestrian accident cases should account for more than just the emergency room bill. A fair settlement often includes:
- Future medical treatment and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Permanent or long-term disability
The more serious and long-lasting your injuries are, the more your case may be worth. Understanding the full scope of your damages is the first step toward making sure you aren’t left paying the price for someone else’s negligence.
Quick Medical Treatment Is Essential
After a crash, some pedestrians are taken straight from the scene to the hospital. Others may feel “lucky” to walk away on their own. But no matter how you feel at the moment, getting medical care right away is critical.
Prompt treatment does two things: it protects your health and it protects your claim. Some injuries—like concussions, internal bleeding, or soft-tissue damage—aren’t immediately obvious but can become serious if left untreated. At the same time, your medical records create the paper trail that links your injuries directly to the car accident.
If you wait days or weeks to see a doctor, the insurance company will argue your injuries weren’t caused by the accident and that something happened in the intervening days. The insurance company will also argue that the injuries are not that serious because you did not seek immediate treatment. . Seeking care immediately not only helps you recover, it also closes the door on that argument.
Wondering if you have a case? Take our quiz to find out.
In many cases, the driver is at fault when a pedestrian is struck. Florida law requires motorists to yield to pedestrians in many situations. Still, insurance companies often try to shift blame to the pedestrian—claiming you were jaywalking, ignoring signals, or stepping into traffic unexpectedly.
Florida now follows a modified comparative negligence system. This means you can recover compensation as long as you are 50% or less at fault. But if you are found to be more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover anything.
The important thing to remember is that drivers are most often the ones at fault in these accidents. Even if the insurance company tries to make it sound like you caused the crash, don’t assume that’s the end of your case. Fault is rarely clear-cut; a pedestrian accident attorney can help push back against unfair blame and protect your right to compensation.
Insurance Should Cover You
After a pedestrian accident, one of the first questions is: who pays for the medical bills? In Florida, the answer is usually straightforward: insurance.
If you or someone in your household has Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, it applies even when you’re a pedestrian. If you don’t have PIP, the driver’s insurance is generally responsible (Florida law requires drivers to carry this coverage).
The only real complication comes when the driver is uninsured or carries too little coverage for the extent of your injuries. In those situations, you may need to take legal action to pursue compensation directly.
The Insurance Company Is Not on Your Side
Even when insurance is available, getting fair compensation isn’t simple. Insurance companies are businesses, and their priority is protecting profits—not paying out the full value of your claim.
Adjusters may seem helpful at first, but their goal is to minimize what the company pays. They may:
- Offer a quick settlement that doesn’t come close to covering your long-term costs
- Ask for recorded statements and use your words against you
- Delay the process in hopes that you’ll accept less out of frustration
What feels like “cooperation” is often a strategy to reduce your claim. That’s why it’s important to be cautious when dealing with insurers after a pedestrian accident—and why many people turn to an attorney before saying yes to anything. Remember – you are not required to give a statement to the other insurer at any time.
An Attorney Can Protect Your Rights
After a pedestrian accident, knowing your rights is one thing—making sure those rights are respected is another. Insurance companies have teams of adjusters and lawyers working to limit what they pay out.
Having an attorney on your side levels the playing field.
An experienced lawyer can:
- Investigate the crash and gather evidence to prove fault
- Push back when insurers try to blame you for the accident
- Calculate the full value of your claim, including long-term costs
- Negotiate for a fair settlement—or take your case to court if necessary
With legal support, you don’t have to fight this battle alone. While you focus on healing, your attorney focuses on holding the driver and their insurer accountable.
Don’t Let the Insurance Company Decide Your Future
Being hit by a car as a pedestrian is one of the most frightening and life-altering experiences you can face. The aftermath is stressful—medical treatment, missed work, mounting bills—but you don’t have to go through it alone.
Insurance companies will try to pay as little as possible, but your recovery is worth more than what they want to offer. You have rights, and you deserve to have them protected.
At Beers & Gordon, we fight for injured pedestrians across Central Florida, making sure our clients are treated fairly and compensated fully. If you’ve been hit by a car, don’t wait. Contact us today for a free consultation and let us help you take back control of your future.
Jim Gordon
Jim Gordon earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska in 1997, and two years later began working at a firm in Orlando handling insurance defense matters on cases involving vehicle accidents, negligence, product liability, and more. He established Beers & Gordon P.A. with David Beers in 2009 to represent the rights of people injured because of negligence. He is a member of the invitation-only National Trial Lawyers organization and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.