Los Angeles pedestrian accident lawyer

What a Los Angeles pedestrian case actually involves

Pedestrian collisions in Los Angeles produce the most one-sided injury profile on the road. The vehicle weighs four thousand to six thousand pounds and the pedestrian weighs one. The injury pattern is predictable: lower-extremity fractures from initial bumper contact, torso and head trauma from the secondary impact with the hood or windshield, and the tertiary impact when the body falls to the pavement. Each of those three impacts is a separate causation question for the medical and biomechanical experts.

The numbers are what give this case category its weight. According to Los Angeles Department of Transportation Vision Zero data, pedestrians make up roughly twenty percent of all traffic fatalities in the City of Los Angeles each year despite being a much smaller share of road users. The High Injury Network, the seven percent of city streets where roughly sixty-five percent of severe and fatal pedestrian collisions occur, runs through Hollywood, MacArthur Park, South LA, the Eastside, and along corridors like Vermont, Western, Sunset, and Olympic. The statistical concentration matters at trial: the corridor itself is on notice.

A pedestrian case is not a routine soft-tissue file. The medical course typically runs months: orthopedic surgery for tibia, fibula, or femur fractures; neurosurgical workup for any altered consciousness; soft-tissue and abdominal imaging for internal injuries; and rehabilitation that often extends beyond the acute hospital stay into outpatient physical therapy and, in serious cases, inpatient rehab at Rancho Los Amigos or Casa Colina. The case cannot be valued before the medical course is established, which is why a fast settlement offer in the first weeks is almost always undervalued.

On liability, California law gives pedestrians the strongest right-of-way protection on the books for marked and unmarked crosswalks at intersections. The duty runs to the driver under CVC §21950; the question at trial is whether the driver exercised due care, kept a proper lookout, and reduced speed when a pedestrian was visible or reasonably foreseeable. Comparative fault under Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804 may reduce recovery but does not bar it.

Burg & Brock has handled pedestrian collision claims out of the Sherman Oaks headquarters and the Beverly Hills, Glendale, and downtown-adjacent offices for more than two decades. The firm tries cases. That matters here because pedestrian carriers, particularly when the at-fault driver has a high-limit auto policy or an umbrella, settle differently with firms that file complaints than with firms that do not.

Your rights under California law

California pedestrian law is anchored in the Vehicle Code. The statutes below set the duties on both sides of a crosswalk and define when right-of-way exists, when it shifts, and what the consequences are when a driver violates the rule.

• California Vehicle Code §21950 — drivers must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing in any marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, and shall exercise all due care for pedestrian safety.
• California Vehicle Code §21952 — drivers must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians on sidewalks when emerging from or entering an alley, building, private road, or driveway.
• California Vehicle Code §21954 — pedestrians outside a crosswalk must yield to vehicles, but drivers retain a duty of due care; the rule does not absolve a driver who fails to keep a proper lookout.
• California Vehicle Code §22350 — the basic speed law, drive at a speed reasonable for the conditions, including pedestrian density and visibility on streets adjoining schools, parks, and transit stops.
• California Code of Civil Procedure §335.1 — two-year statute of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death.
• California Civil Code §1714(a) — general negligence duty, every person is responsible for an injury caused by their want of ordinary care.
• California Government Code §911.2 — six-month claim deadline for any case against a public entity (City of LA, County, Caltrans, Metro).

Pedeferri v. Seidner Enterprises (2013) 216 Cal.App.4th 359 sets the framework for driver duty toward roadside pedestrians and the comparative-fault analysis when a driver veers off the roadway and strikes a person on a shoulder or sidewalk. The case is regularly cited in Los Angeles County pedestrian litigation involving driver inattention.

Hall v. Aurora Loan Services (2013) 215 Cal.App.4th 1134 and Cabral v. Ralphs Grocery Co. (2011) 51 Cal.4th 764 anchor the foreseeability and duty analysis when a vehicle leaves the roadway. Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804 controls comparative fault, a pedestrian who was looking at a phone or stepped against a "Don't Walk" signal does not lose the case; the jury apportions fault.

How Burg & Brock works your case

Pedestrian collisions are evidence-perishable. The skid marks fade in days, the surveillance footage from a corner store gets overwritten in hours, the witness who saw the impact moves on. The first ninety-six hours decide what a year-three trial looks like. Burg & Brock works the case in the order the evidence demands.

1. Scene preservation. We dispatch a scene investigator to photograph the impact area, document the crosswalk markings (or their absence), measure sight lines, and pull surveillance video from any nearby business, ATM, doorbell camera, or LADOT traffic camera before the retention window closes. LADOT camera footage is typically held for thirty to sixty days; private surveillance is often overwritten within seven to fourteen.
2. Police-report and citation work. We obtain the LAPD or LASD traffic collision report (CHP 555 form), review the responding officer's narrative and any citations issued, and identify witnesses listed on the report. If the officer's narrative omits a key fact a witness saw, we run an early supplemental interview.
3. Medical-records subpoena and lien coordination. We subpoena the ER chart from the receiving hospital, Cedars-Sinai, Ronald Reagan UCLA, Harbor-UCLA, Keck, Olive View, or whichever Level I or II trauma center took the patient, and coordinate with the treating physicians on the long-term care plan. Health insurance, Medi-Cal, or medical-lien arrangements are managed in parallel so treatment can continue without out-of-pocket pressure on the client.
4. Liability and biomechanical experts. We retain an accident reconstructionist for impact-speed analysis using EDR (event data recorder) downloads when available, a biomechanical engineer to tie the injury pattern to the impact dynamics, and, when sight-line or signal-timing is in dispute, a human-factors expert.
5. Insurance-policy stack discovery. We identify every policy that may apply: the at-fault driver's auto policy, any umbrella, the household residential policy if the driver was on personal business, the employer's commercial auto policy if the driver was on the job, and the client's own UM/UIM coverage as a backstop. The full stack is rarely visible in the first week and almost never disclosed voluntarily.
6. Demand and litigation. Once the medical course is established and the experts have produced their reports, the demand goes out structured the way a verdict form is structured. If the carrier's offer is below the floor of a reasonable jury range, we file in Los Angeles County Superior Court, typically the Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown, the Spring Street Courthouse for limited civil, or a regional courthouse depending on venue rules.

Two operational notes: (1) keep a daily journal of pain, sleep, and what activities the injuries are preventing, that journal becomes the non-economic damages proof; (2) save every receipt, including ride-share to medical appointments, parking, and over-the-counter equipment, because those out-of-pocket costs are recoverable economic damages but only if documented.

Common pedestrian collision profiles in Los Angeles

Common causes

• Driver failure to yield at a marked or unmarked crosswalk in violation of CVC §21950.
• Driver inattention or distraction (CVC §23123 cell-phone violations, in-car infotainment, eating).
• Excessive speed for conditions in violation of CVC §22350, particularly on School Zone or High Injury Network corridors.
• Right-on-red turns where the driver fails to check the curb on the driver's right.
• Left-turn-on-arrow phases where the driver does not see the parallel pedestrian walk signal.
• Drivers emerging from driveways, alleys, or parking lots without yielding to pedestrians on the sidewalk under CVC §21952.
• Driving under the influence in violation of CVC §23152, a basis for punitive damages under Civil Code §3294.
• Dangerous-condition-of-public-property cases under Government Code §835, missing or faded crosswalk markings, broken pedestrian signals, obstructed sight lines from city-owned vegetation or signage.

Liability theories

Pedestrian liability typically reaches more than one defendant. The standard analysis includes:

• The driver who struck the pedestrian, primary negligence under Civil Code §1714 and the specific Vehicle Code sections cited above.
• The driver's employer, if the driver was on the job at the time of the collision (respondeat superior, scope-of-employment analysis).
• The vehicle owner if the driver was operating with permission under CVC §17150 (permissive-use liability up to statutory minimums).
• A bar, restaurant, or social host who served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated minor under Civil Code §1714(c) (dram-shop liability is narrowly applied in California).
• A government entity, the City of LA, County of Los Angeles, or Caltrans, when a dangerous condition of public property contributed under Government Code §835 (faded crosswalk markings, malfunctioning pedestrian signals, obstructed sight lines).
• The vehicle manufacturer when an automatic-emergency-braking, pedestrian-detection, or steering-control defect contributed (Soule v. GM and Greenman v. Yuba Power frameworks).
• A contractor working in the roadway whose lane closure, cone placement, or flagger negligence funneled the pedestrian into the impact zone.

Government-entity claims have a six-month written-claim deadline under Government Code §911.2. The deadline is not extended by treatment status; we open the file and draft the claim before the medical record is even complete.

How damages break down

Economic damages on a serious pedestrian case begin with the past medical bills (admissible under Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, Inc. (2011) 52 Cal.4th 541 to the lesser of the amount billed or the amount actually paid). They continue with future medical care projected by the treating physicians and a life-care planner where the injury is permanent. Lost earnings, past and future, are quantified by a forensic economist who reduces the future stream to present value.

Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement (particularly important for facial and head injuries with permanent scarring), loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium for a spouse. The proof is testimonial: the client, the spouse, family members, and treating providers who can speak to the psychological course.

Punitive damages under Civil Code §3294 are available on clear and convincing evidence of malice, oppression, or fraud, most commonly in Los Angeles pedestrian cases when the driver was DUI (a long-recognized basis for punitives in California) or where corporate conduct (a delivery-fleet operator's documented record of speed violations, for example) supports a conscious-disregard finding.

Comparative fault under Li v. Yellow Cab reduces, but does not bar, recovery if the pedestrian was outside a crosswalk, against a Don't Walk signal, or otherwise contributed. The jury apportions percentages; the verdict is reduced by the plaintiff's percentage of fault.

Reported settlement and verdict ranges

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Each case is evaluated on its own facts and applicable law.

Why work with Burg & Brock

Pedestrian cases live or die on the first ninety-six hours of evidence work. Burg & Brock dispatches a scene investigator the day of retention, runs the surveillance-footage canvass before retention windows close, and coordinates with treating physicians at Cedars-Sinai, Ronald Reagan UCLA, Harbor-UCLA, Keck, and Olive View on the long-term care plan.

The firm has tried catastrophic-injury and wrongful-death cases out of the Sherman Oaks headquarters since founding more than two decades ago. Pedestrian carriers respond to firms that file complaints. The settlement value of an LA County pedestrian case correlates with the demonstrated willingness of plaintiff's counsel to take the case to a jury.

Burg & Brock works on contingency. There is no fee unless we recover for you. Consultations are free and a lawyer is available twenty-four hours a day on the (888) 528-8595 line. Spanish-speaking staff is available at every office.

Seven steps after a Los Angeles pedestrian collision

1. Get the medical care you need first. ER evaluation at the closest trauma center is non-negotiable. Imaging the head, the neck, and the long bones in the first emergency visit is what allows the case to be properly valued months later. Refusing transport at the scene is one of the most expensive decisions a pedestrian can make.
2. Identify the driver and exchange information. Get the driver's name, license number, plate, insurance carrier, and policy number. If the driver flees, get any partial plate and a description of the vehicle, and call 911 immediately.
3. Photograph everything, at the scene if you can, after. The crosswalk, the impact area, the vehicle's resting position, your injuries, the driver. If you cannot do it, ask a witness or family member to do it the same day.
4. Get the names and contact info of every witness. The traffic-collision report sometimes misses witnesses who didn't stay for the officer. Their statements early, before memory fades, are often the difference between a strong liability case and a contested one.
5. Do not give a recorded statement to the driver's insurance company. The carrier's adjuster will call within forty-eight hours asking for a recorded statement. There is no obligation to give one. Politely decline and refer the call to your attorney.
6. Keep every receipt and document every missed day of work. Out-of-pocket costs and lost wages are recoverable, but only if documented. A written log started the first week is worth more than a reconstructed memory at month eight.
7. Call a lawyer in the first ninety-six hours. Surveillance retention windows, witness recall, EDR data, and spoliation timing all run against the clock. Burg & Brock takes pedestrian cases on contingency; the consultation is free.

Where these cases are filed

Most Los Angeles pedestrian cases are filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Unlimited civil cases (anything over $35,000) generally go to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse at 111 N. Hill Street, downtown. Limited civil cases ($25,000 to $35,000) are filed at the Spring Street Courthouse, 312 N. Spring Street. Cases against the City of Los Angeles are subject to the six-month claim-presentation deadline under Government Code §911.2 and venue rules that often keep them in the Central District of LA County Superior Court.

Cases involving Caltrans (state highways including I-5, I-10, I-110, I-405, US-101 segments) require a written claim filed with the Department of General Services Government Claims Program, with the same six-month deadline. Cases against Metro buses or rail involve Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority claim procedures and the Public Utilities Code where a common-carrier theory applies.

Burg & Brock has practiced in every Los Angeles County courthouse where these cases are heard, from the Stanley Mosk in downtown to the Antelope Valley courthouse in Lancaster, the Pomona courthouse, and the Van Nuys courthouse for cases venued in the San Fernando Valley.

Frequently asked questions

Related practice areas

• Bicycle accident representation — two-wheeler vehicle-status protections under CVC §21200.
• E-scooter accident representation — Bird, Lime, and Lyft scooter rules under CVC §21235.
• Hit-and-run representation — uninsured-motorist coverage stack and identification work.
• Drunk-driving collision cases — punitive-damages framework under Civil Code §3294.
• Amputation and catastrophic-injury cases — lifetime-cost-of-care projections.
• TBI cases — neuropsychological testing and post-concussion syndrome.

Related locations

• Beverly Hills personal-injury representation
• Santa Monica personal-injury representation
• Glendale personal-injury representation
• Pasadena personal-injury representation
• Long Beach personal-injury representation