Charlotte Pedestrian Accident Attorneys

Pedestrian Accident Law in North Carolina and Florida: Your Rights After Being Hit

Pedestrians struck by vehicles suffer some of the most severe and life-altering injuries of any accident type — precisely because the human body has no protection against the impact forces generated by even a relatively slow-moving vehicle. Common injuries include traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage leading to paralysis, pelvic and femur fractures, internal organ damage, severe road rash and lacerations, and crush injuries to the extremities. When drivers strike pedestrians in crosswalks, school zones, parking lots, or on sidewalks, the injured person and their family deserve aggressive legal representation to secure maximum compensation for these devastating losses.

North Carolina law requires drivers to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing a road in a marked crosswalk or at intersections with pedestrian crossing signals. Drivers must also exercise due care to avoid striking pedestrians on any roadway and must give adequate warning when a pedestrian appears to be in danger. Despite these legal duties, North Carolina's contributory negligence rule means that if a pedestrian contributed even slightly to their own injury — by crossing outside a crosswalk, against a signal, or while distracted — they may be completely barred from recovery. Our attorneys carefully investigate each accident to establish that the driver bore sole responsibility and to counter any contributory negligence arguments that insurance companies attempt to assert.

Florida law similarly requires drivers to exercise due care for pedestrians, particularly in crosswalks and school zones. Florida applies a modified comparative negligence standard that bars recovery only if the pedestrian's fault exceeds 50 percent. For pedestrians injured in Florida, this means that even if they were partially at fault — such as by crossing against a signal — they may still be entitled to recover a proportionally reduced amount of compensation. Florida has also enacted specific protections for pedestrians, including enhanced penalties for drivers who fail to yield at crosswalks and provisions that allow injured pedestrians to seek compensation from the driver's insurer even when the driver was uninsured.

Hit-and-run pedestrian accidents present additional complications. When a driver flees the scene after striking a pedestrian, the injured person may initially have no way to identify the at-fault driver and access their liability insurance. However, several avenues of recovery remain available. The pedestrian's own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage will typically cover hit-and-run incidents if the driver cannot be identified. North Carolina requires insurers to provide UM coverage unless it is explicitly waived in writing, and this coverage specifically includes hit-and-run accidents involving identified or unidentified vehicles. Our attorneys identify all applicable insurance coverages — including the pedestrian's own UM policy, any applicable umbrella policy, and the policies of vehicles in the household — to ensure no compensation source is overlooked.

Vasquez Law Firm represents pedestrian accident victims throughout North Carolina — including Charlotte, Raleigh, Smithfield, Fayetteville, and surrounding communities — and in the Orlando, Florida area. Our personal injury attorneys offer free consultations and handle pedestrian cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you owe nothing unless we obtain a recovery for you. If you or a loved one has been struck by a vehicle, contact us immediately to begin preserving evidence and protecting your legal rights before the statute of limitations expires.