Pedestrian & Crosswalk Injury Claims

A person on foot has no bumper, no seat belt, and no airbag. When a car hits a pedestrian, even at 25 miles per hour, the result is usually a trip to Miami Valley Hospital or Kettering, not a trip to the body shop. Broken legs and pelvises, head injuries, and spinal injuries are common. So are deaths.

I worked pedestrian crashes as a Dayton police officer for 19 years before I started representing injured people. I know how these scenes look and how quickly an adjuster will try to shift the blame onto the person who was walking. This page explains the Ohio rules that protect pedestrians, how insurers attack those rules, and where the money to pay a serious pedestrian claim comes from.

The driver's duty at a crosswalk

Ohio's basic pedestrian right-of-way statute is R.C. 4511.46. Where there is no traffic signal, or the signal is not clearly assigning the right-of-way, a driver "shall yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be" to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk on the driver's half of the road, or approaching so closely from the other half as to be in danger. R.C. 4511.46(A). The same statute protects pedestrians from the second car: when one vehicle is stopped at a crosswalk, "the driver of any other vehicle" approaching from behind "shall not overtake and pass the stopped vehicle." R.C. 4511.46(D).

At signalized intersections, R.C. 4511.13 fills in the details. A driver facing a green light, "including vehicles turning right or left," must yield to "pedestrians lawfully within an associated crosswalk." R.C. 4511.13(A)(1)(a). The same duty applies to drivers facing a green arrow, a flashing yellow, and a flashing red. Turning drivers who are looking for a gap in traffic instead of looking at the crosswalk cause a large share of the pedestrian cases we see.

If a signal is dark or malfunctioning, R.C. 4511.132 requires a driver to stop before entering the crosswalk, yield, and "exercise ordinary care while proceeding through the intersection." A violation of R.C. 4511.46 is a traffic offense, with an additional fine if the driver was distracted, R.C. 4511.46(E), and a citation for failure to yield is strong evidence of negligence.

Marked versus unmarked crosswalks

Many people, including some police officers, believe a crosswalk exists only where there are painted lines. Ohio law says otherwise. R.C. 4511.01(LL) defines a crosswalk two ways. The first is "that part of a roadway at an intersection" between the extended lines of the sidewalks on either side. That is an unmarked crosswalk, and it exists at every intersection with sidewalks whether or not anyone painted stripes. The second is "any portion of a roadway at an intersection or elsewhere, distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other markings." That is a marked crosswalk, and it can be mid-block. The only exception is an area where local authorities have posted no-crossing signs. R.C. 4511.01(LL)(3).

The practical meaning: if you were crossing at an intersection in line with the sidewalk, you were in a crosswalk and the driver had to yield, even without painted lines. Insurers routinely tell injured pedestrians they were "jaywalking" when the law says they were exactly where they were supposed to be. We have ended more than one of those arguments by sending the adjuster the statute and a photograph of the sidewalk.

When the pedestrian is outside a crosswalk

Ohio does not leave pedestrians unprotected outside crosswalks, but the rules shift. Under R.C. 4511.48(A), a pedestrian crossing anywhere other than a marked or unmarked crosswalk must yield to vehicles. Between two adjacent signalized intersections, pedestrians may cross only in a marked crosswalk. R.C. 4511.48(C).

Here is the part of the statute insurance companies never quote. R.C. 4511.48(E) says the section "does not relieve the operator of a vehicle" from "exercising due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway." A driver who sees, or should see, a person in the road has to slow down, steer, and brake. Mid-block crossing does not give a driver permission to hit someone.

R.C. 4511.46(B) also says a pedestrian may not "suddenly leave a curb" into the path of a vehicle so close that it is an immediate hazard. That is the sentence adjusters build their defense around. The answer is almost always in the physical evidence: where the impact happened, how far the pedestrian had already traveled, how fast the car was going, and whether the driver was looking at the road or a phone.

How insurers blame pedestrians, and how we answer

Ohio uses a comparative fault system. Under R.C. 2315.33, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, and you recover nothing only if your fault was "greater than" the combined fault of everyone else. A pedestrian found 30 percent at fault still recovers 70 percent of the damages; a pedestrian found 51 percent at fault recovers nothing. Our guide chapter on what your case is worth explains how this plays out in dollars.

Because the stakes are high, the insurer's strategy in nearly every pedestrian case is to push your fault percentage up. The common arguments, and our responses:

• "The pedestrian was outside the crosswalk." Often untrue once we apply the unmarked-crosswalk definition in R.C. 4511.01(LL). When it is true, R.C. 4511.48(E) still required the driver to use due care.
• "The pedestrian darted out." Crash reconstruction, the point of impact, and the driver's speed usually tell a different story. A driver who could not stop in the time it took a pedestrian to walk across two lanes was not paying attention.
• "The pedestrian was wearing dark clothing." Drivers must travel at a speed that lets them stop within the distance they can see, including at night. Lighting, headlights, and sight lines are measurable.
• "The pedestrian was looking at a phone." A distracted pedestrian is still entitled to a driver who yields at a crosswalk. We look at the driver's phone records, too.
• "The pedestrian had been drinking." Alcohol matters only if it actually contributed to the crash. A person struck in a crosswalk by a turning driver was not negligent because of what they drank earlier.

The tool that wins these arguments is evidence: traffic-camera and business video, the driver's event data recorder, 911 recordings, scene measurements, and witness interviews done before memories fade. Our chapter on gathering evidence explains what we collect and how fast it disappears.

Why pedestrian cases are worth more

Pedestrian claims are among the most serious injury cases we handle. There is no steel cage around the victim. The injuries tend to be orthopedic, neurological, or both, often requiring surgery, rehabilitation, and time away from work, and permanent impairment is common. The damages are correspondingly larger: past and future medical care, lost earnings and earning capacity, and noneconomic damages for pain, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life. It also means the at-fault driver's policy limits are often too small.

Where the money comes from: the driver's policy and your own

The first source is the driver's liability insurance. Ohio's minimum limits are low, and a serious pedestrian injury can exceed them within days.

The second source surprises most people. If you have an auto policy with uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, that coverage can apply when you are hit as a pedestrian, even though you were not in your car. Ohio's UM statute, R.C. 3937.18, is written in terms of bodily injury "suffered by any insured under the policy," not injury suffered in a vehicle. R.C. 3937.18(C). The statute lets insurers exclude people who are not insureds, R.C. 3937.18(I)(5), but a named insured, and typically a spouse or resident relative, is an insured whether walking, biking, or driving.

So if the driver who hit you had no insurance, your own UM coverage may pay. If the driver had a $25,000 policy and your injuries are worth far more, your UIM coverage may pay the difference up to your limits. A policy belonging to a relative in your household may cover you as well. Policy language controls, so we read every policy in the household. Our uninsured and underinsured motorist claims page explains the setoff rules and deadlines. Health insurance and MedPay round out the picture, and liens from those sources must be managed so they do not swallow your recovery.

Hit-and-run pedestrian cases

Drivers who hit a pedestrian are, in my experience, more likely to flee than drivers who hit another car. Ohio treats an unidentified driver as uninsured for UM purposes, R.C. 3937.18(B)(1)(c), but requires "independent corroborative evidence" beyond the victim's own account, such as witnesses, video, or physical evidence. Our hit-and-run page covers the steps to take and other sources of recovery, including Ohio's crime victims compensation program.

Children and the duty of care

Children are the pedestrians most at risk, and the law accounts for that. A driver in a residential neighborhood or near a school or park is expected to anticipate that children may enter the road without looking. Ohio courts judge a child's own conduct by what is reasonable for a child of similar age, experience, and maturity, not by an adult standard, and an insurer's attempt to assign heavy fault to a seven-year-old rarely survives contact with a jury. A child's claim has its own deadline rules, and a minor's settlement typically requires court approval.

When the responsible party is a government

Some pedestrian cases involve a city bus, a police cruiser, or a school vehicle. Claims against Ohio cities, counties, and transit authorities face immunity rules and a two-year deadline. Our claims against the government page explains when those claims are allowed.

Pedestrian safety in Montgomery County

The Ohio Traffic Safety Office reports that Montgomery County recorded 54 fatal crashes and 3,593 injury crashes in 2025, and that failure to yield was a factor in more than 2,000 crashes in the county that year. The same office's April 2026 roadway report urges drivers to slow down and stay alert "especially at crosswalks and intersections." Those are the crashes this page is about.

Frequently asked questions

I was crossing at an intersection without painted lines. Was I in a crosswalk? Almost certainly yes. R.C. 4511.01(LL) says an unmarked crosswalk exists at an intersection along the extended lines of the sidewalk. The driver had a duty to yield under R.C. 4511.46.

The adjuster says I was partly at fault. Does that end my claim? No. Under R.C. 2315.33 you recover as long as your fault is not greater than everyone else's combined, with your award reduced by your percentage. We fight the percentage.

Can I use my own car insurance even though I was walking? Often yes. UM/UIM coverage under R.C. 3937.18 follows the insured person, not the car. We will review your policy and those of family members in your household.

How long do I have to file? Generally two years from the crash for bodily injury claims, whether against a private driver or a political subdivision. UM claims may have their own policy deadlines. Call early.

What is my case worth? It depends on the injuries, the treatment, the effect on your work and life, and the available insurance. Pedestrian cases tend to be high-value because the injuries are serious, which is exactly why insurers fight them hard.