You were crossing a Broward County road when a car hit you. Now, while you are dealing with injuries, medical appointments, and insurance questions, one fact keeps coming up: you were not in a marked crosswalk.
Does that mean the accident was automatically your fault?
No. Crossing outside a crosswalk does not, by itself, prevent you from pursuing a pedestrian injury claim in Florida. Where you crossed is important, but it is only part of the liability analysis. What the driver was doing, what each person could see, how much time there was to react, and other evidence surrounding the collision can also affect who is responsible.
That distinction matters because an insurance company is likely to examine your decision to cross where you did. But that fact does not answer the entire liability question.
What Does Florida Law Say About Crossing Outside a Crosswalk?
Florida law places responsibilities on pedestrians and drivers.
Under Florida Statute § 316.130, a pedestrian crossing a roadway somewhere other than within a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection must yield the right-of-way to vehicles on the roadway. Pedestrians also generally cannot cross between adjacent intersections with operating traffic signals except in a marked crosswalk.
Florida law does not impose a blanket rule that pedestrians must use a marked crosswalk every time they cross a roadway. But pedestrians crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk still have legal duties, and drivers remain responsible for exercising due care to avoid pedestrians.
That is why where you were crossing does not answer the entire fault question.
If you crossed outside a crosswalk, you could bear some responsibility for the collision. A driver who was speeding, distracted, impaired, or had enough time to see and react to you could also bear responsibility. The facts surrounding the seconds before impact become critical.
Can You Recover if You Were Partly at Fault?
If you were partly responsible for a Broward County pedestrian accident, Florida's modified comparative-fault law can directly affect your recovery.
Under Florida Statute § 768.81, damages are generally reduced according to an injured person's percentage of fault in a negligence action governed under the current statute. An injured person found more than 50 percent responsible for causing their own harm cannot recover damages under that rule.
Consider a simplified example. If a pedestrian suffers $200,000 in damages and is found 30 percent at fault, the pedestrian's recoverable damages would generally be reduced by that percentage. But if the pedestrian is found more than 50 percent at fault, the current modified comparative-fault rule bars recovery in a negligence action.
That makes the evidence supporting each person's share of responsibility especially important.
An insurer arguing that you should have used a crosswalk is not the same thing as establishing that you were primarily responsible for the crash.
What Was the Driver Doing Before the Collision?
When you are hit outside a crosswalk, attention can quickly turn to where you were walking. A proper liability investigation also asks what the driver was doing.
Important questions include:
- How fast was the vehicle traveling?
- Was the driver looking at the roadway?
- Was a phone or another distraction involved?
- Were you visible before impact?
- How far away was the vehicle when you entered the roadway?
- Did the driver brake, swerve, or sound the horn?
- Were headlights needed and being used?
- Were other vehicles blocking your view or the driver's?
- Did lighting, weather, traffic, or roadway design affect visibility?
These details matter on busy South Florida corridors where pedestrians encounter multilane traffic, turning vehicles, commercial entrances, bus stops, and changing traffic conditions.
A collision on State Road 7, Broward Boulevard, University Drive, or another heavily traveled Broward County roadway cannot be fully evaluated based only on where you were crossing.
Why Evidence Can Change How the Insurance Company Views Fault
After a pedestrian accident, you and the driver can have different accounts of what happened. Independent evidence helps clarify the circumstances and move the claim beyond competing versions of the collision.
Useful evidence can include surveillance footage, traffic or intersection video where available, scene photographs, vehicle damage, witness statements, 911 records, data recorded by the vehicle when available, relevant phone records, and measurements showing sight distance or the point of impact.
The timing matters because some evidence does not remain available indefinitely. Video can be overwritten, physical conditions change, and witnesses become harder to locate.
This is also where Feingold, Posner & Draizin's prior experience on the insurance side informs the firm's approach. The attorneys understand the kinds of details insurers examine when evaluating responsibility because of their previous work involving insurance claims. The goal is not simply to argue about who was in the crosswalk. It is to establish as accurately as possible what happened before the vehicle struck the pedestrian.
What if the Insurance Company Says You Caused the Accident?
Do not assume an insurer's initial position is the final answer.
If the insurance company focuses on the fact that you crossed outside a marked crosswalk, the next question should be: What does the rest of the evidence show?
For example, there is a substantial difference between a pedestrian suddenly entering the path of a vehicle that had no reasonable opportunity to stop and a pedestrian who was visible in the roadway long enough for an attentive driver to react.
Florida law itself recognizes both concepts: pedestrians cannot suddenly enter the path of a vehicle when it is too close to yield, while drivers still have a duty to exercise due care to avoid pedestrians.
Those distinctions are why assigning fault requires a fact-specific investigation.
If an insurance company asks for a recorded statement, avoid guessing or speculating about distances, timing, speed, or what the driver could see when you do not actually know. Statements made early in a claim can later become part of the insurer's fault analysis.
What Should You Do After Being Hit Outside a Crosswalk?
Your health comes first. Get appropriate medical care and follow your treatment recommendations.
When you are able, preserve anything that helps document the collision. Keep medical information, witness contact information, insurance correspondence, photographs, and any video from the scene. Write down what you remember while the details are still fresh, without guessing about facts you did not observe.
If nearby businesses, homes, intersections, or vehicles appear to have cameras that could have captured the collision, identifying those potential sources quickly can be important.
Most importantly, do not decide for yourself that you have no claim simply because you were outside a crosswalk. The allocation of fault depends on much more than where you were crossing when the collision occurred.
A Crosswalk Is One Part of the Story, Not the Whole Story
Being outside a crosswalk does not, by itself, determine who was responsible for the collision.
Florida law does place obligations on pedestrians who cross outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk. It also imposes responsibilities on drivers, and Florida's comparative-fault system looks at how the actions of those involved contributed to an injury.
At Feingold, Posner & Draizin Accident Lawyers, our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers represent pedestrians injured in Plantation and throughout Broward County. We draw on our experience with insurance companies to investigate what happened, evaluate the evidence affecting fault, and explain your options clearly.
If you were hit by a car outside a crosswalk and are unsure what that means for your claim, contact Feingold, Posner & Draizin to discuss what happened and your next steps.
Disclaimer: The articles on this blog are for informational purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.