Virginia Pedestrian Accident Lawyers
You were on foot, and the driver’s insurer is already saying you stepped out. That argument arrives early, because Virginia law lets it end a claim outright. What answers it is the statute giving a crossing pedestrian the right-of-way, and evidence from the scene and the vehicle, gathered before memories settle into the driver’s version.
Recognized. Reviewed. Trusted.
Virginia DMV recorded 1,747 pedestrian crashes in 2024, 1.4 percent of all crashes and 13.7 percent of the state’s traffic deaths. A person on foot absorbs the whole impact. Request a free consultation today to protect your rights before evidence disappears.
Virginia pedestrian numbers that matter
1,747
Pedestrian crashes in 2024, 1.4 percent of all Virginia crashes.
126
Pedestrians killed, 13.7 percent of every traffic death.
1,719
Pedestrians injured, 478 of them seriously.
82.5%
Of pedestrian deaths happened in darkness, lighted or unlighted.
19.1%
Largest injury category: crossing at an intersection with the signal.
2.5%
Injuries coded as coming from behind parked cars.
When a driver must stop, and who has the right-of-way
Section 46.2-924 sets a stop duty in three places, plus a right-of-way rule at intersections.
At a marked crosswalk
Marked at midblock or at the end of a block.
At a block-end crossing
A regular crossing lining up with the adjacent sidewalk.
At an intersection posted 35 or under
Approached on a road posted at 35 or less.
Against a turning vehicle
Pedestrians crossing at intersections have the right-of-way over turning vehicles at all times.
The driver must stay stopped until you have passed that lane, and no one may overtake a vehicle stopped for you. At intersections, drivers entering, crossing or turning must change course, slow down or stop if necessary to let a pedestrian cross safely. A violation is a traffic infraction, and a Class 1 misdemeanor where it causes serious bodily injury or death to a vulnerable road user, defined to include a pedestrian, who is lawfully crossing. That can establish breach of a statutory duty.
Pedestrian duties, and the fault trap
Virginia puts duties on pedestrians too, and the insurer builds its case out of them. Section 46.2-923 says to cross at intersections or marked crosswalks wherever possible. Section 46.2-926 bars stepping into the road between intersections where a vehicle or other obstruction at the curb hides you, though not where you step out to board a bus. And no pedestrian may enter an intersection in disregard of approaching traffic.
Two limits sit on those duties. No officer may stop a pedestrian for violating either section, and evidence obtained from a stop made in violation of that rule is inadmissible in most proceedings.
Contributory negligence turns the rest into a weapon. The parties’ negligence is not compared, so if the defense proves your negligence was a proximate cause, the claim ends whatever the driver did. Most law firms shy away from these types of cases, we don’t. Give us a call today to discuss the details.
What the insurer might say, and what answers it
| The insurer’s line | What answers it |
|---|---|
| “You crossed mid-block.” | Where an intersection has no marked crosswalk, § 46.2-923 says a pedestrian is not negligent as a matter of law for crossing there by the most direct route. |
| “You came out from between parked cars.” | That category was 2.5 percent of Virginia pedestrian injuries in 2024. Point of impact and sightline measurements show what the driver could see. |
| “There was no time to stop.” | Where the vehicle has retrievable event data it may show speed and braking. An absence of braking supports the argument that the driver failed to see or react in time. |
Last clear chance
A negligent pedestrian can sometimes still recover. Last clear chance asks whether the driver had a real chance to avoid the collision and did not take it, in two versions.
Where the pedestrian was physically unable to get out of the danger, contributory negligence does not bar recovery if the driver saw or should have seen him and realized or should have realized the peril, and could then have avoided the collision using ordinary care.
Where the pedestrian could have moved but was unaware of the danger, the driver must actually have seen him and realized, or should have realized, the peril in time to avoid the collision.
It is not a general exit from contributory negligence, and no website can tell you it fits your case.
When the pedestrian is a child
A child under seven cannot be contributorily negligent at all. No presumption to rebut, no capacity inquiry. A child seven or older but under fourteen is presumed incapable of negligence. A defendant can rebut that only by proving that child had the capacity to understand the danger, and even then the standard is what a reasonable person of like age and experience would do. The duty runs the other way too. Where a driver saw, or should have seen, a child near the scene, he had to consider that the child might, upon childish impulse and heedless of danger, put himself in a position of peril.
The evidence in a pedestrian case
Much of what proves a pedestrian case sits on someone else’s retention schedule.
- Intersection, storefront and doorbell footage, before the loop overwrites it.
- Event data recorder output, where the vehicle has retrievable data.
- Sightlines, lighting and signal timing, measured at the same hour.
- Point of impact, vehicle damage and throw distance.
- The crash report, any citation, and witnesses reached early.
A written preservation request goes out immediately. A subpoena to a carrier or a business is a discovery tool, available once a case is pending. You generally do not have to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement before you have advice, though your own policy differs.
Hit-and-run and uninsured drivers
A driver who leaves doesn’t necessarily leave you without a claim. Virginia treats a vehicle as uninsured when its owner or operator is unknown, and lets you sue that driver as John Doe, serving the insurer as though it were a party defendant.
The coverage comes from an auto policy even though you were walking. It reaches the named insured and, in the same household, a spouse and relatives, while in a motor vehicle or otherwise, so someone who owns no car may still be covered under a household member’s policy. Where the unknown vehicle never touched you, report the accident promptly to the insurer or a law-enforcement officer.
Injuries and losses a claim can include
A pedestrian has nothing between them and the vehicle. These cases bring traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and paralysis, pelvic and leg fractures, internal injuries and wrongful death. A claim can include the bills already paid and the care ahead, lost income, lost earning capacity, and the pain, disfigurement and inconvenience Virginia recognizes.
Contact a Virginia pedestrian accident injury lawyer today
The personal injury lawyers at Gray Broughton are relentless in our pursuit of justice and maximum compensation for injured pedestrians in Virginia and Washington D.C. In most cases, pedestrian accident claims turn on whether the stepped-out defense holds, so scene work and camera preservation belong in the first weeks.
Personal injury and wrongful death are the firm’s practice, Spanish-language intake is available, and there is no fee unless the firm recovers money.
Recent Case Results
The results below span practice areas. Every case is decided on its own facts, and no result predicts another.
$10,000,000
Gray Broughton represented a seven-year-old boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury and lost his right leg above the knee after his family’s car was rear-ended by a pick-up truck hauling a utility trailer. Gray Broughton was able to settle his case for $10,000,000 shortly after filing suit. The client’s net proceeds were structured to ensure that he can be compensated for life. He is a tremendous young man who has overcome daunting odds. We wish him all the best for his future.
$1,250,000
Gray Broughton represented an attorney who suffered a traumatic brain injury after his car was struck by a commercial vehicle. After missing a year of work and undergoing intensive therapy, he was able to make a full recovery and return to work. Gray Broughton was able to settle his case for $1,250,000 shortly before depositions.
$750,000.
Gray Broughton represented an 83-year-old woman who slipped and fell on a restaurant floor. The fall broke her right shoulder in three places; it also broke her right hip. Through his investigation, Gray Broughton was able to prove that the restaurant had not been mopping its floors properly and knew that its floors were abnormally slick. Gray Broughton settled her case two months before trial for $750,000.
GET YOUR FREE CASE REVIEW
It's Easy to Get Started
Important: This page provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship. Outcomes vary based on the specific facts of each case.
SERVING Virginia
SERVING COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH
Questions people ask before they call
Possibly. Crossing outside a crosswalk is not automatically negligence. Where an intersection has no marked crosswalk, the Code says a pedestrian is not negligent as a matter of law for crossing there by the most direct route.
A civil claim does not require a citation. The statutory duties apply whether or not an officer wrote anything.
You may still have a claim. Virginia treats a vehicle as uninsured when the owner or operator is unknown, and allows suit against that driver as John Doe, served on the insurer.
Yes. A child under seven cannot be contributorily negligent at all, and a child seven or older but under fourteen is presumed incapable of negligence unless a defendant rebuts it.
Generally two years from the date the cause of action accrues for an adult, with different rules for a child or a person under a legal incapacity.