Pedestrian & Crosswalk Injuries

You had the walk signal. The insurer will still say it was your fault.

Pedestrian cases are the clearest illustration of why contributory negligence matters. A driver turns without looking and puts someone in the hospital for weeks, and the first thing the insurer investigates is whether the pedestrian stepped off the curb a half-second early, looked at a phone, or wore dark clothing. In Maryland and Virginia, any of that, if a jury believes it, can end the claim completely. In D.C., the law is different, but the insurer will make the same arguments.

These cases are won on the evidence gathered in the first weeks: the signal phasing at that intersection, the independent witness who has not yet moved away, the video from a bus or a storefront, and the responding officer's diagram. That evidence disappears quickly.

Does contributory negligence apply to pedestrians in D.C.?

Not in its usual form. In D.C., a pedestrian's own negligence does not bar recovery against a driver unless it was a proximate cause of the injury and greater than the combined negligence of all the defendants (D.C. Code § 50-2204.52(a)). A pedestrian who was somewhat careless can still recover from a driver who was more careless.

The protection covers more than people on foot. It applies to a pedestrian or "vulnerable user" in a collision with a motor vehicle or with another vulnerable user, and to a vulnerable user in a collision with a pedestrian (§ 50-2204.52(a)(1) and (2)). The statute defines vulnerable users to include people using bicycles, motorcycles, motorized bicycles, electric mobility devices, personal mobility devices, non-motorized scooters, skateboards, and similar devices (D.C. Code § 50-2204.51(13)). It does not change the last clear chance doctrine or joint and several liability (§ 50-2204.52(b)(1)).

Two practical points follow. First, the insurer will still try to prove your fault was the larger share, so the evidence of what the driver did matters as much in D.C. as anywhere else. Second, the rule applies to collisions in the District. If you were hit across the line in Maryland or Virginia, a different rule governs, and that changes how the case has to be built.

Pedestrian claims in Maryland: crosswalk law and contributory negligence

In Maryland, a driver must stop for a pedestrian crossing in a crosswalk who is on the driver's half of the roadway or approaching from an adjacent lane on the other half, at crossings without a working traffic signal (Md. Code, Transp. § 21-502(a)). At signalized intersections, drivers turning on a green light, a green arrow, or a right on red must yield to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk (Md. Code, Transp. § 21-202(c), (e), and (k)).

The insurer's answer is usually the next subsection: a pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle so close that the driver cannot yield (§ 21-502(b)). Because Maryland keeps contributory negligence, that argument, if accepted, bars the claim entirely (Coleman v. Soccer Ass'n of Columbia, 432 Md. 679 (Md. 2013)). Maryland's highest court has recognized two ways around the bar that matter in pedestrian cases: the last clear chance doctrine, which allows recovery when the defendant could still have avoided the consequences of the plaintiff's carelessness by using care, and the rule that a child under five cannot be contributorily negligent (Coleman, 432 Md. 679).

Maryland also caps noneconomic damages. For causes of action arising from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, the cap is $980,000 (Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-108). More on our Maryland pedestrian injury claims page.

Pedestrian claims in Virginia: crosswalk law and last clear chance

In Virginia, a driver must stop for a pedestrian crossing within the driver's lane, or within an adjacent lane and approaching it, at any clearly marked crosswalk, at a regular crossing at the end of a block, and at any intersection where the speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less (Va. Code § 46.2-924(A)). Where a signal or officer controls traffic, drivers yield as directed, and pedestrians crossing at intersections have the right-of-way over vehicles turning into the street being crossed (§ 46.2-924(C)).

The same subsection says that no pedestrian shall enter or cross an intersection in disregard of approaching traffic, and Virginia insurers lean on it. Contributory negligence is a complete bar in Virginia (Pack v. Doe, 236 Va. 323 (Va. 1988)). Last clear chance can overcome it in two situations the Supreme Court of Virginia has described: a "helpless" plaintiff who was physically unable to get out of danger, where the driver saw or should have seen the person, and an "inattentive" plaintiff who could have moved but was unaware of the danger, where the driver actually saw the person. In both, the driver must have realized, or should have realized, the danger in time to avoid it with reasonable care (Pack, 236 Va. 323).

Virginia also gives you less time. You generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (Va. Code § 8.01-243(A)). More on our Virginia pedestrian injury claims page.

How long do you have to file a pedestrian injury claim?

You generally have three years in D.C. (D.C. Code § 12-301(8)) and Maryland (Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101), and two years in Virginia (Va. Code § 8.01-243(A)).

A result

Our client was crossing with the walk signal in a marked crosswalk when a driver turned on a red light without yielding. She suffered fractures to her ribs, pelvis, spine, ankle, and face, a shoulder dislocation, a collapsed lung, and permanent nerve damage in her hand. She spent weeks in intensive care and inpatient rehabilitation, later needed nerve decompression surgery and a hip replacement, and did not return to full-time work.

Because the defense could argue that any misstep on her part barred recovery, the case had to be built on fully documented medical, future-care, and wage-loss proof rather than on argument.

What insurers argue in pedestrian cases

The defenses repeat from case to case, and each has an answer:

• "She was looking at her phone." Looking at a phone does not change who had the right-of-way. The question is whether it caused the collision, and signal timing and video usually show what the driver had time to see and avoid.
• "He was wearing dark clothing at night." Drivers must still watch the crosswalk and drive at a speed that lets them stop. Street lighting, headlight range, and sight-line measurements turn this argument into a question of the driver's attention.
• "She stepped out suddenly." Witness accounts, video, and the physical evidence test whether the driver truly had no time to react.
• "He was outside the crosswalk." Scene measurements and the officer's diagram fix the point of impact, and even outside a crosswalk the driver's own duties of care remain.

What proves a pedestrian case

The insurer's story is almost always about the pedestrian. Ours is about the driver, and we prove it with records the insurer cannot wave away:

• Signal phasing and timing. The traffic agency's records show which signal each of you faced, second by second.
• Video. Traffic cameras, buses, storefronts, and doorbell cameras, collected before they record over.
• Sight lines. Photographs and measurements of what the driver could have seen, and when.
• Independent witnesses. Statements taken while memories are fresh and before people move away.
• The police file. The report, the diagram, any citations, and body-worn camera footage.

Pedestrian injuries are often severe: fractures, head injuries, and spinal injuries that change what a person can do for the rest of their life. We document the future as carefully as the past, including future surgery, care, and lost earning capacity, because in Maryland the economic side of the case is not capped.

Who pays when a pedestrian is hit?

The driver's liability insurance is the first source. When it is not enough, or the driver fled, your own auto policy's uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may apply even though you were on foot, depending on the policy's terms and the state's statute. In Virginia, for example, the statute's definition of an insured includes the named insured and resident relatives "while in a motor vehicle or otherwise" (Va. Code § 38.2-2206(B)). See uninsured and underinsured motorist claims and hit-and-run claims. If a government vehicle or a Metro bus was involved, special notice rules apply; see suing the District of Columbia and our guide chapter on government, Metro, and public property claims.

Related reading

• Hit by a car in D.C.: a step-by-step guide
• How D.C. ended the 1% bar for cyclists and pedestrians
• Child pedestrians in D.C.: the doctrines that protect kids
• D.C.'s last clear chance doctrine
• Virginia's contributory negligence rule and the 1% problem
• Vision Zero and D.C. pedestrian deaths: the civil side
• DMV Injury Guide: contributory negligence and D.C.'s pedestrian exception
• DMV Injury Guide: gathering evidence while it still exists

Responsible attorneys: Ryan C. Posey and Jacob M. Lebowitz. Posey Lebowitz PLLC, 3221 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007.