Do I Need a Lawyer After a Pedestrian Accident in Pacoima?
A car hit you while you were walking. Maybe you were crossing Van Nuys Blvd at a crosswalk. Maybe you were on Foothill Blvd heading to a bus stop. Maybe it happened in a parking lot near Ritchie Valens Park or Hansen Dam. However it happened, you are hurt, and the question you are asking is whether you really need to hire an attorney.
The short answer: if you have any injuries at all, yes. Pedestrian accidents are not like fender-benders between two cars. The injuries are more severe, the insurance disputes are more aggressive, and the stakes are too high to navigate without professional help.
Why Pedestrian Injuries Are Different
When a car strikes a pedestrian, the human body absorbs the full impact. There is no vehicle frame to protect you. There is no seatbelt to keep you in place. There is no airbag. The result is that pedestrian accidents produce injuries that are categorically more serious than most vehicle-to-vehicle crashes at comparable speeds.
Pedestrian crash injuries treated at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center commonly include broken legs and hips, pelvic fractures, traumatic brain injuries from the initial impact or from striking the pavement, spinal cord injuries, internal organ damage, and severe lacerations. Recovery from these injuries is measured in months and sometimes years. Many involve surgery, extended hospitalization, and long-term physical rehabilitation.
Higher injury severity means higher medical costs, longer periods of lost wages, and greater pain and suffering damages. All of that means the driver's insurance company has more at stake and will fight harder to minimize your recovery.
The Insurance Company Will Not Treat You Fairly
Here is the reality that surprises most people: the driver's insurance company is not interested in making you whole. Their adjusters are trained professionals whose job is to close your claim for as little as possible. In pedestrian cases, they use specific tactics:
Blaming you for being in the road. Even if you were in a marked crosswalk on Van Nuys Blvd, the adjuster will look for any angle to argue you were partially at fault. Were you looking at your phone? Did you step off the curb before the walk signal? Were you wearing dark clothing at night? Every detail becomes ammunition.
Minimizing your injuries. The adjuster will request your medical records, then hire a medical reviewer to argue that your treatment was excessive, that your injuries were pre-existing, or that you should have recovered faster. These are boilerplate tactics applied to every claim.
Making an early low offer. While you are in pain, stressed, and facing mounting bills, the insurer offers a quick settlement. It sounds like relief. But that number almost never accounts for future surgeries, ongoing physical therapy, or the true value of your pain and suffering. Once you accept it, you cannot go back for more.
An attorney stops all of this. Once you have representation, communication goes through your lawyer. Recorded statements stop. Low offers are rejected and countered with properly documented demands. The playing field levels.
What a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Does for You
Investigates the crash. Your attorney obtains the LAPD Foothill Division traffic collision report, gathers surveillance footage from businesses along Van Nuys Blvd or Foothill Blvd before it is overwritten, interviews witnesses, and may retain an accident reconstruction expert to establish exactly how the crash happened.
Documents your injuries and treatment. Your attorney coordinates with Olive View-UCLA Medical Center and your follow-up providers to build a medical record that fully captures the nature, severity, and prognosis of your injuries. This documentation drives the value of your claim.
Handles all insurance communication. You do not talk to the adjuster. You do not negotiate. You do not give recorded statements. Your attorney handles everything, from the initial demand to settlement negotiations to litigation if the insurer refuses to make a fair offer.
Files a lawsuit if necessary. If the insurance company will not settle for fair value, your attorney files suit at the Van Nuys Courthouse West and takes the case through litigation. Having an attorney willing to go to trial is what keeps the insurer honest during negotiations.
California Law Protects Pedestrians
California Vehicle Code Section 21950 requires drivers to yield the right of way to pedestrians in marked crosswalks and at unmarked crosswalks at intersections. This is not optional. A driver who fails to yield and hits a pedestrian has violated the law, and that violation is strong evidence of negligence in your civil case.
Even if you were not in a crosswalk, California law still provides protections. Under Vehicle Code Section 21954, drivers must exercise due care to avoid striking a pedestrian on any roadway. A driver who sees or should have seen a pedestrian and fails to stop or slow down is negligent regardless of where the pedestrian was walking.
California's pure comparative fault system means you can recover damages even if you were partially at fault. If you crossed against the signal but the driver was speeding, you might be found 30 percent at fault. Under comparative fault, you would still recover 70 percent of your damages. The insurer will try to push your fault percentage as high as possible. Your attorney pushes back.
What to Do Right Now
- Get medical treatment immediately. Go to Olive View-UCLA Medical Center at 14445 Olive View Dr in Sylmar. Do not wait. A same-day medical record connects your injuries to the crash and prevents the insurer from arguing your injuries were caused by something else.
- Call LAPD Foothill Division if police did not respond to the scene. File a report and get the report number.
- Document everything. Photograph your injuries, the crosswalk or location where you were hit, the vehicle, and any skid marks or debris.
- Get witness contact information. Names and phone numbers of anyone who saw what happened.
- Do not talk to the driver's insurance company. Refer them to your attorney.
- Contact a pedestrian accident lawyer. The sooner your attorney begins preserving evidence and documenting your case, the stronger your claim will be.
When You Might Not Need a Lawyer
If the accident involved no injury whatsoever, only minor property damage like a torn bag or broken glasses, and the driver's insurance is covering it without dispute, you may not need an attorney. This scenario is exceptionally rare in pedestrian accidents because the human body versus a car always produces some injury. But if you truly walked away unhurt, the analysis is different.
For anyone with injuries requiring medical treatment, lost work, or ongoing pain, attorney representation is strongly recommended.
Free Consultation, No Upfront Cost
L&F Brown represents pedestrian accident victims throughout Pacoima on contingency. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. Speak with a Pacoima pedestrian accident lawyer today, or visit our Pacoima personal injury page for a free consultation.
Injured in Pacoima? Talk to a local attorney, no fee unless we win.
Learn about our Pacoima personal injury services →
Talk to a senior attorney directly.
