Being struck by a car changes everything in an instant. One moment you’re crossing a street or walking along a sidewalk, and the next you’re on the ground trying to make sense of what just happened. The shock, the pain, the noise, the faces looking down at you: it’s disorienting in a way that’s hard to describe until you’ve lived it.
What you do in the hours and days after that moment can shape your entire injury claim. Insurance companies begin evaluating these cases almost immediately, and they’re looking for gaps, inconsistencies, and anything they can use to reduce what they pay. Our founder spent years on the defense side representing insurers, so we understand exactly how that process works and what it takes to protect an injured pedestrian’s claim from the start.
In 2023, the TxDOT El Paso District recorded 201 traffic crashes involving pedestrians, resulting in 18 deaths and 42 serious injuries. These aren’t abstract numbers. They represent real people in this community who needed real answers quickly. Here’s what you need to know.
Immediate Steps at the Scene
Your first priority is getting out of the active roadway if you can move safely. Secondary impacts are a genuine danger after the initial collision, and other drivers may not see you in time. If moving isn’t possible, stay still and wait for emergency responders.
Call 911 even if the driver stops and seems cooperative. A police report creates an official record of the crash, the location, and the parties involved. Before anyone leaves the scene, ask the responding officer for their name and the report number. That report number is how you track down the full report later, and that document will matter when you file an insurance claim or a lawsuit.
While you’re still at the scene, do the following if you’re physically able:
- Photograph the driver’s license, insurance card, and license plate rather than just writing down what they tell you
- Document road conditions, crosswalk markings, signal status, and lighting with your phone camera
- Get contact information from witnesses before they leave
- Note the exact location, including the nearest intersection, crosswalk markings, and whether a “walk” signal was active
Get Medical Care Even If You Feel Fine
Adrenaline is a powerful painkiller. Many pedestrian accident victims walk away from the scene believing they weren’t seriously hurt, only to wake up the next morning unable to move their neck or experiencing the cognitive fog that signals a concussion. Soft tissue injuries and traumatic brain injuries frequently don’t announce themselves right away.
Go to an emergency room or urgent care that same day, even if your pain is mild. For serious injuries, University Medical Center of El Paso is the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, a designation verified by the American College of Surgeons, and it’s where the most severe pedestrian injury cases in our area are treated. For injuries that aren’t immediately life-threatening, starting care promptly at any qualified facility still matters for your recovery and your claim.
Insurance adjusters frequently argue that a gap between the crash and the first medical visit means the injury wasn’t serious or wasn’t caused by the accident. Don’t give them that argument. We help clients connect with our medical referral network when they’re unsure where to go or how to begin treatment, so the path to care doesn’t become another source of stress.
How Fault Works Under Texas Law
Texas law is specific about what drivers owe pedestrians. Under the Texas Transportation Code, drivers must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians at both marked and unmarked crosswalks and have a duty to exercise due care to avoid striking anyone on foot.
That duty matters because insurers often try to shift blame onto the pedestrian. You crossed mid-block. You were looking at your phone. You were wearing dark clothing at night. These arguments are designed to invoke Texas’s modified comparative fault rule, codified in Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 33.001. Under that rule, a pedestrian can recover damages only if their share of fault is 50% or less. If an adjuster can push your fault above that threshold, they owe you nothing.
Countering those arguments depends on the evidence collected at the scene. Signal timing, sight lines, lighting conditions, and crosswalk markings are the specific facts that support or undermine a fault allocation. That’s exactly why the photos you take in the first minutes can be worth more than anything you say to an adjuster later.
Know Your Deadlines, Especially If the City or State Is Involved
Most people who research pedestrian accidents in Texas come away thinking the two-year deadline is the only one that matters. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003, you generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. That’s true for most private-driver cases, but in El Paso, the exceptions can be critical.
Claims Against the City of El Paso
If a City of El Paso vehicle was involved, or if a defective crosswalk, broken sidewalk, or malfunctioning traffic signal contributed to the crash, the timeline is much shorter. Under El Paso Municipal Code Chapter 3.28, written notice of a personal injury claim must be submitted to the Office of the Mayor within 90 days of the incident. The City may extend that window to six months if there is good cause, but you can’t assume an extension will be granted. Missing that 90-day notice deadline can bar a claim against the City entirely, regardless of how clear the negligence was.
Claims Against TxDOT
Claims involving roads or infrastructure maintained by TxDOT operate under the Texas Tort Claims Act, which requires notice to the State within six months of the incident. That’s still shorter than the general two-year period, but longer than the City’s 90-day window.
Identifying who owns the roadway, the crosswalk, and any signals at your crash location is part of the early case work we do before any of these clocks run out.
Protect Your Claim Before You Talk to Insurance
There are two separate insurance contacts after a pedestrian accident, and treating them the same way is a common mistake.
Your Own Auto Insurer
Even though you weren’t in a vehicle, your own auto insurance policy may cover you as a pedestrian. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, often called UM/UIM, can compensate you if the at-fault driver had no insurance or not enough to cover your damages. Personal injury protection, or PIP, can cover medical expenses and a portion of lost wages regardless of fault. Report the crash to your own insurer promptly to preserve those benefits. Failing to report can give the insurer grounds to deny the claim later.
The At-Fault Driver’s Insurer
This is the insurer that will likely handle the liability claim, and it’s the one to be most cautious with. Adjusters for the at-fault driver aren’t on your side. They’re trained to gather information in ways that minimize a payout, and a recorded statement is one of their primary tools. You aren’t required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Politely declining until you’ve spoken with an attorney is reasonable, and it can protect you from saying something that gets used against you before you fully understand the extent of your injuries.
From the very beginning, keep a running log of every medical visit, every missed day of work, every out-of-pocket expense, and every way the injury affects your daily life. These records become the foundation of your damages claim, and they’re far harder to reconstruct six months later than they are to build from the start.
If you or someone you care about was struck as a pedestrian, Harmonson Law Firm is ready to help you understand exactly where you stand and what needs to happen next. Reach us at (915) 233-6427.