522 people on foot were killed or injured on San Diego streets in 2023, and the group carrying the worst of it is the one least able to recover from it.
Seventy-one of those victims were aged 65 or over, which places San Diego 6th worst of the fifteen California cities over 250,000 for older pedestrians. On almost every other measure this city sits in the better half of that group. On this one it does not.
Those are the California Office of Traffic Safety’s own counts of people killed or injured.
Culver Legal, LLP represents injured pedestrians and their families across San Diego County. We work on contingency and advance the costs of the case, so there is nothing to pay up front and no fee unless we win. If there is no recovery, you are not charged those costs either. Call (310) 600-7881 at any hour.
You Were Probably in a Crosswalk Even If There Were No Lines
This is the single most useful thing on this page, and most people struck on foot do not know it.
Vehicle Code 21950 requires that “the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk“.
An unmarked crosswalk exists at most intersections whether or not anything is painted on the road. So a person crossing at a corner with no paint, no signal and no sign is very often crossing in a crosswalk in the eyes of the law, and the driver owed them the right of way.
Insurers rely on people not knowing this. “There was no crosswalk there” is one of the most common things said to a pedestrian claimant, and it is frequently untrue as a matter of law.
The statute does place a duty on you too, and it is worth knowing rather than being surprised by: no pedestrian “may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard”, and pedestrians must use due care.
Told there was no crosswalk where you were hit?
An unmarked crosswalk exists at most intersections. Paint on the road is not what creates it.
Is It Always the Driver’s Fault?
No, and a page that told you otherwise would be setting you up.
California is a pure comparative fault state. Fault is apportioned, and your recovery is reduced by your share rather than eliminated. A pedestrian found 25% at fault still recovers 75%.
What that means in practice is that the argument is almost never whether you have a claim. It is about the percentage, and the percentage is worth real money. Common arguments against pedestrians:
- You were not at an intersection. Sometimes decisive, often not, and see the crosswalk point above.
- You were on your phone. Relevant to your share, not a bar.
- You wore dark clothing at night. Raised constantly. It does not relieve a driver of the duty to drive at a speed at which they can stop for what is in front of them.
- You stepped out suddenly. This is the one the statute actually addresses, so it is the one worth taking seriously and answering with evidence.
The driver’s own conduct is where the real leverage usually is: speed for the conditions, distraction, failure to look, and whether they were turning across a crossing.
Older Pedestrians Are Treated Differently, and Not in a Good Way
Given the figures at the top of this page, this needs saying plainly.
Where an older person is struck, insurers frequently argue that their injuries are degenerative rather than caused by the collision, pointing at pre-existing arthritis, prior imaging or an earlier fall. It is the most common tactic used against older claimants and it is frequently wrong.
California law does not discount an injury because the person injured was already fragile. A defendant takes the person as they find them. A collision that would have bruised a younger person and instead broke a hip is still the collision’s doing.
What defeats the argument is the record, and specifically the comparison between how the person was functioning before and after. Say so early, because that history is easier to assemble while it is recent.
What You Do in the First Week
- Get medical attention the same day. A head injury is common in pedestrian impacts and can take days to declare itself.
- Photograph the location, including any signal, corner, sightline and whether a crosswalk is painted.
- Get witness names at the scene.
- Keep the clothing and shoes you were wearing.
- Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer before taking advice.
A gap in treatment is the most effective thing an insurer has against you. If you stop attending appointments, the file shows a break and it is later read as evidence you had recovered. If you must pause, put the reason in writing to the provider.
Where You Were Treated Was Decided Before You Arrived
San Diego runs a catchment area trauma system. The county is divided into geographic zones, each assigned to a specific trauma center, so you were taken to the center for where you were struck, not the nearest hospital.
The adult Level I centers are Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego and UC San Diego Medical Center, with Rady Children’s Hospital as the pediatric Level I. One of them holds the imaging, the trauma activation record and the first responder narrative, and geography decided which.
Getting the Collision Report
For a collision on a city street inside San Diego, the report comes from the San Diego Police Department. It costs $12. Allow three to ten business days from the date of the crash before requesting it, and after seven business days you can confirm it is ready on (619) 531-2846.
Reports are not faxed or emailed. They are collected in person or sent by mail.
If the driver left, the claim is not over. A hit and run pedestrian case usually proceeds through uninsured motorist coverage, which can come from your own auto policy or a household member’s even though you were on foot. San Diego recorded 533 hit and run fatal and injury crashes in 2023 across all road users, so it is not unusual and it is not a dead end.
If a Public Entity Is Involved, the Deadline Is Six Months
Pedestrian claims run into this more than most, because what caused the fall or the crossing is often the infrastructure: a signal timed too short, a missing or obstructed crossing, a broken sidewalk forcing someone into the roadway.
Where a public entity is a defendant, a written claim must be presented within six months under Government Code 911.2, rather than the ordinary two years, and no lawsuit can be filed until it has been.
A claim against the City of San Diego goes to its Risk Management Department at 1200 Third Ave., Suite 1000, on the city’s RM-9 form. Since 11 December 2023 the city no longer accepts first-notice claims by email, so it is the portal, mail, or in person. Emailing one may mean it was never presented at all. Where San Diego MTS is involved, that claim goes to MTS at 1255 Imperial Avenue instead, because it is a separate public agency.
The sidewalk rule most people have backwards
A fall on a public sidewalk feels like a claim against the city, and often it is not. Streets and Highways Code 5610 places the duty to maintain the sidewalk fronting a property on the owner of that property.
That can move the claim from a six-month government deadline to an ordinary two-year one against a private owner, or mean there are two potential defendants. Where there is any doubt, work to the shorter deadline.
How Long Do You Have Otherwise?
Two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1.
A claim seeking more than $35,000 is an unlimited civil case, filed at the Hall of Justice, 330 West Broadway, and heard in San Diego County before a San Diego County jury. Where a pedestrian was killed, the claim belongs to the family under a separate statute and is a wrongful death claim.
Did the crossing or the sidewalk cause it?
That is six months, not two years. And it may be the property owner rather than the city.
Why Do San Diego Pedestrians Choose Culver Legal?
We establish the crosswalk question first, because it decides the shape of everything after it and it is the point most often conceded by people who did not know the law was on their side.
Our team speaks Spanish, Farsi, Filipino, Hindi, Mandarin and Korean.
The economics are simple. Contingency, costs advanced, nothing up front and no fee unless we win. We advance the case costs, and if there is no recovery you are not charged those costs either. Culver Legal has recovered $200 Million and counting, and the phone is answered 24 hours a day.
San Diego Pedestrian Accident FAQs
Is it always the driver’s fault if they hit a pedestrian?
No. California apportions fault, so a pedestrian found partly responsible recovers a reduced amount rather than nothing. What is often assumed wrongly is the starting point: Vehicle Code 21950 requires a driver to yield to a pedestrian in any marked or unmarked crosswalk, and unmarked crosswalks exist at most intersections whether or not anything is painted. The statute also requires a pedestrian not to leave a curb suddenly into the path of a vehicle that is an immediate hazard, so both sides carry duties.
I was not in a marked crosswalk. Do I still have a claim?
Very likely. An unmarked crosswalk exists at most intersections as a matter of law, so crossing at a corner with no paint is usually still crossing in a crosswalk. Even where it is not, being outside a crosswalk affects the share of fault rather than barring the claim, because California reduces recovery in proportion rather than eliminating it.
The driver says I was wearing dark clothing. Does that end it?
No. It gets raised in almost every night-time pedestrian claim and it goes to the percentage, not to whether you have a case. A driver is required to drive at a speed at which they can stop for what is in front of them, and clothing does not relieve them of that.
My elderly parent was hit and the insurer says the injuries are age related. Is that right?
It is the most common argument made against older claimants and it is frequently wrong. California does not discount an injury because the injured person was already fragile; a defendant takes the person as they find them. A collision that broke a hip which might only have bruised somebody younger is still the collision’s doing. What answers it is the before and after record of how the person was actually functioning.
The driver drove off. Is there anything to claim against?
Usually yes, through uninsured motorist coverage, which can come from your own auto policy or a household member’s even though you were on foot rather than in a car. The police report and any nearby camera footage matter more than usual in these cases, and footage is on a retention loop, so the request has to go out early.
I am undocumented. Can I bring a claim without putting myself at risk?
Yes, and the protection is stronger than most people expect. Under Evidence Code 351.2, added by AB 2159, evidence of a person’s immigration status is not admissible in a civil action for personal injury or wrongful death, and discovery into it is not permitted either. It cannot be raised at trial and it cannot be asked about beforehand. It is not a question we ask you, and it is not a question the other side gets to ask.
Contact a Culver Legal San Diego Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
Whether you were in a crosswalk is a question of law rather than of paint, and it is usually settled in one conversation. If you or a family member was struck on foot anywhere in San Diego County, reach us at (310) 600-7881 at any hour. The review costs nothing.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Culver Legal, LLP is a California law firm. The information on this page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
