Florida Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Hit by a car while walking? The driver’s insurer is already working against you.

A person on foot has no bumper, no airbag and no seat belt. When a driver fails to yield in a crosswalk, turns without looking, or speeds through a dark stretch of US-19 or Dale Mabry, the pedestrian absorbs all of it: fractures, head injuries, spinal damage, and weeks or months away from work. The first question the insurance adjuster asks is some version of what the pedestrian was doing in the road, because shifting fault onto the person who was hit is how the claim gets cut.

Kemp Law Group has represented injured pedestrians across Florida since 2008 from our office at 11567 Trinity Boulevard in Trinity, including a $2,000,000 recovery for a 64-year-old woman struck while in the roadway whose adjuster asked exactly that question. We have recovered over $400 million in settlements for injured clients, our attorneys are members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and every case is prepared for trial from the first day.

Call or text 727-847-4878 any time for a free consultation. You owe no fees and no costs unless we win, and if you are in the hospital, we come to you.

Contact us online or call 727-847-4878. Free consultation, 24/7.

Florida is the most dangerous state in the country to walk in

701 pedestrians were killed on Florida roads in 2024, more than one in five of all traffic deaths in the state, according to FLHSMV’s preliminary crash figures. Smart Growth America’s Dangerous by Design report, which ranks the nation’s metro areas by pedestrian deaths per capita, has placed Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater eighth in the country in its two most recent editions, with Florida holding more spots in the top twenty than any other state.

The pattern inside those numbers is consistent. Most pedestrian deaths happen on wide, fast arterial roads built for cars, on state highways rather than neighborhood streets, after dark, and away from signalized crosswalks that can be a half mile apart. US-19 through Pasco and Pinellas, Dale Mabry and Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa, 34th Street in St. Petersburg and State Road 54 are the roads where our pedestrian clients were hit. Older adults and children are over-represented, because a crash that bruises a driver breaks a pedestrian.

None of that is the pedestrian’s fault, and Florida law does not treat it that way.

What Florida law says when a driver hits a pedestrian

Drivers must yield, and not only in crosswalks. Florida Statutes § 316.130 requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks and at intersections, to exercise due care to avoid hitting any pedestrian anywhere on the road, and to sound the horn and slow down when necessary. A pedestrian crossing mid-block must yield to traffic, but that does not give a driver the right to hit someone who is plainly visible; the duty of care never switches off.

Your own car insurance pays first, even though you were on foot. Florida’s no-fault law follows the person, not the vehicle. If you own a car with PIP coverage, or live with a relative who does, that policy pays 80 percent of your medical bills and 60 percent of lost wages up to $10,000, provided you are seen by a medical provider within 14 days. A pedestrian with no PIP of their own is covered by the PIP policy on the vehicle that struck them. Either way, a pedestrian never has to wait for a fault decision to start treatment.

Beyond PIP, the driver pays. Medical bills over the PIP limit, lost income, and pain and suffering once a permanent injury is documented come from the driver’s bodily injury coverage. Pedestrian injuries clear Florida’s permanent-injury threshold far more often than typical car-to-car crashes, because the injuries are orthopedic and neurological rather than soft tissue.

Comparative fault is the insurer’s main weapon. Under § 768.81, a pedestrian found 51 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and any lesser share reduces the award. Expect the adjuster to argue dark clothing, crossing outside a crosswalk, headphones, or alcohol. The answer is evidence: the crash report’s diagram and witness statements, the driver’s speed and phone records, lighting and sightline measurements at the scene, and the reconstruction a jury can follow.

Hit-and-run and uninsured drivers. Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury coverage, and pedestrians are hit-and-run victims more often than anyone else on the road. Your uninsured motorist coverage, and the UM coverage of relatives in your household, pays what the driver cannot or will not, and it covers you on foot. Hit-and-run accidents explains how those claims work.

Other responsible parties. A driver on the clock makes the employer liable; a bar that over-served a visibly drunk driver can be liable under § 768.125; a city or the state can be liable for a crossing it knew was dangerous and left unlit or unmarked, subject to the notice rules and damage limits of § 768.28. Finding every policy is often the difference between a recovery that covers a lifetime of care and one that does not.

Two years. The statute of limitations for a Florida negligence claim is two years from the date of injury (§ 95.11), and the same for wrongful death. Government claims carry earlier notice deadlines.

How pedestrian crashes happen in Florida

• Left and right turns at intersections. The driver watches for cars, gets a gap, and turns into a person who had the walk signal. The most common crosswalk crash we see.
• Mid-block crossings on arterials. Six lanes, a 45 mph limit, and the nearest signal a quarter mile away. The driver in the far lane never slows because the near-lane car that stopped blocked the view.
• Parking lots and driveways. Reversing vehicles at shopping centers along US-19 and SR 54, and drivers pulling across sidewalks without stopping.
• Night and dawn. Three out of four pedestrian deaths happen in the dark, on roads where lighting is sparse and speeds are high.
• Distracted, drunk and speeding drivers. The same causes behind every other crash, with a pedestrian paying for them.
• Hit-and-run. Drivers who leave a pedestrian in the road, which is a felony in Florida when injury results and a reason to call us before the police report is even final.

The injuries we see

Traumatic brain injuries from the second impact with the pavement; skull and facial fractures; spinal cord injuries and herniated discs; pelvic, hip and leg fractures from the bumper strike; internal injuries; degloving and road rash requiring grafts; and, in too many cases, death. These are injuries that need surgery, rehabilitation and often lifelong care, and the claim has to be built to pay for all of it, not the first hospital bill. Where the worst happens, our wrongful death page explains what a family can recover.

What to do after a pedestrian accident

1. Get medical care the same day, even if you think you can walk it off. Head and internal injuries declare themselves late, and Florida’s 14-day PIP rule starts at the crash.
2. Call 911 and make sure a crash report is written. Get the driver’s name, plate and insurer; if they left, note anything you can about the vehicle.
3. Photograph everything you can: the scene, the crosswalk or lack of one, lighting, skid marks, your injuries, your clothing.
4. Get names of witnesses before they drive away. Nearby businesses often have cameras that overwrite within days.
5. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer, including your own, before you have spoken to a lawyer. Comparative fault is decided on those statements.
6. Keep everything: discharge papers, bills, missed-work records, and the shoes and clothes you were wearing.

What Kemp Law Group does from the first call

We send a preservation letter the same day for camera footage, the driver’s phone records and the vehicle’s event data; we obtain the crash report and the officer’s body-camera video; we photograph and measure the scene before anything changes; and where fault is contested, we retain an accident reconstructionist early rather than after the insurer has committed to its story. On the damages side, we coordinate PIP, health insurance and letters of protection so treatment never stops, and we document the permanent injury the way Florida’s threshold requires. Then we present the full claim to every policy that applies, and we file suit when the offer does not match the case. An attorney reviews every case and stays involved from intake to resolution.

Results for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users

• $2,000,000 for a 64-year-old pedestrian struck by a car while in the roadway, with pelvic, arm, leg and facial fractures and a brain injury requiring three surgeries; the adjuster’s first question was why she was walking
• $1,250,000 for a passenger on an electric scooter hit by a driver who fled the scene with no insurance, recovered through a family member’s uninsured motorist coverage
• $1,010,000 for a bicyclist struck by the door of a stopped rideshare vehicle
• $2,415,000 for a motorcycle rider with a traumatic brain injury, the firm’s largest recovery

Kemp Law Group has recovered over $400 million in settlements since 2008. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a particular outcome. See more case results.

Who handles your pedestrian case

Stacy Kemp Ferrari founded the firm in 2008 and owns it today; she is a Stetson University College of Law graduate admitted to The Florida Bar in 2007 and settled the firm’s largest recovery. Kelly Cook, who settled the scooter and bicycle recoveries above, spent years defending large insurance companies before joining the firm and knows how carriers value pedestrian claims. Cases that need a courtroom are prepared by the litigation team under managing litigation attorney Ian Boettcher. The firm’s Trinity office holds a 4.9-star rating across more than 900 Google reviews.

Florida pedestrian accident questions

I was hit outside a crosswalk. Do I still have a case?

Usually, yes. Crossing mid-block can give you a share of the fault, but the driver’s duty to watch for and avoid pedestrians applies everywhere on the road. As long as your share is 50 percent or less, you recover the rest, and the evidence often shows the driver was speeding, distracted or simply not looking.

I don’t own a car. Who pays my medical bills?

If you live with a relative who has Florida PIP coverage, their policy covers you. If not, the PIP policy on the vehicle that hit you pays your first $10,000 of medical bills and lost wages. Either way, see a doctor within 14 days of the crash; PIP benefits depend on it.

The driver left the scene. What now?

Report it immediately so police can search for the vehicle; nearby cameras and license plate readers solve many of these cases. If the driver is never found or has no insurance, uninsured motorist coverage on your own or a household member’s policy pays the claim, and it covers you as a pedestrian.

How much is a pedestrian accident case worth?

It depends on the injuries, the treatment they require now and later, the income you lose, the permanence of the harm, and how much insurance is available across every responsible party. Pedestrian cases often involve surgery and long recoveries, which is why they are among the largest recoveries we handle. We give you an honest range after reviewing the records, not a number on the phone.

How long do I have to file?

Two years from the date of the crash for a negligence claim or a wrongful death claim in Florida. If a city, county or state agency may share responsibility, earlier notice deadlines apply, so call sooner.

What does it cost to hire you?

Nothing up front. Our fee is a percentage of the recovery, set by Florida Bar rules and explained in writing before you sign, and you owe no fees and no costs unless we win. The consultation is free, and we visit clients in the hospital or at home anywhere in Florida.

Talk to a Florida pedestrian accident lawyer today

The driver’s insurer has already opened its file. Call or text 727-847-4878 or contact us online for a free consultation, 24 hours a day. We will tell you whether you have a case, what it is likely worth, and what happens next, and you owe no fees and no costs unless we win.

Kemp Law Group, 11567 Trinity Boulevard, Trinity, FL 34655. Representing injured pedestrians throughout Tampa Bay and across Florida, with home and hospital visits anywhere in the state.

The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.