Pedestrian Injuries Outside a Crosswalk: Can You Still Recover Compensation in Utah?

A pedestrian is struck while crossing a Salt Lake City street, but an immediate complication arises: they were not in a crosswalk.

That fact can become a major focus of the insurance claim. The driver or insurer may argue that the pedestrian should not have been crossing there and is therefore responsible. But being outside a crosswalk does not automatically answer every question about fault or eliminate the possibility of compensation.

Utah law places responsibilities on pedestrians crossing outside marked or unmarked crosswalks. The circumstances surrounding the collision still matter.

Utah Pedestrians Outside Crosswalks Generally Must Yield to Vehicles

Under Utah law, a pedestrian crossing a roadway outside a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection must yield the right-of-way to vehicles on the road. Utah law also restricts pedestrians from crossing between adjacent signal-controlled intersections anywhere except a marked crosswalk.

That can make the pedestrian’s location an important part of an injury claim.

However, a right-of-way rule does not necessarily mean that every collision outside a crosswalk is entirely the pedestrian’s fault. The events leading up to the impact still need to be examined.

The Driver’s Actions Still Matter

Consider a pedestrian who begins crossing a roadway outside a crosswalk when approaching vehicles are a substantial distance away.

If a driver is speeding, distracted, impaired, or otherwise fails to react appropriately after the pedestrian becomes visible, the court may question whether the driver’s conduct also contributed to the collision.

The analysis may include details such as:

• How far away the vehicle was when the pedestrian entered the roadway.
• How fast the vehicle was traveling.
• Whether the driver attempted to brake or swerve.
• Whether the pedestrian was visible to the driver.
• Whether lighting, weather, or roadway conditions affected visibility.
• Whether the driver was distracted before impact.

Those facts can matter considerably when the pedestrian and driver give different accounts of what happened.

Shared Fault Can Become Central to the Claim

Pedestrian collisions outside crosswalks frequently raise questions about the conduct of both people involved.

An insurer may argue that the pedestrian contributed to the crash by crossing where vehicles had the right of way. At the same time, evidence may indicate that the driver also contributed through excessive speed, distraction, or another unsafe action.

Utah uses comparative fault principles, so determining each party’s share of responsibility can affect whether an injured person can recover damages and the amount ultimately available. That makes it important not to treat the pedestrian’s location as the only relevant fact.

Evidence May Show Whether the Driver Had Time to React

The moments before impact can be especially important in these cases.

Surveillance cameras from nearby businesses, traffic cameras, dashcams, and doorbell cameras may capture the pedestrian entering the roadway or show the vehicle approaching. Electronic vehicle information may provide additional evidence about speed or braking.

Witness statements, skid marks, vehicle damage, photographs, and the impact location may also help reconstruct the collision.

This evidence can be particularly valuable when an injured pedestrian has little memory of the crash or when the driver insists the pedestrian appeared too suddenly to avoid.

Being Outside a Crosswalk Is Not the End of the Investigation

A pedestrian who was struck outside a crosswalk may assume there is no point in pursuing a claim. An insurance company may quickly reinforce that conclusion.

But where the pedestrian was crossing is only part of the story.

Determining responsibility may require examining when the pedestrian became visible, what the driver was doing, whether either person could have avoided the collision, and what physical or electronic evidence reveals about the seconds before impact.

Get Answers After a Serious Salt Lake City Pedestrian Accident

Pedestrians have little protection when they are struck by a vehicle, and the resulting injuries can be devastating. When a collision occurs outside a crosswalk, questions about shared responsibility can make an already difficult situation even more complicated.

Waddoups Law represents pedestrians injured in Salt Lake City and throughout Utah. Our personal injury attorneys investigate how pedestrian collisions occur, preserve available evidence, and evaluate the conduct of everyone involved, rather than letting a single fact define the claim.

If a vehicle struck you while you were crossing outside a crosswalk, contact Waddoups Law for a free consultation to discuss what happened and whether you may be entitled to compensation.

About the Author

George Waddoups

George T. Waddoups has practiced law since 1982 and is experienced in personal injury and wrongful death, with over $300 million recovered for clients. He is nominated as a Super Lawyer and a member of The National Trial Lawyers Top 100. George is committed to community service and enjoys time with his five children.