What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident

Reviewed by Isla Carmack (IC), Editor-in-Chief — Pedestrian Injury & Personal Injury Litigation Practice. Updated May 2026.

The actions you take in the hours and days after a pedestrian accident significantly affect the strength of your eventual claim. Evidence disappears quickly — surveillance footage is overwritten, witnesses become harder to locate, physical marks at the scene fade. This guide explains what to do at each stage, from the accident scene through the attorney consultation.

Step 1: Get Medical Care Immediately — Even If You Feel Okay

This is the most important step, and it is both a health imperative and a legal imperative. Pedestrian accident injuries are frequently more severe than they appear at the scene. Adrenaline and shock mask pain in the immediate aftermath — injuries that produce serious symptoms hours or days later feel minor or nonexistent immediately after impact. Internal injuries, traumatic brain injury symptoms, spinal cord trauma, and fractures may not be apparent at the scene.

Go to the emergency room the same day, even if you believe your injuries are minor. The emergency room visit creates a medical record from the day of the accident — documenting that you sought care immediately, what your presenting symptoms were, and what the initial examination found. This record is the chronological anchor of your medical documentation. A pedestrian who sought emergency care the day of the accident has a stronger case than one who waited days or weeks, because the latter creates an argument that injuries were not caused by the accident or were not serious at the time.

Follow up with all recommended specialists — orthopedic, neurological, physical therapy — and attend all appointments. Gaps in treatment are used by insurance adjusters to argue that injuries were not serious or had resolved. Consistent treatment creates a consistent record of ongoing impairment and pain.

Step 2: Call 911 and Stay at the Scene

Call 911 immediately. A police report is essential — it documents the driver's identity, insurance information, license plate, and driver's license number; the names and contact information of witnesses the officer identifies; the officer's initial observations about the scene, road conditions, and any apparent traffic violations; and the officer's preliminary assessment of how the accident occurred. This report is often the first document produced in a pedestrian accident claim.

While waiting for police, if you are physically able: photograph everything — the vehicle that struck you, its final position relative to the crosswalk or roadway, any visible damage to the vehicle, any traffic signals visible from the scene, road markings, and any visible skid marks or debris. If your phone is accessible, photograph your own visible injuries at the scene. These photographs, time-stamped by your phone, document conditions as they existed at the moment of the accident.

Get the driver's full name, address, phone number, insurance company, policy number, and license plate number. If the driver is reluctant to provide information, note the license plate and provide it to the police officer. Do not allow the driver to leave without law enforcement contact if injuries are serious — leaving the scene of a serious injury accident is a felony in most states.

Step 3: Collect Witness Information and Request Camera Footage Preservation

Eyewitness testimony is often dispositive in contested pedestrian accident cases. If bystanders witnessed the accident, get their names and phone numbers before they leave the scene. Ask whether they are willing to provide a statement. Note their position when they observed the accident — a witness standing at the adjacent crosswalk who watched the entire sequence has different evidentiary weight than a bystander who saw only the aftermath.

Immediately identify nearby businesses, traffic infrastructure, and buildings that may have surveillance cameras with a view of the accident scene or the driver's approach. Send written requests for camera footage preservation — the same day or next day — to: the city or county traffic management authority for traffic signal cameras; nearby businesses (restaurants, retail stores, banks, gas stations, pharmacies); adjacent residential buildings if in an area with security cameras; and the transit authority if near a bus stop or transit facility. Most surveillance systems overwrite footage on a rolling 30–90 day cycle. A preservation request does not require a subpoena — a written letter asking the business to preserve footage from a specific date and time, citing a personal injury claim, is usually sufficient. If footage is later destroyed after a preservation request, that destruction may be evidence of spoliation.

Step 4: Do Not Give a Recorded Statement to the Driver's Insurer

The at-fault driver's insurance company will typically contact you within days of the accident — sometimes the same day. The adjuster will be friendly, express sympathy, and ask to take a recorded statement about what happened. Do not agree to give a recorded statement without an attorney present or reviewing your statement first.

Insurance adjusters are skilled at asking questions designed to elicit statements that minimize your claim: "Where were you looking when the accident happened?" "Were you crossing at a crosswalk?" "Did anything distract your attention before the accident?" Answers that seem innocuous can be used to argue comparative fault, inconsistencies with the police report, or a minimization of your injuries at the time of the statement. You are not legally required to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer (as opposed to your own insurer, where your policy may require cooperation).

If the adjuster calls before you have an attorney, say only: "I was injured in an accident. I will have my attorney contact you." Then find an attorney. If you have no intention of hiring an attorney, at minimum consult a personal injury attorney before giving any recorded statement — most pedestrian accident attorneys offer free consultations.

Step 5: Document Your Injuries and Recovery in Real Time

Keep a daily or near-daily journal from the date of the accident documenting: your pain levels (use a 1–10 scale); specific activities you cannot perform due to injury (walking, driving, working, lifting, sleeping); treatment appointments and what occurred; any new symptoms that develop; and the emotional impact of the injury on your daily life and relationships. This contemporaneous documentation is far more credible than reconstructed testimony about how you felt months earlier, and it captures the day-to-day reality of living with your injuries in a way that medical records alone do not.

Continue photographing visible injuries as they evolve — bruising, swelling, surgical incisions, visible limitations — throughout your recovery. Date-stamp all photographs.

Step 6: Contact a Personal Injury Attorney Before Any Settlement Offer

For any pedestrian accident involving more than minor, quickly-resolving injuries, consult a personal injury attorney before accepting any settlement offer — including the first offer, which insurance adjusters often make early in the process to capture a quick, low resolution before the full extent of injuries is known.

Pedestrian accident attorneys work on contingency: no upfront cost, and they receive a percentage of the recovery only if the case succeeds. Most offer free initial consultations. The attorney evaluates the claim, advises on whether the insurance offer reflects the actual claim value, identifies all available insurance layers (UM/UIM, PIP, umbrella, dram shop), and handles all further communications with the insurer.

Do not sign any release or settlement agreement without attorney review. A settlement release extinguishes all future claims related to the accident — if your condition worsens, if additional treatment is needed, if permanent disability becomes clearer later, none of that can be claimed after you sign a release. The purpose of waiting until maximum medical improvement (MMI) before settling is to ensure the full scope of permanent injuries and future care costs is established before the claim is resolved.

See also: how claims work, fault and comparative negligence, and the FAQ. Return to the calculator.