Draper Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Much of Draper was built around the car: wide roads like 12300 South and State Street, large retail parking lots, and long stretches between signals. People still walk here every day, to the TRAX Blue Line at Kimballs Lane and Draper Town Center, to the FrontRunner station, to schools and parks, and across parking lots from their car to the store. When a driver is hunting for a gap in traffic, the person on foot is the one who gets hurt.

The driver's insurer usually opens with the same lines: you stepped out, you were not in a crosswalk, you were wearing dark clothes. Utah law protects pedestrians more than that script admits, and along a retail corridor there is often video that shows what happened. Our office is in Draper, and our Draper personal injury page covers the city's other injury cases.

Who Has the Right of Way

A driver must slow down or stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk on the driver's half of the road, or one approaching so closely from the other half as to be in danger. At an occupied school crosswalk, the driver must come to a complete stop. And when one car stops for someone at a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, a driver coming up from behind may not pass it (Utah Code § 41-6a-1002).

Outside a marked crosswalk or an unmarked one at an intersection, the pedestrian must yield to vehicles, and between two signalized intersections a pedestrian may cross only in a marked crosswalk (§ 41-6a-1003). Crossing mid-block does not end a claim, because the driver still has to watch the road, but it is where fault arguments begin. Our pedestrian guide explains how. For statewide crash figures and Utah crosswalk law, see our Utah pedestrian accident lawyer page.

Paying the Bills After You Are Hit

A pedestrian claim can draw on more than one policy:

• The driver's bodily injury liability coverage, which pays for the harm the driver caused, up to the policy limit.
• Your own auto policy's PIP, which may cover early medical bills and part of your lost wages even though you were on foot, depending on how the policy defines who is covered. The no-fault guide explains PIP.

When the driver's limits are too low or the driver leaves, your uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may apply. After a hit-and-run, read what to do next.

Fault and Deadlines

Utah compares fault. Your recovery is reduced by your own percentage, and you recover only if the drivers' combined fault is greater than yours (§ 78B-5-818). Most injury suits must be filed within four years, but a claim involving a UTA train or bus, a city vehicle or a public road condition needs a written notice of claim within one year. The deadlines page has the details.

Draper Places Where People on Foot Get Hit

12300 South, where shoppers cross between centers and drivers turn in and out of lots. State Street, a wide road with long distances between signals. The TRAX stations at Kimballs Lane and Draper Town Center, the second one beside City Hall on Pioneer Road, where riders cross to parking and buses. The Draper FrontRunner station and its parking area. Big-box parking lots, where drivers back out of stalls and cut across aisles. For UDOT crash counts at each Draper signal, see Draper’s most dangerous intersections.

Who responds: Draper City Police inside city limits, and the Utah Highway Patrol on I-15. A citation the driver receives in the city goes to the Draper City Justice Court, in the lower level of City Hall at 1020 E. Pioneer Road, while an injury lawsuit belongs in the Third Judicial District Court.

Why Drivers Hit Pedestrians

Drivers turning right on red who look left for traffic and never look right at the crosswalk. Left-turning drivers watching oncoming cars. Drivers backing out of parking stalls. Phones. Speed on multi-lane roads. Early winter darkness and low sun at dawn and dusk. Each leaves evidence behind: the signal phase, the sight lines, the lighting and the camera footage.

The Injuries

Leg and knee fractures at bumper height, pelvic fractures, head injuries from striking the hood or the pavement, spinal injuries, and broken wrists and shoulders from the fall. A bone fracture by itself clears Utah's no-fault threshold for claiming pain and suffering from the driver. Lone Peak Hospital on State Street is Draper's local emergency department, and Intermountain Medical Center in Murray is a Level I trauma center.

What You Can Recover

• Economic losses: medical care now and in the future, lost pay and lost earning capacity.
• Non-economic losses: pain, emotional distress and the activities you can no longer enjoy.
• Permanent-injury care: equipment, therapy and help at home when recovery is incomplete.
• Wrongful death damages: when a family has lost someone. Our wrongful death guide explains who can bring the claim.

The Insurer's Playbook

Expect to hear that the pedestrian darted out, was not in a crosswalk or was looking at a phone, followed by an early offer. Signal timing records, crosswalk markings, street lighting and video from stores, homes and passing cars often tell a different story, but many systems record over footage within days, so the request has to go out early. If you were in a vehicle instead, see our Draper car accident page.