A person on foot has no crumple zone, no airbag and no seatbelt. When a vehicle strikes a pedestrian the injuries are almost always serious, and the insurer’s first move is almost always the same: to suggest the pedestrian stepped out.
Right of Way in a Crosswalk
Utah requires a driver to yield to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk, slowing or stopping as needed, when the pedestrian is on the driver’s half of the roadway (Utah Code 41-6a-1002). That duty exists at marked and unmarked crosswalks alike, which surprises people, since an intersection generally has a crosswalk whether or not anyone painted lines on it.
The same section also protects someone coming from the far half of the street who is close enough to be in danger, demands a full stop rather than a yield at an occupied school crosswalk, and forbids passing a car that has stopped at a crosswalk to let someone cross. That last rule targets the second-lane crash, where one driver stops and the car in the next lane never sees the pedestrian.
That said, right of way is not a force field. Pedestrians have duties too, and stepping suddenly into the path of a vehicle that cannot stop shifts the analysis. The question is rarely who was allowed to be there and usually who had the opportunity to avoid the collision.
Signals, Turning Cars and Driveways
A steady walking-person signal gives the pedestrian the right of way (Utah Code 41-6a-306). A flashing hand means do not start across, but someone who began on the walk signal is expected to finish to the curb or a median island, so being mid-street when the countdown starts is not a violation.
A green light or green arrow does not let a turning driver cut through people lawfully in the crosswalk (41-6a-305); the driver watching for a gap in oncoming traffic often never looks at it. And a driver crossing a sidewalk from a driveway, alley or parking lot must yield to anyone on that sidewalk (41-6a-1008).
Hit Outside a Crosswalk
Crossing mid-block does change the analysis. Someone crossing anywhere other than a marked crosswalk or an unmarked one at an intersection must give way to traffic, and between two working signals, crossing is permitted only in a marked crosswalk (41-6a-1003). Walking along a road, you are expected on a practicable sidewalk, then the shoulder, then the left edge facing oncoming cars (41-6a-1009).
None of that is permission to hit anyone. Utah Code 41-6a-1006 separately requires every driver to take care not to strike a pedestrian, to sound the horn when needed, and to take extra precautions around a child or anyone plainly confused, impaired or intoxicated, and it overrides any conflicting rule in the traffic code. A pedestrian outside a crosswalk usually loses the right of way, not the claim. From there, the question becomes how fault is divided.
The Blame Shift, and Why It Works
Under Utah Code 78B-5-818 your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and at 50% or more you recover nothing. Pedestrian claims attract that argument more than almost any other kind, because there is frequently no independent witness and the only two accounts are yours and the driver’s.
Expect questions about whether you were on your phone, what you were wearing, whether you had been drinking and whether you were in the crosswalk. Physical evidence usually matters more than anyone’s recollection: the point of impact, where you landed, the vehicle damage, and any camera that happened to face the street.
The Usual Defenses, Answered Honestly
- “You came out of nowhere.” Sometimes true, and darting out is prohibited. More often it means the driver was not looking; the dent location, your resting point and any skid marks test that story.
- “Dark clothes at night.” Visibility is fair game and may cost you some percentage. It does not excuse a driver going too fast to stop within the reach of their headlights.
- “You had been drinking.” Impairment can count against you, and Utah keeps a pedestrian intoxicated to the point of being a hazard off the highway except on the sidewalk.
Which Insurance Pays
You do not need to have been in a car to use car insurance. A pedestrian struck by a vehicle can generally claim against the driver’s liability policy, and Utah’s $3,000 Personal Injury Protection requirement under Utah Code 31A-22-307 typically applies to initial medical bills regardless of fault.
Your Own PIP Usually Follows You on Foot
Utah Code 31A-22-308 extends PIP to the named insured hurt in an accident involving any motor vehicle, walking included, and to relatives in the same household. With no household policy, the PIP on the vehicle that struck you covers a pedestrian injured in Utah. When two policies could both apply, 31A-22-309 sets a priority rule the companies sometimes argue over; that argument should not stall your bills.
Beyond medical bills, PIP replaces part of lost income (the lesser of $250 a week or 85% of gross income, up to 52 weeks) and pays $20 per day for as long as a year toward household services you cannot perform. Claiming it admits nothing about fault. If you have or must carry PIP, a pain-and-suffering claim against the driver requires more than $3,000 in medical expenses, or a fracture, objectively based permanent impairment, permanent disfigurement, dismemberment or death, a bar most people hit by a car clear quickly. Our article on whether Utah is a no-fault state explains how the two fit together.
The Driver’s Policy, Then Your Underinsured Coverage
Where the driver carries only the $30,000 minimum set by 31A-22-304, which a serious pedestrian injury exceeds quickly, your own underinsured motorist coverage often becomes the difference between a partial recovery and a full one.
Pedestrians also get an exception to Utah’s anti-stacking rules. A covered person hit as a pedestrian may recover under one additional policy on which they are a covered person, such as a policy held by a relative they live with (31A-22-305.3 for underinsured coverage, 31A-22-305 for uninsured).
When the Driver Drove Away
If the driver left the scene, an uninsured motorist claim on your own policy may still be available. That surprises people who assume a hit-and-run means no recovery. Utah counts an unidentified vehicle whose driver caused the crash and left as uninsured, and the $3,000 threshold does not apply to that claim. One catch: if the car never touched you, because you jumped clear and fell, you must prove it existed by clear and convincing evidence beyond your own word. Report it to police the same day, and see our guide to hit-and-run claims in Utah.
What Helps the Claim
- Report it and get a police report. In a pedestrian case this is often the only contemporaneous record of where you were.
- Ask about cameras immediately. Intersections, buses, doorbells and businesses all record, and nearly all of it is overwritten within days. Many intersection cameras only watch traffic live and keep nothing, so a passing bus, a gas station or a neighbor’s doorbell is often the better source.
- Ask for the signal records. Most Utah traffic signals keep a high-resolution event log, down to each press of a pedestrian push button, and UDOT archives those logs centrally. With the signal’s timing plan, they can often show whether the walk light was on.
- Photograph the scene, including sightlines. What the driver could see, and from how far, is frequently the whole case.
- Keep your clothes and shoes, unwashed. Scuffs, tears and contact marks help show where and how you were struck.
- Follow through on treatment. Pedestrian injuries often involve orthopaedic and head trauma that develops, and gaps in care are used to argue you recovered sooner than you did.
Utah Injury Guide
Struck by a Vehicle While Walking?
A quick guide for Salt Lake City & Utah
- 1
Call 911 & Get Checked
Accept a medical evaluation at the scene — pedestrian injuries are often more serious than they first seem.
- 2
Get the Driver's Info
Get the driver's name, plate, and insurance. If they drove off, note anything you can about the vehicle.
- 3
Photograph the Scene
Take photos of the crosswalk, signals, the vehicle, and your injuries before anything changes.
- 4
Find Witnesses & Cameras
Collect witness names and note nearby traffic or security cameras — video can disappear within days.
- 5
Call West Injury Law
Drivers must yield in marked and unmarked crosswalks, and your own PIP may cover you on foot. Talk to us before giving a statement — free consultation, no fee unless we win.
General information for Utah residents, not legal advice; does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines and exceptions vary by case. Sources: Utah Code §§ 41-6a-1002, 31A-22-302 to -309, 78B-2-307.
When a City, County, UDOT or UTA Is Involved
Some claims point at a government body: a UTA bus, a faded crosswalk, a broken sidewalk that pushed you into the street, a streetlight that was out. Utah waives immunity for injuries from a defective, unsafe or dangerous condition of a street, crosswalk or sidewalk (63G-7-301), but keeps it for latent conditions and discretionary decisions, which can defeat claims about how a crossing was designed or whether lights or signals belonged there (63G-7-201).
A written notice of claim with the facts, the nature of the claim and the damages known so far must be filed with the correct entity within one year after the claim arises (63G-7-401, 63G-7-402). Suit cannot be filed until 60 days after the notice and generally must be filed within two years after the claim arises (63G-7-403). Damages against government entities are capped, and the caps are adjusted for inflation, so the current figure has to be checked. See our article on being hit by a government vehicle.
Damages and Deadlines
A pedestrian claim can include past and future medical care, lost wages and earning capacity, pain, permanent impairment or scarring, and the household help you now depend on; our guide to damages in a Utah injury case explains how each is proved. The general deadline to sue a driver is four years (78B-2-307), a wrongful death claim has two (78B-2-304), and the government notice deadline is shorter still (see our statute of limitations guide).
Frequently Asked Questions
The police report says I was at fault. Is my claim over?
No. The officer usually did not see the crash and wrote the report from what people said that day. Insurers lean on it, but fault is decided on all the evidence, including physical evidence and video the officer never saw.
I don’t own a car. Who pays my medical bills?
If you live with a relative who has an auto policy, its PIP likely covers you; if not, the striking vehicle’s PIP does. Health insurance can also pay, and the driver’s liability coverage comes in at settlement.
My child was hit walking to school. What is different?
Drivers must fully stop for an occupied school crosswalk and take extra precaution whenever they see a child. Claims for children also carry their own rules on settlement and deadlines, so get advice early.
Talk to a Utah Pedestrian Accident Attorney
If you were struck while walking in Utah, contact West Injury Law for a free case review by phone, video or in person. You pay nothing up front, and no attorney fees unless we win. Every client can reach someone who speaks Spanish, and once you sign, we handle all communication with the insurance companies. You can also read more about how we handle pedestrian accident claims in Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Provo and across Utah.