Pleasant Grove Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Pleasant Grove, a city of roughly 38,000 at the foot of Mount Timpanogos, grew out of a farm town whose streets were never meant for today's commuter traffic. Students walk to Pleasant Grove High School at 700 East 200 South, Central Elementary on 400 East and John Hancock Charter School on 100 East, and walkers and runners head for the Murdock Canal Trail, a 17-mile paved route with a city trailhead at 906 East 1100 North.

Widened state routes now carry freeway-bound traffic past crossings that stayed where the old grid put them. When a driver at near-highway speed meets a person in one of those crossings, or on a trailhead street with no shoulder, the injuries are severe and the insurer starts looking for a reason to blame the walker.

Pedestrian Right-of-Way in Pleasant Grove

Signals bind walkers as well as drivers: § 41-6a-1001 requires a pedestrian to obey the traffic-control devices meant for pedestrians. For their part, drivers must slow or stop for a person in a crosswalk on their half of the road, and must stop completely at a school crosswalk whenever anyone is in it (§ 41-6a-1002).

Between two signalized intersections a walker may cross only in a marked crosswalk, and anyone crossing outside a crosswalk must yield (§ 41-6a-1003). On a long stretch like State Street, that is the insurer's opening argument. It bears on the fault split, not on whether a claim exists; our pedestrian injury guide has more. For statewide crash figures and Utah crosswalk law, see our Utah pedestrian accident lawyer page.

Who Pays in a Pleasant Grove Pedestrian Case

Expect to look at:

• The motorist's liability policy, which covers pain, suffering and lost future income once the injury is serious enough.
• Personal injury protection, first from your own or a household member's policy, and otherwise from the car that hit you (§ 31A-22-308). It pays at least $3,000 in medical expenses and the lesser of 85% of lost gross income or $250 per week for up to 52 weeks (§ 31A-22-307). Our Utah no-fault page explains it.

Under § 31A-22-309, a person with PIP can claim general damages only after a bone fracture, permanent disability, permanent disfigurement, dismemberment, death or medical expenses over $3,000. If the driver's limits run out or the driver disappears, UM and UIM coverage can fill the gap. Read our hit-and-run guide.

Fault Division and Deadlines

Under § 78B-5-818, you recover only from defendants whose combined fault is greater than yours, and your own share comes off the award. Most injury lawsuits must be filed within four years; a claim involving Pleasant Grove City, Utah County, UDOT, UTA or a public school bus requires a notice of claim within one year (§ 63G-7-402). See our statute of limitations page.

Pleasant Grove Crossings and Trail Streets

State Street, five lanes with a center turn lane and no median, where anyone crossing between side streets faces traffic at near-highway speed. Pleasant Grove Boulevard at North County Boulevard, rebuilt with added turn lanes and signals, where right-turning drivers cut across people in the marked crosswalk; the city lists paved trails along both boulevards. Main Street and the downtown grid, with driveways, parked trucks and children on the way to school. The trailhead streets: Battle Creek at 1700 East 200 South and Grove Creek at 1600 East 500 North, narrow roads that fill with parked cars and hikers on summer weekends. Murdock Canal Trail crossings, where trail users meet city streets. For UDOT crash counts at each Pleasant Grove signal, see Pleasant Grove’s most dangerous intersections.

The Pleasant Grove Police Department at 108 South 100 East investigates crashes on city streets; the Utah Highway Patrol generally handles freeway crashes. City traffic citations go to the Pleasant Grove Justice Court, but a personal injury lawsuit is filed in the Fourth Judicial District Court at 137 North Freedom Boulevard in Provo.

How Pleasant Grove Walkers Get Hurt

Right-turning drivers looking left for a gap while the walk signal runs, drivers turning left off State Street across a crosswalk, speed on widened streets, cars backing from driveways on the older grid, trailhead drivers circling for a spot, and school traffic in the dark on winter mornings.

Common Pedestrian Injuries

Broken legs, knees and pelvises from the bumper, head injuries from the hood and road, spinal fractures, and broken arms from the fall. Intermountain American Fork Hospital at 170 North 1100 East is a Level III trauma center, and the most serious injuries may be moved to Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, a Level II center.

What You Can Claim

• Money already lost: ER and hospital charges, specialist visits, rehab, and missed wages.
• Pain and quality of life: physical pain, fear of crossing busy streets, and time away from the trails, sports and family activities you enjoyed.
• Costs still to come: future surgery, braces or other equipment, and lost earning power.
• When a life is lost: family members may have a claim of their own, described in our Utah wrongful death article.

Pushing Back on the Insurer

The driver's insurer may claim you crossed mid-block, ignored the signal, or walked in the roadway near a trailhead. Signal timing records, the paint and lighting at the crossing, and dashcam or doorbell video usually settle those disputes if requested quickly. Our Pleasant Grove car accident lawyer page explains local crash investigations, and our Pleasant Grove personal injury lawyer page covers other claims in the city.