A pedestrian hit by a car has rights most people don't realize they have.

The driver "didn't see you." That sentence appears often enough in pedestrian-accident cases that it has to be tested, not accepted. The driver may have been turning at an intersection, checking a GPS, looking at the car ahead, speeding, impaired, or distracted. The carrier's opening position may be that the pedestrian was at fault for not being more visible, more cautious, or in a different place. The legal and factual response depends on the crosswalk, lighting, sight lines, vehicle data, witness statements, and insurance posture.

New Jersey law gives pedestrians important protections, but the details matter. PIP may apply even though you were not in a vehicle. The crosswalk statute establishes clear rules. Comparative fault can reduce or bar recovery depending on the percentages assigned. Our work is to identify the framework early so medical bills, insurance notices, public-entity deadlines, and liability proof are handled in the right order.

PIP for pedestrians: start with coverage priority.

A common confusion in pedestrian cases is the assumption that PIP cannot apply because the pedestrian was not in a car. Under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4source, no-fault coverage can extend to pedestrians struck by motor vehicles regardless of fault. Coverage priority generally starts here:

• If you have your own NJ auto-insurance policy (regardless of whether you were driving when you were hit), your policy's PIP coverage may be primary. Your carrier may pay covered medical bills and any income-continuation benefits available under the policy.
• If you do not have an NJ auto policy, the PIP coverage on the policy of the vehicle that struck you may be primary.
• If neither exists (the rare case where the at-fault vehicle is uninsured and the pedestrian also has no policy), the Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment Fund (UCJF) under N.J.S.A. 39:6-86.1source may provide statutory coverage.

PIP coverage is no-fault, which means covered benefits are not decided by who caused the accident. The liability claim against the at-fault driver is separate and may pursue pain-and-suffering damages, unpaid economic losses, and future care depending on the injuries and available coverage.

The crosswalk statute — N.J.S.A. 39:4-36.

New Jersey's pedestrian-crosswalk statute was significantly strengthened by 2010 amendments to N.J.S.A. 39:4-36source. The current rule:

• Drivers must stop and stay stopped — not merely yield — for pedestrians crossing within any marked crosswalk on the driver's half of the roadway.
• The "Stop and Stay Stopped" rule extends to unmarked crosswalks at certain intersections.
• Failure to stop is a moving violation carrying fines, points, and (for repeat offenders or where the failure caused injury) community-service hours.
• The pedestrian's right of way attaches once they are in the crosswalk — drivers cannot accelerate past behind them, weave around them, or pressure them to walk faster.

For civil liability, the statute provides powerful evidentiary support. A driver who failed to stop where the statute requires stopping has, by definition, violated a safety statute designed to protect pedestrians. Under New Jersey law, where a motor-vehicle statute embodies the common-law duty to exercise reasonable care, a violation is negligence in itself — not merely evidence of negligence — leaving the jury to decide proximate cause and damages (Eaton v. Eaton, 119 N.J. 628 (1990)source). "I didn't see them" is a factual question for the jury, but it is an explanation, not a defense.

The verbal threshold — and why your own insurance matters.

Whether the verbal-threshold framework applies to your pedestrian-injury case depends on your own auto-insurance policy, not on the fact you were on foot. If you have an NJ auto policy and selected the limitation-on-lawsuit (verbal-threshold) option for the premium discount, the threshold applies — you must fit your injuries into one of six categories under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a)source to recover pain-and-suffering damages: death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or scarring, displaced fractures, loss of a fetus, or permanent injury within reasonable medical probability. If you have an NJ auto policy with the no-limitation option, or no NJ auto policy at all, the threshold does not apply.

Pedestrians struck by vehicles can sustain injuries that may satisfy the threshold, including displaced fractures, significant scarring, head injury, or permanent injury within reasonable medical probability. The threshold analysis is fact-specific and requires careful medical documentation.

Hit-and-run and uninsured drivers.

Where the driver who struck the pedestrian flees the scene, refuses to provide identification, or is later determined to be uninsured, recovery proceeds under the pedestrian's Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage if the pedestrian has an NJ auto policy. UM coverage applies to pedestrian-injury claims; the carrier steps into the shoes of the at-fault driver for purposes of paying the claim, subject to the policy limit. UM claims are technically claims against your own carrier, which produces an adversarial posture even though the policy is yours. Demand the policy declarations page; understand the limits; press for the offer that matches the value of the claim.

Where the pedestrian has no NJ auto policy and the driver is uninsured or fled, the UCJF under N.J.S.A. 39:6-86.1source may provide statutory coverage subject to eligibility, limits, and procedural requirements. Strict notice deadlines can apply, so early review matters.

Multi-defendant analysis — when the driver isn't the only defendant.

Pedestrian accidents often have more than one liable party. In addition to the driver, defendants may include:

• The driver's employer if the driver was operating in the course of employment (delivery driver, ride-share, commercial vehicle).
• The vehicle's owner under negligent-entrustment theories where the owner knew the driver was unlicensed, intoxicated, or otherwise unfit.
• The municipality where the crosswalk design was defective — inadequate lighting, faded paint, missing pedestrian signals, sight-line obstructions, no curb cuts. Public-entity claims under the Tort Claims Act require the 90-day Notice of Tort Claim under N.J.S.A. 59:8-8source and meet the palpably-unreasonable standard.
• A bar or restaurant under dram-shop liability under N.J.S.A. 2A:22A-1source et seq., where an intoxicated driver was over-served before the crash.
• A vehicle manufacturer or maintenance facility under product-liability and negligence theories where defective brakes, lights, or steering contributed.

Identifying potential defendants early matters because public-entity claims have their own notice clock running from accrual. Pre-suit investigation of crosswalk conditions, lighting, sight lines, and prior-incident data at the same location can identify issues the police report does not address.

How fees work in pedestrian-accident cases.

Pedestrian-accident work is contingency-fee work under New Jersey Court Rule R. 1:21-7source. There is no upfront attorney fee; the attorney fee is paid from a recovery if one is obtained, under the written contingency-fee agreement. The contingency-fee cap is tiered under R. 1:21-7: 33⅓% on the first $750,000, 30% on the next $750,000, 25% on the next $750,000, 20% on the next $1,000,000, and reasonable fees on the balance.

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