Get Real Justice with Our Pedestrian Accident Attorneys Serving Jacksonville & North Florida
When a car hits you as a pedestrian, there’s nothing protecting you from the impact. No seat belt. No airbag. No vehicle frame around you. A crash like this can leave you with serious injuries, intensive medical treatment, missed work, and a lot of unknowns.
Our dedicated Jacksonville pedestrian accident lawyers help you and your family handle what comes next. We know how devastating these accidents are. You need an ally who can provide the Real Advocacy you need to get the Real Justice you deserve.
If you were hit by a car while walking, or if you lost someone you love in a pedestrian accident, Bernheim Kelley Injury Lawyers can help you understand your rights, deal with the insurance companies, and seek the compensation you and your family are due.
Call 904-758-1111 or contact us online for a FREE consultation. We proudly represent injured pedestrians and families throughout Jacksonville, Duval County, and North Florida. You don’t pay us unless we win for you.
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The Real Deal: Jacksonville Pedestrian Accident Claims
- Your health and safety come first: get the medical care you need.
- Being outside a crosswalk doesn’t automatically mean you don’t have a case. Drivers still have a duty to use reasonable care to avoid hitting pedestrians.
- PIP can cover some medical expenses after a pedestrian accident. Which policy applies depends on the circumstances.
- You can still recover if you were partly responsible in many cases. But Florida generally bars recovery if you’re found more than 50% at fault.
- If you lost someone you love, your family may have a wrongful death claim.
- Florida generally gives you 2 years to file a negligence lawsuit, though some cases have different rules and deadlines.
Real Results
- $6,000,000 Recovery: A pedestrian suffered severe and permanent spinal cord injuries after being struck by a driver who was using a cell phone. We secured $6 million to help our client and their family move forward after a life-changing injury.
What To Do After Being Hit by a Car in Jacksonville
First, take care of yourself. Call 911, accept emergency medical help when you need it, and don’t put off treatment because you’re worried about bills or insurance. These accidents can cause serious injuries and trauma that need immediate and intensive medical care.
If you can, take the following steps as well:
- Report the crash. Have law enforcement come to the scene.
- Document what you can. Photos of the vehicle, the accident scene, and your injuries may be useful later.
- Get witness information. Someone nearby may have seen something you didn’t.
- Save everything. Keep medical records, bills, receipts, insurance letters, and information about missed work.
- Be careful with insurance adjusters. You don’t have to rush into a recorded statement or settlement, especially if you haven’t consulted an attorney first.
- Talk to a Jacksonville pedestrian accident lawyer. Our experienced team at Bernheim Kelley can investigate and deal with the insurance companies while you focus on yourself and your family.
Don’t put yourself in danger trying to gather evidence. Your health and safety always come first.
Who’s At Fault When a Car Hits a Pedestrian in Florida?
It depends on the specific circumstances of the collision.
Florida law gives pedestrians and drivers certain responsibilities on the road. For example, drivers must yield to or stop for pedestrians in designated crosswalks. Pedestrians crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk must yield to vehicles. But Florida law also requires drivers to exercise due care to avoid colliding with pedestrians.
That means fault isn’t decided simply by asking, “Was the pedestrian in a crosswalk?”
We have to look at the bigger picture:
- Was the driver speeding?
- Was the driver texting or distracted?
- Did the driver fail to yield when turning?
- Did the pedestrian have a walk signal?
- How visible was the pedestrian?
- Was the crash at night?
- Was the driver impaired by drugs or alcohol or fatigued?
- Were there parked vehicles, signs, or other objects blocking visibility?
- Did the driver have enough time and distance to react?
The details can completely change how fault is determined.
What if I Wasn’t in a Crosswalk?
You could still have a case, even if you weren’t in the crosswalk. Florida law generally requires pedestrians crossing outside a crosswalk to yield to vehicles. But that doesn’t give drivers permission to ignore someone in the road. Drivers still have a legal duty to use due care to avoid hitting pedestrians.
So, if you crossed outside a crosswalk, don’t assume you were automatically responsible for the accident. Let our team of Real Advocates take a look at the case. We’ll Keep It Real with you about whether you have a case and what your options are.
Who Pays Your Medical Bills After a Pedestrian Accident?
This surprises a lot of people: PIP insurance can cover pedestrians, too.
If you were hit by a car while on foot, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance could help pay some of your medical bills and lost wages. Florida PIP can provide up to $10,000 in benefits, depending on your coverage and the details of the crash.
One important rule: you generally need to get medical care within 14 days of the accident to qualify for PIP benefits.
But PIP is only part of the picture, especially after a serious injury.
Depending on the specifics of your case, compensation could also come from the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage, uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, or another responsible person or company.
Our job is to identify every available source of coverage because you deserve Real Justice when you’re injured by a negligent driver. We won’t simply accept whatever the first insurance company offers. We’ll push for what you actually need to heal and move on.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Pedestrian Accident?
A serious injury can affect nearly every part of your life, as well as the lives of those who love and care for you. Compensation in a pedestrian accident claim can include:
- Medical expenses
- Future medical care
- Lost income
- Reduced earning capacity
- Household services expenses
- Pain & suffering
- Emotional distress
- Disability or physical limitations
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
What your case is worth depends on your injuries, your recovery, how the accident has affected your life, available insurance, and who was responsible. We take the time to understand the real impact of the crash, because your case is about much more than just the bills.
If You Lost Someone You Love in a Pedestrian Accident
Losing someone you love because a driver wasn’t paying attention, speeding, or otherwise driving carelessly is heartbreaking. No amount of compensation can undo your terrible loss. A wrongful death claim can help your family get accountability and the financial support you’ll need going forward.
Under Florida law, the personal representative of your loved one’s estate files the wrongful death claim for the benefit of eligible family members and the estate. Depending on the specifics, compensation could include:
- Lost financial support & services
- Medical & funeral expenses
- Loss of companionship, protection, or parental guidance
- Mental pain & suffering for certain surviving family members
- Losses suffered by the estate
Who can recover, and which damages apply, depends on your relationship to your loved one and the facts of the case. Our Jacksonville wrongful death lawyers can explain what applies to your case and help you understand the next steps.
– you are in good hands!
Pedestrian Safety in Jacksonville
Jacksonville’s own traffic data shows how serious a problem we have here.
Between 2018 and 2023, the city recorded 441 fatal and serious-injury pedestrian crashes, including 211 pedestrian deaths. That’s 211 Jacksonville families who’ve tragically lost someone they loved.
Jacksonville’s Vision Zero analysis also found that 60% of pedestrian fatal and serious-injury crashes occurred at night. For hundreds of Jacksonville families, those crashes ended in the tragic loss of someone they loved.
Pedestrian crashes commonly involve:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Failure to yield
- Unsafe turns
- Impaired driving
- Poor visibility
- Inadequate lighting
- Drivers backing out of parking spaces or driveways
- Drivers failing to check crosswalks before turning
What Evidence Can Help Prove a Pedestrian Accident Claim?
The police report is a starting point, of course. To get the whole story, we’ll need to track down a lot more. Our Jacksonville pedestrian accident attorneys will look for the following to help support your case:
- Traffic camera footage
- Business or residential surveillance video
- Dashcam footage
- Witness statements
- Photos & videos from the scene
- Vehicle damage
- Cell phone records
- Event data recorder (EDR) information
- Street lighting & visibility
- Driver history
- Medical records & bills
- Employment & income records
Some evidence, especially video, can disappear quickly. The team at Bernheim Kelley Injury Lawyers can start tracking down records, witnesses, and details while they’re still fresh and available.
How Long Do You Have To File a Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit in Florida?
Florida generally gives you 2 years to file a lawsuit based on negligence (Florida Statutes § 95.11(5)(a)). Families also have 2 years to file a wrongful death lawsuit (Fla. Stats. § 95.11(5)(e)). Some cases can have different deadlines or additional requirements. Claims involving a government agency, for example, can involve special procedures.
You also don’t want to confuse an insurance claim with a lawsuit. Negotiating with an insurance company doesn’t extend the deadline for filing your case.
But listen, you don’t need to figure this out yourself. We can determine which deadlines apply to your case and keep things moving so that you don’t leave money you need on the table.
How Much Does a Jacksonville Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Cost?
It costs nothing up front to hire Bernheim Kelley Injury Lawyers for a pedestrian accident case. We handle personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means: You don’t pay us unless we win for you.
Your initial case review is also completely free. We’ll listen to your story, answer your questions, explain your options, and make decisions together based on what’s in your best interest.
Real Advocacy. Real Experience. Real Results.
When you’ve been seriously hurt, promises don’t mean much without something to back them up. Bernheim Kelley Injury Lawyers has recovered more than $1 billion for our clients, including a $6 million result in a pedestrian case involving paralysis injuries.
We know how high the stakes can be in pedestrian injury cases. We prepare carefully, negotiate from a position of strength, and are ready to go to trial when that’s what it takes to get you Real Justice.
And we don’t stop there. We answer all your questions. Return your calls. Help you find medical care when necessary. We want to understand what this injury has changed for you and your family.
- Real Advocacy means standing beside you when you need support.
- Real Experience means knowing how to build serious injury cases and being prepared to take them to trial.
- Real Results means fighting for an outcome that addresses how much this accident has cost you now and in the future.
Why Choose Us?
When you’re facing one of the toughest moments of your life, you need more than just a lawyer—you need a trusted ally who will stand with you and fight for your rights.
Contact a Jacksonville Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Today for a FREE Consultation
You deserve more than an insurance company looking for the cheapest way to close your claim. Reach out to Bernheim Kelley Injury Lawyers today to schedule a FREE case review. We proudly represent injured people and families throughout Jacksonville and North Florida.
If you were hit by a car while walking in Jacksonville, Duval County, or anywhere in North Florida, we’re here to answer your questions, give you support, and help you understand what comes next. Call 904-758-1111 or contact us online.