Pedestrian Accident Lawyer El Paso

How Pedestrian Accident Liability Works in Texas

Texas is an at-fault state, which means the driver who caused the pedestrian collision pays for the victim's damages through their liability insurance or personal assets. The legal framework rests on three statutes that interact with each other in every pedestrian case.

Texas Transportation Code §552.008 is the most important provision. It states: "Notwithstanding another provision of this chapter," every operator shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian on the roadway, give warning by sounding the horn when necessary, and exercise proper precaution on observing a child or obviously confused or incapacitated person. The word "notwithstanding" is critical. It means the driver's duty of care applies regardless of what the pedestrian was doing, including jaywalking, crossing against a signal, or walking in the roadway at night.

Texas Transportation Code §552.003 establishes pedestrian right-of-way at crosswalks. An operator shall stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, whether marked or unmarked, when there is no traffic control signal and the pedestrian is on the vehicle's half of the roadway or approaching closely enough to be in danger. Unmarked crosswalks exist at every intersection by default under Texas law, a fact most drivers don't know.

When both the driver and the pedestrian share some responsibility, Texas's proportionate responsibility rule under Civil Practice and Remedies Code §33.001 applies. A claimant cannot recover if they are more than 50% at fault (the 51% bar rule). If the pedestrian is 50% or less at fault, damages are reduced by the pedestrian's fault percentage. A driver who runs a red light and strikes a pedestrian commits negligence per se, meaning the traffic violation itself is automatic proof of negligence.

Insurance companies argue that the pedestrian's own negligence eliminates the claim. They minimize the driver's independent duty under §552.008. Texas law says otherwise: the driver always had a legal obligation to watch for pedestrians and take action to avoid the collision, regardless of the pedestrian's conduct.

The question many injured pedestrians ask next is whether being partially at fault destroys their case entirely.

Can a Pedestrian Be at Fault for an Accident in Texas?

Yes, a pedestrian can share fault for an accident in Texas, but fault does not eliminate the claim unless it exceeds 50% under Texas's proportionate responsibility rule (§33.001). Pedestrian fault is common in El Paso cases, and insurance adjusters raise it in nearly every claim.

Texas Transportation Code §552.005 requires pedestrians to yield to vehicles when crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, or where a tunnel or overhead crossing is provided. Between adjacent signalized intersections, pedestrians may cross only in a marked crosswalk. A pedestrian who violates §552.005 commits negligence per se.

The counter to every jaywalking argument is §552.008. The driver still had an independent duty of care to avoid the collision. A jury weighs both sides: the pedestrian's decision to cross outside a crosswalk and the driver's failure to keep a proper lookout, maintain a safe speed, or react in time.

Jaywalking fault allocations in Texas typically range from 10% to 40% depending on distance from the nearest crosswalk, visibility conditions, pedestrian intoxication, whether the pedestrian left a "place of safety," and speed of entry into the roadway. Even at the high end of that range, the pedestrian's claim survives because 40% is below the 51% bar.

For a deeper analysis of pedestrian fault and jaywalking in Texas, the dedicated page covers how juries weigh each factor.

What happens when the specific scenario is jaywalking?

What If I Was Jaywalking When I Was Hit by a Car?

If you were jaywalking when you were hit, your recovery is reduced by your fault percentage, but you can still recover as long as your fault stays below 51%. The §552.008 duty of care applies regardless of where you were crossing.

The fault allocation depends on the specific circumstances of your jaywalking. Three scenarios illustrate the range:

The third scenario is particularly relevant in El Paso, where large stretches of arterial roads like Dyer Street and Alameda Avenue lack crosswalks for half a mile or more. Juries recognize that a pedestrian crossing where no crosswalk exists nearby bears less blame than one who ignores an available crosswalk 30 feet away.

§552.008 always applies. The driver had a duty of care to watch for pedestrians regardless of the pedestrian's location on the roadway. Your attorney's job is to establish that the driver failed to keep a proper lookout, failed to reduce speed, or failed to take evasive action.

For a complete breakdown of how Texas juries allocate fault in pedestrian cases, the fault analysis page walks through each element.

Once fault is allocated, the next question is how much the claim is worth.

What Compensation Can You Recover After a Pedestrian Accident in El Paso?

Pedestrian accident settlements in El Paso range from $25,000 to more than $1,000,000, depending on injury severity (pedestrians have zero vehicle protection), liability clarity (jaywalking reduces recovery), speed at impact, the driver's insurance limits, whether a government defendant is involved (Texas Tort Claims Act caps apply), and whether the case goes to trial.

Three categories of damages apply to pedestrian accident claims in Texas:

Government defendant claims face statutory caps regardless of case value: state and municipal entities are limited to $250,000 per person and $500,000 per event under §101.023; counties and school districts are capped at $100,000 per person and $300,000 per event.

For detailed settlement ranges broken down by injury type, the page on pedestrian accident settlement amounts in Texas covers soft tissue, fracture, TBI, spinal cord, and wrongful death tiers.

The reason pedestrian settlements trend higher than car-on-car claims comes down to injury severity.

Why Pedestrian Accident Injuries Are More Severe

Pedestrian accident injuries are more severe than vehicle-on-vehicle crash injuries because pedestrians have zero protection: no seatbelt, no airbag, no crumple zone, no helmet. A car occupant in a 40 mph collision is surrounded by engineered safety systems. A pedestrian at 40 mph absorbs the full force of the impact with nothing between their body and the vehicle.

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the pedestrian fatality rate climbs sharply with speed: 10% at 23 mph, 50% at 42 mph, and 90% at 58 mph. For a 70-year-old pedestrian, a collision at 25 mph carries the same fatality risk as a 35 mph collision for a 30-year-old. SUVs and trucks are 2 to 3 times deadlier than sedans at the same speed because of their higher front-end profile.

Pedestrian collisions follow a three-phase impact pattern: the primary impact (vehicle bumper strikes the lower extremities), the secondary impact (body is thrown onto the hood or windshield), and the tertiary impact (body is flung onto the pavement). This three-phase mechanics explains why polytrauma (multiple simultaneous injuries) is the norm in pedestrian crashes, not the exception. Bumper injuries, the lower extremity fractures unique to pedestrians (tibial plateau, femur, pelvic ring disruption), result from that initial bumper-height strike.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is extremely common because pedestrians have no head protection. TBI ranges from mild concussion to severe diffuse axonal injury with permanent cognitive deficits. Delayed-onset symptoms may appear days or weeks after the crash, which is why immediate medical evaluation is critical. Catastrophic pedestrian injuries require a Level I trauma center, and UMC El Paso is the only Level I facility within 270 miles.

The page on common pedestrian accident injuries breaks down each injury type, treatment costs, and how severity affects settlement value.

Where in El Paso these crashes happen matters for both your case and your safety.

El Paso Pedestrian Accident Data: Why Location Matters

El Paso County recorded 314 pedestrian crashes in 2025, continuing an increasing trend from 278 in 2023 and 263 in 2024, for a 3-year total of 855 crashes and 57 fatalities (TxDOT CRIS). Nearly 1 in 4 traffic deaths in the county (24.3%) is a pedestrian.

The four deadliest corridors for El Paso pedestrian crashes are roads that most residents cross or walk along daily:

1. Mesa Street / Alameda Avenue (SH 20): 68 crashes in 3 years, the most dangerous pedestrian corridor in the county
2. Montana Avenue (US 62): 48 crashes, with long stretches between crosswalks on a 40–45 mph road
3. I-10 and feeder roads: 44 crashes, where pedestrians attempt to cross access roads near highway on-ramps
4. Dyer Street (BU 54A): 24 crashes and 3 fatalities, the highest fatality rate per crash of any El Paso corridor

All four of these corridors are also Sun Metro Brio rapid transit routes. The Brio lines (Mesa Blue, Dyer Green, Alameda Purple, Montana Teal) place stops roughly 1 mile apart on 40 to 50 mph arterials, forcing riders to cross up to 7 lanes of traffic to reach bus stops. El Paso's fatality rate on 50+ mph roads is 36.2%, compared to 4.2% on 30 mph roads, making high-speed arterials 8.6 times deadlier for pedestrians (TxDOT CRIS, 2023–2025).

The complete dataset, including time-of-day patterns, age breakdowns, and hit-and-run trends, is available on the El Paso pedestrian accident statistics page.

More than 1 in 4 El Paso pedestrian crashes are hit-and-runs, and that number is increasing every year.

Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accidents in El Paso

Hit-and-run crashes account for 27.4% of all pedestrian accidents in El Paso County (234 out of 855), including 16 fatalities, and the annual count is rising: 71 in 2023, 73 in 2024, and 90 in 2025 (TxDOT CRIS). Failure to stop and render aid under Texas Transportation Code §550.021 is a felony.

When the driver flees, injured pedestrians can still recover compensation through their own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage under Texas Insurance Code §1952.101. UM coverage follows the person, not the vehicle, so a pedestrian with their own auto policy can file a UM claim even though they weren't in a car. A pedestrian without their own policy may be covered under a household member's auto policy through resident relative coverage.

Insurance companies argue that without an identified driver, the pedestrian cannot prove liability. EPPD's Special Traffic Investigations (STI) unit and the city's 150+ FLOCK automated license plate reader cameras have changed that equation. What happens if the driver is never identified? Your claim shifts from the driver's liability policy to your own UM policy, where the legal question becomes whether the hit-and-run caused your injuries, not who was driving.

A hit-and-run pedestrian accident lawyer in El Paso can guide you through the UM claim process and coordinate with EPPD's investigation.

When the driver didn't cause the crash alone, sometimes the road itself is the problem.

Government Liability for Dangerous Crossings and Missing Sidewalks

The City of El Paso and TxDOT can be held liable for pedestrian injuries caused by dangerous road conditions under the Texas Tort Claims Act (Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 101). The TTCA waives sovereign immunity for two categories relevant to pedestrian cases: motor vehicle operation by a government employee and condition of real property, which includes missing crosswalks, inadequate traffic signals, absent sidewalks, and defective lighting.

Two standards apply. A "special defect" is an unexpected or unusual danger (a missing section of sidewalk, an unlit crosswalk at a known crash location), and the government is liable if the defect existed, regardless of whether it knew about it. A "premise defect" requires proof that the government had actual knowledge of the danger. Pedestrian cases frequently involve government defendants because the infrastructure failure, not just the driver's conduct, caused the crash.

El Paso's own Vision Zero program, launched June 2023, acknowledged 124 pedestrian fatalities between 2016 and 2020, ranking El Paso the 18th deadliest metro for pedestrians nationally. The city has committed $46 million in federal and state funding to improve pedestrian safety, including a $9.9 million SS4A grant for North Yarbrough Drive. The program's existence strengthens government liability claims because it documents that the city knew about dangerous conditions.

The critical deadline most pedestrian victims miss: a formal Notice of Claim must be filed before any lawsuit. State and county entities require notice within 6 months (180 days) under §101.101. The City of El Paso requires notice within just 90 days under El Paso City Charter §3.28, a shorter deadline that catches many victims off guard. The notice must be sworn, notarized, and sent by certified mail. Government damage caps limit recovery to $250,000 per person and $500,000 per event for state and municipal entities, and $100,000 per person and $300,000 per event for counties and school districts under §101.023. No punitive damages are allowed against any government entity.

The full range of pedestrian accident claims we handle in El Paso extends beyond typical driver-versus-pedestrian scenarios.

Types of Pedestrian Accident Claims We Handle in El Paso

Pedestrian accident cases come in distinct forms, each with its own legal framework and defense strategy. 915 Injury handles all of the following claim types across El Paso and the surrounding area.

• Crosswalk accidents (§552.003): Driver failed to stop and yield to a pedestrian in a marked or unmarked crosswalk. Strongest liability cases because driver right-of-way violation is negligence per se.

• Jaywalking / outside crosswalk (§552.005): Pedestrian crossed outside a crosswalk, but driver still owed a duty of care under §552.008. Comparative fault applies; recovery reduced but not eliminated.

• Hit-and-run pedestrian accidents (§550.021): Driver fled the scene. Recovery options include UM/UIM claims and coordination with EPPD investigations. For dedicated guidance on pedestrian hit-and-run claims in El Paso, the hit-and-run page covers UM claims and the criminal process.

• DUI driver hitting pedestrian: Dram shop liability under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code §2.02 may add the bar or restaurant as a defendant if the driver was visibly intoxicated when served. Punitive damages are available. Contact a drunk driving accident lawyer in El Paso if alcohol was a factor.

• Child pedestrian accidents: §552.008 imposes heightened precaution when a driver observes a child. Schools zones in El Paso recorded only 8 pedestrian crashes and zero fatalities (CRIS 2023–2025), but residential streets and parking lots remain high-risk for children.

• Parking lot pedestrian accidents: These claims fall under premises liability rather than traffic law. The property owner may share liability for poor lighting, absent signage, or blind corners.

• Fatal pedestrian accidents (§71.001 wrongful death): A surviving spouse, children, or parents may bring a wrongful death action within 2 years of the date of death. A wrongful death attorney in El Paso handles the separate survival action for pre-death pain and medical expenses.

• Vehicle-on-vehicle causing pedestrian injury: A car accident lawyer in El Paso handles cases where a vehicle collision pushes one car into a pedestrian, creating multiple liable parties.

The attorneys who handle these cases need specific knowledge of pedestrian law, not just general personal injury experience.