You were hit by a car while jaywalking, injuries are quite severe, and you need the extra cash for medical expenses and lost wages. Could you sue the driver for compensation even if the accident happened outside a crosswalk? The short answer is yes. The long answer is more nuanced.

Can I Sue for Compensation When Hit by Car while Jaywalking?

While you could file a personal injury lawsuit against the driver for negligence such as distracted driving or for exceeding the speed limit, the driver could sue you back for being at fault for the crash. In some states, your compensation could go down by several percentage points to zero if you are found guilty of (partially) causing the accident.

For Instance, if you jump in front of a moving car with the driver having no way of avoiding you, the jury could find you fully responsible for the crash, which means that no compensation will be awarded. The driver could use video footage and witnesses to prove he didn’t break the law and the crash was 100% your fault even if you were badly injured in the process.

You could be found partially at fault for the accident if you were:

• Jaywalking
• Walking against the red signal (even if you are within a crosswalk)
• Entering a road, street, highway, bridge, etc. where the entrance of pedestrians is strictly prohibited.

On the other hand, if the driver was negligent or reckless, he is still liable for injuring you even if you were jaywalking. You could sue him or her to recover damages for:

• Medical expenses
• Property damage
• Lost income
• Disability
• Pain and suffering.

The chances for you to get compensation for your damages when crossing the street outside of a crosswalk are quite high since in such cases, the driver is almost always at fault too.

What Happens When Both Driver and Pedestrian are at Fault?

The answer to this question largely depends on the state you’re in at the moment of the accident. If both you and the driver are to blame for the collision, you find yourself in a so-called shared fault situation, which means that the victim shares some amount of fault for the accident.

Shared fault situations are handled differently by each state, but the most widespread system is comparative negligence.

Comparative Negligence

Under comparative negligence, the injured person in an accident will see their compensation lowered by the amount equal to their own fault in causing the accident. For instance, if a jury finds that the driver was intoxicated at the moment of the accident, but you are to blame too as you jaywalked, you may have had a 30% fault in the car crash. As a result, the damages may be reduced by an equal amount. Let’s say that you filed the lawsuit for $20,000 compensation. That sum will drop by 30%, from $20,000 to $14,000.

Some states have a milder system, called modified comparative negligence, where the victim of an accident outside of a crosswalk can still collect damages as long as it is 50% or less at fault for the crash.

In a few jurisdictions, however, a dated rule is still in place, the so-called contributory negligence. This one’s the harshest system because if the victim is to blame for the accident even by the smallest amount, he or she is no longer entitled to any damages even if the driver was at fault as well.

Contributory negligence applies in Virginia, Maryland, District of Columbia, and Alabama. In other words, if you are hit by a car outside of a crosswalk in these states, you can no longer sue the driver as you were to blame for the crash too since you were jaywalking.

To Wrap It Up

Even if you were hit by a vehicle outside of a crosswalk, as a pedestrian you still have rights. But the amount of damages you can collect from the other party at fault largely depends on the type of fault laws in your home state. It is best to take any pedestrian accident claims to an experienced personal injury attorney even before filing a claim with the driver’s insurance carrier. And have an attorney by your side when talking to an insurance adjuster, as insurance company reps know how to use what you tell them against you to undermine your case.