Pedestrian Accident Attorney
in Orange County

Orange County Pedestrian Accident Lawyers Fighting for Injured Victims

Pedestrian accidents are among the most devastating personal injury cases in Orange County. When a vehicle strikes a person on foot, the results are almost always catastrophic. Whether you were crossing in a marked crosswalk in Irvine, walking through a parking lot in Mission Viejo, or struck by a driver running a red light in Lake Forest, you deserve an attorney who will fight relentlessly for full compensation.

At The Le Firm APC, attorney Harrison Le brings former public defender trial instincts to every pedestrian accident case. With 20+ jury trials and over $10M recovered for injured clients across Orange County, we know how to hold negligent drivers and their insurance companies accountable. We handle your case from our Lake Forest office and take a limited caseload so every client receives direct, personal attention.

Common Pedestrian Accident Scenarios in Orange County

Pedestrian accidents happen across Lake Forest, Irvine, and Southern California every day. Our Orange County pedestrian accident attorneys handle cases involving:

• Crosswalk accidents where drivers fail to yield to pedestrians
• Hit-and-run collisions leaving victims with no identified at-fault driver
• Distracted drivers striking pedestrians while texting or using a phone
• Right-turn and left-turn accidents at intersections
• Drivers running red lights or stop signs near schools and residential areas
• Backing accidents in parking lots, driveways, and shopping centers

California Pedestrian Right-of-Way Laws

California Vehicle Code sections 21950-21956 establish clear protections for pedestrians. Drivers must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians in marked and unmarked crosswalks. Even if a pedestrian is partially at fault under California's comparative negligence rules, they may still recover compensation proportional to the other party's fault. Our Lake Forest pedestrian accident lawyers understand how to use California law to build the strongest possible case for your recovery.

Injuries From Pedestrian Accidents in Orange County

Because pedestrians have no protection against the force of a vehicle, the injuries in these cases tend to be severe and life-altering. Our Orange County personal injury attorneys have recovered compensation for pedestrian victims suffering from:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and concussions
• Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
• Broken bones, fractures, and crushed limbs
• Internal organ damage and internal bleeding
• Severe road rash, scarring, and disfigurement
• Wrongful death of a loved one

What the California Vehicle Code Says

The right-of-way rules for pedestrians are short, and they put a heavy duty on drivers. Under Vehicle Code section 21950, a driver must yield to a pedestrian crossing within any marked crosswalk, or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. Every corner where two streets meet has a legal crosswalk, painted or not. The same section requires a driver approaching a pedestrian in a crosswalk to exercise all due care and slow down or take whatever action is needed to keep the pedestrian safe.

Pedestrians have duties too. Section 21950(b) says a pedestrian may not suddenly step off a curb into the path of a vehicle so close that it is an immediate hazard. Outside a crosswalk, section 21954 requires a pedestrian to yield to vehicles close enough to be an immediate hazard, and section 21955 limits crossing between two signal-controlled intersections. But each of those sections also says, in its own words, that it does not relieve the driver of the duty to exercise due care for the safety of any pedestrian on the roadway.

What If You Were Partly at Fault?

You can still recover. California follows pure comparative negligence, adopted by the California Supreme Court in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804. A jury assigns each party a percentage of fault, and you recover the share of your damages caused by the driver. If you were found 20 percent at fault for crossing mid-block at night, you still recover 80 percent. Fault percentages are a question of evidence: lighting, sight lines, the driver's speed and phone use, and the vehicle's damage pattern.

Hit-and-Run and Dangerous Roads

Many pedestrian crashes are hit-and-runs. A driver who leaves the scene of a crash that injures someone commits a crime under Vehicle Code section 20001, but the criminal case does not pay your medical bills. When the driver is never found, or has no insurance, the uninsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy, or on a household member's policy, may cover you even though you were walking. We review every policy in the household early, before deadlines in the policy run.

Sometimes the road itself is part of the cause: a missing crosswalk signal, a broken streetlight, or a sightline blocked by overgrown landscaping. Government Code section 835 makes a public entity liable for a dangerous condition of its property when the condition caused the injury and the entity created it or had notice in time to fix it. Those claims require a written government claim within six months under Government Code section 911.2, so they have to be spotted early.

How Long Do You Have to File?

Two years from the date of the crash for most pedestrian injury claims, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Six months to file a government claim if a city, county, or state vehicle or roadway was involved. The sooner we start, the more evidence still exists: traffic camera and business video in Lake Forest and Irvine is often overwritten within days.

Compensation for Pedestrian Accident Victims

As your pedestrian accident attorney in Orange County, The Le Firm APC pursues maximum compensation including medical bills, surgery and rehabilitation costs, lost wages and future earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of quality of life. We do not charge a fee unless we win your case.

We represent pedestrian accident victims throughout Lake Forest, Irvine, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Rancho Santa Margarita, and all of Orange County. Contact us today for a free consultation with attorney Harrison Le.

Frequently Asked Questions

I was hit in a parking lot. Do crosswalk rules apply?

Parking lots are private property, so many Vehicle Code right-of-way rules do not apply in the same way. Drivers still owe everyone a duty of reasonable care under California negligence law, and backing and turning crashes in parking lots are among the most common pedestrian cases we see.

The driver says I came out of nowhere. Is my case over?

No. That is an argument about fault, not a defense to the whole claim. California's pure comparative negligence rule lets you recover the share of your damages the driver caused, and the physical evidence often tells a different story than the driver does.

Who pays my medical bills right after a pedestrian accident?

Usually your own health insurance or medical payments coverage first, then the at-fault driver's liability insurance when the claim resolves. If the driver had no insurance or fled, your own uninsured motorist coverage may apply even though you were walking.

Do you handle pedestrian cases in Garden Grove?

Yes. We represent pedestrians from our Lake Forest office and our Garden Grove office, and our team speaks Vietnamese and Spanish.

For a deeper look, read our guide to pedestrian rights after being hit by a car in Orange County, or see how we handle car accident cases. Local pages: Garden Grove pedestrian accidents and Irvine pedestrian accidents.