Pedestrian Accidents

San Antonio Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

In 2024, 768 pedestrians were killed on Texas roads — and hundreds more were seriously injured in San Antonio alone. Bexar County consistently ranks among the most dangerous regions in Texas for people on foot, with corridors like Culebra Road, Broadway, and sections of Loop 410 seeing repeated pedestrian collisions year after year.

Attorney Ronald A. Ramos has represented San Antonio pedestrian accident victims for over four decades. When a driver strikes a person on foot, the injuries are almost always catastrophic — there is no steel frame, no airbag, no crumple zone between the pedestrian and the vehicle. These cases require an attorney who understands how to document the full scope of harm from the very first day, and who has the litigation experience to take on insurance companies that routinely try to shift blame onto the pedestrian.

If you or a family member was hit by a vehicle while walking in San Antonio, call (210) 308-8811 for a free consultation.

Why Pedestrian Accidents in San Antonio Are So Dangerous

San Antonio’s road infrastructure was designed for vehicles, not pedestrians. According to the City of San Antonio’s Vision Zero data, just 1% of city roadways account for 42% of all severe pedestrian crashes. Many of the most dangerous stretches — Culebra and Zarzamora, Walzem and Raybon, Nacogdoches and Thousand Oaks — are wide, high-speed arterials with inadequate crosswalks and poor lighting.

The result: pedestrians struck by vehicles traveling at 30, 40, or 50 miles per hour sustain injuries that drivers in fender-benders never experience:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) — The pedestrian’s head often strikes the hood, windshield, or pavement. Even a “minor” TBI can cause months of cognitive problems, memory loss, and personality changes.
• Spinal cord injuries and paralysis — The force of a 4,000-pound vehicle is enough to fracture vertebrae and damage the spinal cord permanently.
• Crushed or shattered bones — Lower-extremity fractures are the most common pedestrian injury. Many require multiple surgeries, hardware implantation, and months of physical therapy.
• Internal organ damage — Blunt-force trauma to the abdomen can rupture the spleen, liver, or kidneys. These injuries are life-threatening and often require emergency surgery.
• Wrongful death — Pedestrian fatalities in Texas increased 22% over the last five years. When a pedestrian collision is fatal, surviving family members may bring a wrongful death claim.

Texas Pedestrian Law — Fault Is Not Automatic

Unlike some states, Texas does not automatically assign fault to the driver when a vehicle strikes a pedestrian. Insurance companies know this, and they use it.

Under Texas’s modified comparative fault rule (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001), a pedestrian can still recover compensation as long as they are 50% or less at fault for the accident. But if the insurance adjuster can push the pedestrian’s fault share to 51% or higher, the pedestrian recovers nothing.

This is the tactic that makes pedestrian cases different from standard car accident claims. Insurance companies will argue the pedestrian was jaywalking, was distracted by a phone, was wearing dark clothing at night, or stepped into traffic without looking. They start building that argument immediately after the crash — often before the pedestrian is even out of the hospital.

Ronald Ramos sends preservation letters to businesses, property owners, and government agencies within days of being retained on a pedestrian case. Surveillance footage from gas stations, traffic cameras, and nearby businesses is routinely overwritten within 72 hours. Preserving that evidence before it disappears is the single most time-sensitive step in any pedestrian case.

Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in San Antonio

Pedestrian collisions in San Antonio most commonly involve:

• Distracted driving — Drivers checking phones while turning through crosswalks or pulling out of parking lots. This is the leading cause of pedestrian strikes at low-speed intersections.
• Failure to yield at crosswalks — Texas Transportation Code § 552.003 requires drivers to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians in marked crosswalks. Many San Antonio intersections have faded or missing crosswalk markings, which complicates enforcement.
• Hit-and-run collisions — San Antonio sees a high rate of hit-and-run pedestrian crashes, particularly on IH-35 access roads and Loop 410 frontage roads. Identifying the driver in a hit-and-run requires rapid evidence collection from traffic cameras and nearby surveillance systems.
• Backing accidents in parking lots and driveways — SUVs and trucks have large rear blind spots. Children and elderly pedestrians are disproportionately injured in low-speed backing collisions.
• Impaired driving — Alcohol-involved pedestrian crashes spike on weekend nights, particularly along San Antonio’s entertainment corridors.
• Left-turn collisions — Drivers making left turns focus on oncoming traffic and fail to see pedestrians already in the crosswalk. This is one of the most common pedestrian collision patterns nationwide.

How Ronald Ramos Handles Pedestrian Accident Cases

When you hire the Law Offices of Ronald A. Ramos for a pedestrian accident case, the work starts immediately — not after you finish treatment, and not after the insurance company makes its first offer.

Within the first 48 hours:

• Preservation letters are sent to every business, traffic authority, and property owner with potential surveillance footage of the crash scene.
• If the crash occurred on a public roadway, we obtain the police crash report and identify all responding officers.
• If the driver fled (hit-and-run), we coordinate with SAPD and begin canvassing the area for camera evidence.

During your treatment:

• We work directly with your medical providers to ensure your treatment is fully documented with the detail that personal injury claims require — not just diagnostic codes, but functional limitations, prognosis, and future care needs.
• We retain accident reconstruction experts when the crash dynamics are disputed. In pedestrian cases, vehicle speed, point of impact, and pedestrian position in the roadway are almost always contested by the defense.

When the insurance company responds:

• The at-fault driver’s insurer will make a settlement offer. In our experience, first offers in pedestrian cases are routinely 50–70% below what the case is worth, because the insurer is betting the injured person needs money immediately.
• We do not accept lowball offers. With over four decades of trial experience, Ronald Ramos has the credibility to take a case to a Bexar County jury — and insurance adjusters know it.

If you are still receiving treatment, you are not ready to settle. We advise clients on the right time to resolve their case, not the fastest time.

Compensation Available in San Antonio Pedestrian Accident Cases

Texas places no cap on compensatory damages in personal injury cases. In a pedestrian accident claim, recoverable damages typically include:

• Medical expenses — Emergency room care, surgery, hospitalization, physical therapy, prescription medications, and future medical costs related to the injury.
• Lost income — Wages lost during recovery, plus diminished future earning capacity if the injuries prevent you from returning to your previous occupation.
• Pain and suffering — Physical pain, emotional distress, anxiety, depression, and loss of enjoyment of life. Pedestrian accident injuries — particularly TBI and spinal injuries — often cause lasting psychological harm. Our pain and suffering calculator can help you estimate the non-economic portion of your claim before your free consultation.
• Disfigurement — Scarring from road rash, surgical scars, or amputations. Texas juries do consider the visible, permanent impact of injuries.
• Loss of consortium — A spouse’s claim for the loss of companionship and support caused by the injured person’s condition.

In pedestrian fatality cases, the victim’s surviving spouse, children, and parents may bring a wrongful death action under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 71.004. The two-year statute of limitations (§ 16.003) applies from the date of death.

The Statute of Limitations for Pedestrian Accidents in Texas

You have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003. If you miss this deadline, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case, regardless of how strong the evidence is.

There are two critical exceptions:

1. Government vehicles — If you were struck by a city bus, a government-owned vehicle, or on government-maintained property, you may be required to provide written notice to the governmental unit within six months under the Texas Tort Claims Act. Missing this notice deadline can destroy your claim entirely.
2. Minors — If the injured pedestrian is a child under 18, the statute of limitations is generally tolled until the child turns 18 — but there are exceptions, and a parent should consult with an attorney promptly regardless.

Do not wait until the statute is close to expiring. Evidence disappears, witnesses relocate, and surveillance footage is overwritten. The earlier you contact an attorney, the stronger your case will be.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do immediately after being hit by a car as a pedestrian?

Call 911 first. Even if you feel like you can walk, get checked at an emergency room — pedestrian accident injuries like internal bleeding and traumatic brain injuries are often not obvious at the scene. Do not give a recorded statement to the driver’s insurance company before speaking with an attorney. Insurance adjusters are trained to ask questions that establish the pedestrian’s fault, and anything you say in a recorded statement can be used against you. If you can, photograph the scene, the vehicle, and the intersection before leaving. Then call our office at (210) 308-8811 — we offer same-day consultations for pedestrian accident cases.

Who pays for my medical bills after a pedestrian accident?

The at-fault driver’s auto liability insurance is the primary source of compensation. Texas requires all drivers to carry minimum liability coverage of $30,000 per person / $60,000 per accident / $25,000 for property damage (30/60/25). If the driver is uninsured or underinsured, your own auto policy’s uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage may apply — even though you were on foot when struck. If you do not have your own auto policy, other avenues may be available depending on the facts. Ronald Ramos reviews every pedestrian client’s insurance situation within the first consultation.

Can I still recover money if I was partially at fault — for example, jaywalking?

Yes. Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001. You can recover damages as long as you are 50% or less at fault. Your recovery is reduced by your fault percentage — so if a jury finds you 20% at fault and your damages are $500,000, you would recover $400,000. But if your fault reaches 51%, you recover nothing. Insurance companies push hard to cross that 51% threshold in pedestrian cases, which is why evidence preservation and a thorough accident investigation are critical.

How long does a pedestrian accident case take to resolve?

It depends on the severity of your injuries and whether the at-fault driver’s insurer cooperates. Cases involving soft-tissue injuries with a clear recovery timeline may resolve in 6–12 months. Cases involving traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, or multiple surgeries often take 18–24 months or longer, because you should not settle until your medical condition has stabilized and the full extent of future care needs is known. Ronald Ramos does not rush settlements — the goal is to recover the full value of your case, not to close it quickly.

What if the driver who hit me fled the scene (hit-and-run)?

Hit-and-run pedestrian accidents are unfortunately common in San Antonio, particularly along IH-35 and Loop 410 corridors. Even if the driver is never identified, you may still have a path to compensation through your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage or through other liable parties (the property owner who failed to maintain lighting, for example). Time is critical in hit-and-run cases — surveillance footage is typically overwritten within 48–72 hours. Contact our office immediately at (210) 308-8811.

Contact a San Antonio Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Today

If you were struck by a vehicle while walking in San Antonio, you need an attorney who will move fast to preserve evidence and who has the litigation experience to take your case to trial if the insurance company won’t pay what your injuries are worth.

Attorney Ronald A. Ramos has represented injured pedestrians in San Antonio and across Texas for over four decades. Consultations are free, and you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.

Call (210) 308-8811 or contact us online to schedule your free case review.