Broward County Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

A pedestrian who has been struck by a car is usually trying to reach three things at once: medical care that does not bankrupt the family, a clear account of who was responsible, and compensation that reflects what the injuries will cost over time. Spencer Morgan Law helps injured people across Broward County and the rest of the Greater Miami area work toward all three, and clients pay nothing unless the firm recovers money for them.

Anyone searching for a Broward County pedestrian accident lawyer is probably dealing with something more than a bruise. A person on foot has no steel frame, no airbag, and no seat belt, so crashes with vehicles tend to produce fractures, head trauma, spinal injuries, and long recoveries. The legal side is just as unforgiving, because Florida’s fault rules can wipe out a claim entirely if an insurer convinces a jury the walker was mostly to blame.

Broward’s mix of wide, fast arterial roads, heavy tourist traffic, strip-mall parking lots, and dark residential streets creates a steady supply of these cases. What follows covers how pedestrian claims actually work here, which deadlines matter, and what to do in the days after a crash.

Why Choose Spencer Morgan Law for a Pedestrian Injury Claim

People come to Spencer Morgan Law after being hit while crossing a street, walking out of a store, or stepping off a curb, and they usually arrive overwhelmed by medical appointments and calls from an adjuster. Consultations are confidential, Spanish-language services are available, and the fee arrangement is simple: you do not pay unless there is a recovery.

Pedestrian cases often turn on the same skills that drive other serious vehicle claims, and the firm’s results reflect that. Recoveries include a $1,000,000 semi-truck crash result, a $1,000,000 auto accident settlement, and multiple policy-limits recoveries, including cases where the insurer had denied liability and cases involving hit-and-run drivers. Other results on record involve a man struck by a vehicle and a woman whose foot was run over by a car. Those matter here because a pedestrian claim frequently depends on pushing past an insurer’s first denial and, when the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured, finding every other source of coverage.

Clients consistently describe the same things: frequent updates, quick answers, and staff who treat them like family. The firm also helps with the practical wreckage a crash leaves behind, such as getting medical care arranged, resolving medical bills fairly, and sorting out vehicle damage when a car was involved. When you are on crutches or in a neck brace, that kind of hands-on help is not a minor perk.

Where Pedestrian Crashes Happen and Who Can Be Held Responsible

• Crosswalk and Intersection Collisions: Drivers turning right on red or left across a walk signal are a leading cause of serious injuries along Broward’s busy corridors. Fault often hinges on signal timing, sightlines, and whether the driver was watching for foot traffic.
• Parking Lot and Shopping Center Strikes: Crashes in lots at malls, grocery stores, and restaurants involve backing vehicles and distracted drivers. The property owner may share responsibility if poor lighting, bad layout, or missing markings contributed.
• Hit-and-Run Incidents: When a driver flees, recovery may depend on the injured person’s own uninsured motorist coverage. Prompt police reports and canvassing for surveillance footage can make or break these claims.
• Night-Time and Low-Visibility Crashes: Many Broward roads have long stretches without adequate lighting or sidewalks. Insurers often argue the walker should have been more visible, so evidence about road design and lighting matters.
• Rideshare and Commercial Vehicle Impacts: A pedestrian hit by a rideshare driver, delivery van, or truck may have access to larger commercial policies and additional defendants, including the employer or company behind the vehicle.
• Government-Maintained Roadways: Missing crosswalks, broken signals, or dangerous road design can implicate a city, county, or state agency, which brings special notice rules and recovery limits.
• Driveway and Low-Speed Backover Injuries: Even slow impacts can break bones or cause head injuries, especially for older adults and children, and the injuries are often far worse than the vehicle damage suggests.
• Wrongful Death Cases: When a pedestrian dies, surviving family members may bring a claim for their losses and for the estate, with separate rules about who can recover and for what.

What to Do After Being Hit by a Vehicle in Broward County

Get medical attention immediately, even if you feel mobile. Adrenaline hides fractures, concussions, and internal injuries, and Florida’s no-fault rules punish delay. Personal injury protection benefits pay nothing for medical care unless you receive initial treatment within 14 days of the crash. Beyond that, the full $10,000 in PIP benefits is available only if a qualified provider, such as a physician, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse, determines you had an emergency medical condition. Without that determination, benefits stop at $2,500. PIP pays 80 percent of medical expenses and 60 percent of lost wages regardless of fault, and as a pedestrian you may be able to claim it under your own policy or a resident relative’s policy, so ask about coverage early.

Call the police so a report is filed, and get the driver’s name, insurance information, and plate number. Ask witnesses for contact details before they leave. Photograph the scene, your injuries, the vehicle, skid marks, signage, and anything that shows lighting or obstructions. If a nearby business has a camera, ask about footage right away, because many systems overwrite within days. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer, and do not guess about fault in conversations with anyone. Adjusters are trained to look for phrases like “I didn’t see the car” that can later be framed as comparative blame.

Civil cases in Broward County are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, with court locations in downtown Fort Lauderdale and regional courthouses in places such as Hollywood, Plantation, and Deerfield Beach. Most cases settle before trial, but filing a lawsuit is sometimes necessary to get an insurer to negotiate seriously. Appeals from the Seventeenth Circuit go to the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

Keep every medical record and bill, and be careful about how treatment is financed. Florida law now requires disclosure of letters of protection, meaning arrangements where a provider treats you in exchange for payment from a future settlement, and requires disclosing who referred you to that provider. Juries may also see evidence of what health insurance would have paid. These rules shape how medical bills are valued, so talk with a lawyer before signing anything with a treating provider.

How Florida Fault Rules and Deadlines Shape a Pedestrian Case

The single most important legal issue in many pedestrian cases is comparative fault. Under Florida’s current rule, a person found more than 50 percent responsible for their own injuries recovers nothing. If you are 50 percent at fault or less, your damages are reduced by your percentage. Insurers know this and routinely argue that the pedestrian crossed mid-block, wore dark clothing, ignored a signal, or was looking at a phone. Defeating that narrative takes evidence: witness statements, traffic signal data, video, and an accurate reconstruction of how the driver’s speed and attention contributed. Florida also assigns liability to each party according to its own share of fault rather than making every defendant answer for the whole amount, so identifying all responsible parties, such as a driver, an employer, a property owner, or a roadway authority, directly affects what can be collected.

Timing matters as well. For crashes that happened on or after March 24, 2023, the general negligence deadline is two years, cut from the previous four. A wrongful death claim also generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. Waiting to see how the injury develops can quietly use up that window, and evidence disappears long before a deadline passes.

If a government body may share responsibility, different rules apply. A written claim must be presented before suit, the agency generally has 180 days to respond, and recovery is capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, with no punitive damages. Going beyond those caps requires a claim bill passed by the Legislature. Suit against a public entity must still be filed within the ordinary limitations period.

Damages in a serious pedestrian case go well beyond the emergency room bill. They can include ongoing medical care, surgery, rehabilitation, lost earnings and reduced earning capacity, and pain and suffering. Policy limits frequently become the real battleground, which is why the firm’s history of securing policy-limits recoveries, including after liability denials and hit-and-runs, is directly relevant to this kind of claim.

Common Questions About Broward County Pedestrian Accident Claims

Does my own auto insurance cover me if I was hit while walking?

Often it does. Florida’s no-fault system lets injured pedestrians seek PIP benefits from their own policy or a resident relative’s policy, regardless of who caused the crash, subject to the 14-day treatment rule and the dollar limits. Those benefits are a starting point, not the full value of a serious injury claim.

How long do I have to file a pedestrian accident lawsuit in Florida?

For negligence claims that arose on or after March 24, 2023, the deadline is two years. Older claims keep the previous four-year period. Wrongful death claims generally carry a two-year deadline from the date of death. Claims involving government entities add written-notice requirements, so do not wait.

What if the driver says I walked into traffic?

That is a comparative fault argument, and it carries real weight. If you are found more than 50 percent responsible, you recover nothing, and anything at or below 50 percent reduces your award. Evidence such as video, witness accounts, and signal timing is how those claims are answered.

What happens if the driver who hit me fled?

Report the crash immediately and preserve any evidence of the vehicle. If the driver is never identified, uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy may apply. The firm has recovered policy limits in hit-and-run cases, so these claims are not hopeless.

Can I recover if I was jaywalking or crossing outside a crosswalk?

Possibly. Crossing outside a marked crosswalk does not automatically bar a claim, but it gives the insurer a fault argument. Drivers still must exercise reasonable care, and your share of blame is weighed against theirs.

Will the other side see my medical bills and treatment arrangements?

Yes, to a degree. Florida requires disclosure of letters of protection and who referred you to a provider, and juries can consider what health insurance would have paid. How you finance treatment can affect how your medical expenses are valued.

What if the crash happened in a parking lot or private property?

Parking lot crashes are common pedestrian cases. Beyond the driver, the property owner or manager may be responsible if lighting, layout, or maintenance made the lot unreasonably dangerous.

Can I sue a city or county over a dangerous crosswalk or road design?

Sometimes, but sovereign immunity rules apply. You must present a written claim first, the agency generally has 180 days to respond, and recovery is capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident without a legislative claim bill. These claims need careful handling from the start.

What if a family member was killed as a pedestrian?

Florida’s wrongful death law lets certain survivors, such as a spouse or the parents of a deceased minor child, recover for their own losses, and the estate can recover separately. Every potential beneficiary must be identified in the complaint, and the filing deadline is generally two years from the date of death.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my injuries seem minor?

It can be. Pedestrian injuries are often more serious than they first appear, and early offers from insurers tend to undervalue them. The firm has recovered meaningful amounts in cases that initially looked modest, such as a $100,000 recovery in a car accident with minimal vehicle damage. Because you pay nothing unless there is a recovery, a consultation carries no financial risk.

Does Spencer Morgan Law handle cases for Spanish-speaking clients?

Yes. Spanish-language services are available, and consultations are confidential, so you can discuss your crash comfortably in the language you prefer.

Serving Pedestrian Injury Clients Across Broward County

Spencer Morgan Law represents injured pedestrians throughout Broward County, starting with Fort Lauderdale and extending through Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Davie, Plantation, Sunrise, Deerfield Beach, Weston, Lauderhill, Tamarac, Margate, Coconut Creek, Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, Dania Beach, and Hallandale Beach. Whether the crash happened on a downtown street near the courthouse, along a busy commercial corridor in Plantation or Davie, or in a shopping center lot in Coral Springs or Pembroke Pines, the firm handles the claim from the first call through resolution.

The firm also serves injury clients in neighboring Miami-Dade County and throughout the State of Florida, so a crash that crosses county lines, or a client who lives in one county and was hurt in another, does not complicate who handles the case.

Talk With a Broward County Pedestrian Accident Attorney

If you or someone in your family was struck while on foot, a Broward County pedestrian accident attorney at Spencer Morgan Law can review what happened, explain how fault and insurance will affect your claim, and tell you what your next steps should be. The consultation is confidential, Spanish is available, and you owe nothing unless the firm recovers money for you. Call today to talk through your situation before deadlines and evidence slip away.