Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries and What Victims Can Recover

A pedestrian struck by a car, motorcycle, or truck has nothing between them and the impact, which is why pedestrian accident injuries tend to be severe and expensive. But the injuries are only half of the picture. What you can actually recover in North Dakota depends on where you were walking, what the driver was required to do, and how the state’s no-fault insurance law applies to someone on foot—or on a bicycle.

A lot comes down to the facts of your case, the severity of the injuries, and what evidence is available. Wondering if you have a solid pedestrian accident claim? Call Larson Law Injury & Accident Lawyers today.

Why pedestrian accidents often cause serious injuries

Pedestrians have no seat belt, airbag, or vehicle frame absorbing the force, so even a low-speed impact can cause lasting harm.

A number of factors determine the severity of a pedestrian’s injuries, including the vehicle’s speed, the vehicle’s size, where the pedestrian was hit, whether the pedestrian was hit or run over, and the pedestrian’s overall health prior to the accident.

What a victim recovers comes down to two questions: who was at fault, and what were the losses. A pedestrian accident attorney works both sides of that equation.

Head, brain, and facial injuries

Some of the most significant injuries pedestrians may suffer affect the head, brain, and face. Concussions are somewhat common, often leaving pedestrians with headaches, dizziness, memory problems, and difficulty concentrating. In some cases, victims suffer more severe traumatic brain injuries that affect their ability to communicate, walk, regulate their emotions, and maintain cognitive function.

Facial injuries vary a lot in their severity and outcome. Facial fractures and dental injuries can be incredibly painful and disfiguring, sometimes requiring invasive surgical procedures and months of recovery time. Some patients with facial injuries may find it difficult to speak or eat comfortably. Dental injuries may affect your ability to chew and eat. Even with immediate medical intervention and recovery time, people may still be left with visible injuries or changes to their face that affect their quality of life.

Broken bones and musculoskeletal injuries

Broken bones are another type of injury that can vary quite a bit in severity. Pedestrians may experience broken wrists, legs, hips, pelvis, ribs, and arms in a collision. In some cases, the injury unfolds in two stages—first when the pedestrian is struck by the car and second when they hit the ground. Some broken bones just need a cast and rest for a full recovery to be possible; other broken bones may be more complex, requiring multiple surgeries, hardware, physical therapy, and long stretches of time away from work.

Some soft tissue injuries can have a profound effect on a victim’s day-to-day life, even with prompt medical care. Torn ligaments, strained muscles, joint damage, and sprains can all affect mobility and lead to chronic pain. Victims may require physical therapy and still experience limited mobility.

Spinal cord, internal, and other catastrophic injuries

Spinal cord injuries and internal injuries are often catastrophic, significantly affecting a victim’s quality of life, ability to live independently, and ability to earn a living. Spinal fractures, herniated discs, nerve damage, and spinal cord injuries may be caused by the force of a crash or the impact of the pavement.

Some patients recover from spinal injuries with treatment and rest. In severe cases, victims are left with permanent impairment, and a complete or incomplete spinal cord injury can cause paralysis.

Some injuries aren’t always immediately detectable but still have the potential to be fatal. Internal bleeding and ruptured organs can result in a victim bleeding out, sometimes before they even seek medical care. While some cases of internal bleeding are obvious, others only become apparent as a victim becomes fatigued, becomes pale, or experiences unusual bruising.

Other serious injuries that may be caused by a pedestrian collision include crush injuries, amputations, and serious road rash that affects the nerves and puts victims at risk of sepsis.

Unfortunately, these accidents can also be fatal. When this occurs, surviving family members may opt to pursue a wrongful death claim against the liable party.

Where you were walking matters: North Dakota crosswalk rules

Insurance companies investigating a pedestrian claim start with one question: was the pedestrian where they were supposed to be? North Dakota’s rules of the road set out who has to yield and when.

When traffic signals are not in place or not operating, a driver must yield to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk on the driver’s half of the road, or approaching closely enough from the other half to be in danger. A driver also may not overtake and pass another vehicle that has stopped at a crosswalk to let someone cross—a rule that exists because that pass is exactly how people get killed at intersections.

Pedestrians have obligations too. You cannot suddenly leave a curb and step into the path of a vehicle that is too close to stop. Outside a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, the pedestrian yields to traffic. Between adjacent intersections with signals in operation, crossing is limited to a marked crosswalk. Crossing diagonally is not allowed unless signs or signals authorize it.

Being outside a crosswalk does not end a claim, and drivers and their insurers should not be allowed to pretend otherwise. North Dakota applies modified comparative fault: a share of responsibility reduces the recovery in proportion to that share, and only bars it entirely when the injured person’s fault is as great as the combined fault of everyone else. A driver who was speeding, distracted, or not looking is still answerable for their part.

Are e-bikes bicycles? And can a cyclist collect no-fault benefits?

Two different definitions are at work here, and they do not line up neatly. For traffic purposes, North Dakota treats an electric bicycle as a bicycle—a bike with working pedals, a seat, and a motor of 750 watts or less, sorted into three classes by how fast the motor keeps assisting. Riders get the rights and duties of any cyclist. No license, registration, or insurance is required.

The no-fault insurance statute uses its own definition, and it is not the same one. There, a “pedestrian” is any individual not occupying a vehicle designed to be driven by power other than muscular power. Someone on a conventional bicycle fits that description, so a cyclist struck by a car is generally treated as a pedestrian for no-fault purposes. An electric bicycle has a motor, which raises a real question about whether its rider fits the same definition—particularly a class 2 e-bike, where the motor can propel the bike without pedaling at all.

North Dakota courts have not squarely resolved this, and the answer can change which insurer pays and how much is available. If you were riding any kind of e-bike when a driver hit you, it is worth having a lawyer look at the specific machine and the specific policies before anyone assumes benefits are unavailable.

What compensation may be available after a North Dakota pedestrian accident?

Settlement and verdict numbers in North Dakota pedestrian cases vary widely, because two different systems decide who pays for what.

The first is no-fault. If a secured motor vehicle—one carrying the insurance North Dakota requires—strikes a pedestrian, that vehicle’s insurer pays basic no-fault benefits regardless of who caused the crash. Those benefits cover economic loss up to $30,000 per person: reasonable medical and rehabilitation expenses, work loss capped at $150 per week, and up to $15 a day for services you can no longer perform around the house. Benefits are payable monthly, and the insurer is on the clock—payments are overdue if not made within thirty days of receiving reasonable proof of the loss.

The second is a claim against the at-fault driver, and North Dakota limits it in two specific ways. Economic losses can be pursued only beyond what no-fault benefits paid or will pay, so economic losses covered by basic no-fault benefits generally cannot be recovered twice. Noneconomic damages—pain, suffering, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life—are available only if the injury qualifies as a “serious injury” under the statute.

That term has a precise definition: death, dismemberment, serious and permanent disfigurement, disability lasting more than sixty days, or medical expenses exceeding $2,500. In a serious pedestrian collision that threshold is usually cleared without difficulty, but it is the reason documenting the full extent and duration of an injury matters from the very first appointment.

If a pedestrian dies as a result of an accident, certain surviving family members may have the right to file a wrongful death claim. North Dakota law specifies who may bring a wrongful death claim and the order in which they may do so. If the person entitled to bring the claim refuses or fails to do so for 30 days after a demand from the person next in order, the next person may move forward. The list includes the surviving spouse, surviving children, surviving parents, surviving grandparents, the personal representative, and the person who had primary physical custody of the deceased before the wrongful act.

Find out how Larson Law Injury & Accident Lawyers can support your pedestrian accident claim

Pedestrian collisions cause severe injuries and leave families dealing with insurers on two fronts at once. If you want the at-fault driver held accountable and the no-fault benefits paid properly, we can review the crash, explain your options, and lay out a path forward. Call us or get in touch online now.