Yuma Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Were you injured in a pedestrian accident in Yuma, AZ?

At Citrine Law, LLC, we provide pedestrian accident representation on a contingency basis, with no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.

If you were hit by a driver while walking in Yuma, our Yuma, AZ pedestrian accident lawyer can assume responsibility for the claim. We correspond with the insurer, obtain the crash report and any nearby video, identify every policy that covers your losses, and pursue compensation for your medical care, lost income, and pain.

Citrine Law, LLC has represented injured people in this county since 2009 and does not represent insurance companies. Tell us what happened and we will explain your options.

Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Yuma, AZ

Yuma County recorded 47 pedestrian crashes in 2024, according to ADOT crash data. Three were fatal. Forty-four left a pedestrian injured.

A pedestrian accident case is a negligence claim brought by a person on foot against the driver who hit them, and sometimes against another party who shares responsibility. A pedestrian has no vehicle to absorb the impact, so even a low-speed collision can cause broken bones, internal injuries, or a head injury. The vehicle itself often shows little damage, and insurers cite that fact to argue the injuries are minor. Pedestrian accident claims therefore require detailed medical evidence.

Types of Pedestrian Accident Cases We Handle in Yuma

We represent pedestrians in several categories of collision in Yuma. The controlling facts differ in each, as does the evidence we secure first.

  • Crosswalk collisions. A driver turning across a marked crosswalk typically watches for a gap in traffic rather than for a person on foot. We request signal timing records from the agency that maintains the intersection, and those records frequently contradict the driver’s account.
  • Car accidents. A pedestrian struck by a passenger vehicle is the most common version of these cases in Yuma. The driver’s liability policy pays first, and when those limits are too low to cover the medical bills, we look to the client’s own insurance.
  • Hit-and-run crashes. When the driver cannot be identified, we file the claim under your uninsured motorist coverage. We also canvass nearby businesses for video within days, because most systems record over prior footage within a week.
  • Left-turn and backing crashes. Vehicles moving at low speed still cause serious injuries, and parking lots account for a substantial share of them. On private property, the layout and any sight obstructions can make the property owner responsible as well.
  • Roadside and shoulder crashes. Long stretches of Yuma’s arterial and rural roads have no continuous sidewalk, so pedestrians travel the shoulder out of necessity. Insurers rely on that fact to argue the pedestrian was partly at fault.
  • School zone and bus stop crashes. Children are shorter than the hood of most vehicles, which makes them harder for a driver to see in time to stop. A claim for an injured child also requires a judge to approve any settlement.
  • Rideshare accidents. A driver logged into an app carries commercial coverage in addition to a personal policy. Which coverage applies depends on the driver’s status in the app at the time of the collision, so we request that data promptly.
  • Wrongful death. When a pedestrian is killed, the claim belongs to surviving family members rather than to the person who died. Arizona law sets out who may file it and what those family members can recover.

Why Choose Citrine Law, LLC as My Pedestrian Accident Lawyer in Yuma, AZ?

Practicing in Yuma County Since 2009

Cid R. Kallen founded Citrine Law, LLC and has practiced in Yuma County since 2009. He began at the Yuma County Office of the Legal Defender and later served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of Arizona. He is admitted before the Arizona Supreme Court, the federal District of Arizona, and the Ninth Circuit, and he has belonged to the Arizona Association for Justice, the state’s plaintiff trial lawyer association, since 2018.

Expertise.com named him among the Best Personal Injury Attorneys in Yuma in 2020, and The Expert Network gave him its Distinguished Lawyer designation in 2017. He served in the Marine Corps before law school. He is bilingual, and this office handles matters in English and Spanish.

Proven Results for Injured Clients

Citrine Law, LLC has recovered millions of dollars for injured clients, including the full policy limits in a commercial trucking case and six-figure settlements for an injured motorcyclist, for a client struck by an uninsured driver who failed to yield, and for a child struck by a driver who ran a stop sign. Pedestrian claims frequently involve more than one policy, and identifying each of them is standard practice for us as a personal injury lawyer in Yuma, AZ.

What Is Important to Understand About a Pedestrian Accident Case?

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Pedestrian Accident Cases

Arizona divides recovery into economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are the losses with a dollar figure attached. Non-economic damages cover harm that has no bill or receipt.

  • Medical expenses already incurred, plus future care a physician says you will need
  • Lost earnings, and reduced earning capacity when an injury limits the work you can return to
  • Pain, disfigurement, and the loss of activities you took part in before the collision
  • Property damage, which in a pedestrian case usually means a phone, glasses, or clothing
  • Damages belonging to surviving family members after a fatal collision, through a wrongful death claim

A catastrophic injury changes that calculation, because the claim must account for care that continues for years. Liability is also rarely all or nothing. Under A.R.S. § 12-2505, Arizona follows pure comparative negligence. If a jury finds you 20 percent at fault, your award is reduced by 20 percent and you recover the remainder. Insurers understand this, and they search for facts that increase your share of fault. Each element of a negligence claim is contested on its own, so we develop the file element by element.

What Are Important Aspects of a Pedestrian Accident Case?

When a pedestrian is taken from the scene by ambulance, the officer writes the report from the driver’s account, because the injured person is not there to give one. We use the physical evidence to test that account.

  • The point of impact on the vehicle and the distance the pedestrian was thrown, which indicate speed
  • Lighting and time of day, since pedestrian crashes across Arizona peak between 6 and 7 p.m.
  • Whether a sidewalk, marked crossing, or pedestrian signal existed at that location
  • Every applicable policy, including the driver’s liability coverage and the client’s uninsured and underinsured coverage
  • Anyone else who may be legally responsible, such as an employer whose driver was working

Medical records matter more in these cases than in most others. A gap between the collision and the first treatment note becomes the insurer’s causation argument, which is one reason immediate medical care affects claim value. An insurer that denies a claim without a reasonable basis may also breach the implied covenant owed under an Arizona policy.

What Is The Pedestrian Accident Case Timeline?

A pedestrian claim moves through the same stages whether it resolves with the insurer or goes to court. Cases that are filed go to the Yuma County Justice Center on West 2nd Street, where the Clerk of Superior Court accepts civil filings.

  • Investigation and treatment proceed at the same time; we open the claim while you remain under care
  • Demand, once a physician can describe what your recovery will look like
  • Negotiation with the driver’s insurer and any other carrier involved
  • Filing, when the offer does not reflect the injury
  • Discovery, depositions, and trial, which follow the court’s calendar

Under A.R.S. § 12-542, an Arizona personal injury action must be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues. Claims against a city, county, or state agency have much shorter deadlines. A fatal collision follows a separate filing process brought by statutory beneficiaries.

What Should You Bring to Your Pedestrian Accident Consultation?

Bring whatever you already have. None of it is required before we open a file.

  • The police report, or the report number if it is not ready
  • Photographs of the scene, your injuries, and the vehicle
  • Names and phone numbers for anyone who saw it happen
  • Your auto insurance declarations page, which lists your uninsured and underinsured limits
  • Medical records and bills you have received so far

The initial consultation covers what happened. We will explain what the claim involves, what coverage appears available, and what we would do first.

Most Dangerous Locations for Pedestrian Accidents in Yuma

Pedestrian crashes in Yuma concentrate on wide, busy roads that pass shopping areas, and where homes sit on one side of a high-speed road and stores on the other.

Streets:

  • 4th Avenue, a busy commercial corridor with many driveways and long gaps between signals
  • 16th Street, where turning traffic at the major intersections crosses foot traffic
  • 32nd Street, which carries high volumes past shopping centers and apartments
  • 8th Street and Avenue B, where the sidewalk stops and starts again

Highways:

  • Interstate 8, where frontage roads and ramps place people on foot near freeway-speed traffic
  • U.S. 95, which carries through traffic at highway speeds past local access points

Crosswalk striping, signal heads, and street lighting inside city limits are maintained by the Yuma Traffic Division, while roadway design falls to the city’s Engineering Department. Both maintain records worth requesting after a collision.

Reach Out to Citrine Law, LLC to Schedule a Consultation

Contact us to schedule a free consultation with a Yuma, AZ pedestrian accident attorney. Citrine Law, LLC works on a contingency basis, so there is no fee unless we recover for you. Bring what you have, and we will identify the coverage available and outline what the first ninety days involve. This office handles matters in English and Spanish.