Des Moines Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Plaintiff-focused pedestrian accident lawyers preparing every case with experience and dedication.

If you were hit by a vehicle while walking in Des Moines, you absorbed the impact without any of the protection a car gives its driver, and the injuries usually reflect that. Broken bones, head trauma, and long recoveries are common even in low-speed collisions. A Des Moines, IA pedestrian accident lawyer from Law Group of Iowa can pursue the driver’s insurer for the full cost of what happened to you. Our firm has represented injured Iowans for over two decades, and consultations are always free.

Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Des Moines, IA

The legal standard is the same for pedestrian accidents as it is for motor vehicle accidents, since Iowa drivers owe everyone on the road a duty of reasonable care, but almost everything else about the claim changes. The injuries are typically more severe relative to the speed involved. The pedestrian has no vehicle damage to corroborate the impact, so the insurer scrutinizes medical evidence harder. And the insurance picture is different: the claim runs against the driver’s liability coverage, and in some situations a pedestrian’s own auto policy can provide uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage even though they were on foot when they were hit.

Iowa is a fault-based state, which means the compensation you receive depends on proving what the driver did wrong, not simply on the fact that you were hurt. That proof has a shelf life. Surveillance systems record over old footage within days or weeks, skid marks fade, and witnesses become harder to locate as time passes.

A pedestrian accident attorney in Des Moines, IA identifies every coverage source that applies, documents the crash before that evidence disappears, and pushes back when the insurer tries to shift blame onto the person who was walking.

Types of Pedestrian Accident Cases We Handle in Des Moines

Federal data shows how serious this problem is. NHTSA reports that 7,080 pedestrians were killed and more than 71,000 injured in traffic crashes nationwide in 2024. The injuries in these crashes also tend to run more severe than vehicle-occupant injuries at comparable speeds, in part because taller trucks and SUVs strike an adult’s torso and head rather than their legs. Our firm handles pedestrian claims arising from the situations that produce most of those numbers:

• Intersection accidents. Drivers turning through crosswalks while looking for a gap in traffic strike people who have the walk signal. Signal timing records and intersection cameras often decide these cases.
• Hit-and-run accidents. A meaningful share of fatal pedestrian crashes involve a driver who flees. We work with investigators to identify the driver and, when that fails, pursue the uninsured motorist coverage that can stand in for the missing defendant.
• Texting while driving accidents. A driver looking at a phone does not see a person in the road. Phone records, when obtained correctly, can prove exactly what the driver was doing at impact.
• Child injuries. Children walking to school or playing near residential streets are hit because drivers fail to anticipate them. Iowa law expects drivers to use greater care where children are likely to be present.
• School bus accidents. Some of the most preventable pedestrian injuries happen when drivers illegally pass a stopped school bus while students are loading or unloading.
• Truck accidents. Delivery vans and commercial trucks have large blind spots at exactly pedestrian height. These claims add a commercial policy and a company defendant to the case.
• Parking lot and backing accidents. Low speed does not mean low injury, particularly for older adults struck by reversing vehicles outside stores and medical buildings.
• Impaired driving accidents. Crashes involving alcohol or drugs frequently support claims beyond ordinary negligence, and the criminal case against the driver proceeds separately from your civil claim.

Why Choose Law Group of Iowa as my Pedestrian Accident Lawyer in Des Moines, IA?

Attorneys Who Know How Insurers Defend These Cases

Jason Yates spent years studying insurance defense tactics from the inside before turning that knowledge to the plaintiff’s side, and he was named among the Top 100 trial lawyers nationally. Christopher Johnston, a founding member of the firm practicing since 2001, has tried car accident and wrongful death cases across Iowa and is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association. Together they bring the case-building habits of a personal injury lawyer in Des Moines, IA practice that has served this community for more than twenty years.

Conditions matter, because federal research shows roughly three-quarters of pedestrian deaths happen in the dark, and visibility becomes a central dispute in many claims. That’s why your lawyer may canvass for doorbell and business camera footage in the first days, obtain your crash report and 911 audio, and document lighting and sightline conditions at the same hour your accident occurred.

Our attorneys also handle the practical problems that arrive before any settlement does. We communicate with the insurers so you are not fielding adjuster calls from a hospital bed, and we help coordinate how treatment gets paid for while the claim is pending. Clients deal with one firm rather than three insurance companies, and that alone changes what recovery feels like.

What Is Important to Understand About a Pedestrian Accident Case?

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Pedestrian Accident Cases

Expect the insurer to argue you share blame. Iowa’s comparative fault rule in Iowa Code chapter 668 does not bar your recovery unless your fault exceeds the combined fault of everyone you are suing, but every percentage point assigned to you cuts your award by that percentage. Crossing mid-block, for example, may reduce a claim without defeating it, and the fight over those percentages is often where the case is won or lost.

Recoverable damages track the real consequences of being struck by a vehicle:

• Emergency treatment, surgery, hospitalization, and rehabilitation
• Future medical care for permanent injuries
• Income lost during recovery and diminished ability to earn going forward
• Physical pain, mental suffering, and loss of bodily function
• Funeral and survivor losses when a pedestrian is killed

Valuing these losses takes more than adding up bills. A fractured pelvis means something different to a warehouse worker than to an accountant, and a fair settlement accounts for how the injury changes your specific work and life.

What Are Important Aspects of a Pedestrian Accident Case?

Medical documentation carries this type of claim. With no vehicle of your own in the crash, your records are the primary proof of what the impact did, which makes it important to find the right doctor and attend every appointment. Other points that shape these cases:

• The police report’s diagram and witness statements set the initial fault narrative, and correcting an inaccurate report early is far easier than late
• Paying for medical care before settlement is a real concern, and health insurance, medical payments coverage, and provider arrangements each play a role
• When distraction is suspected, cell phone records must be requested through proper legal channels before they are routinely destroyed
• Statements to the driver’s insurer can be used against you, and nothing requires you to give one before speaking with a lawyer

Gaps in treatment hurt these claims more than almost anything else. When records show weeks between appointments, adjusters argue the injury resolved or was never serious, even when the real explanation is cost, transportation, or work obligations. Telling your lawyer about those obstacles early lets us address them before they become the insurer’s argument.

What Is the Pedestrian Accident Case Timeline?

Under Iowa Code chapter 614, an injured pedestrian generally has two years to file suit, though different deadlines can apply in certain situations, including claims involving minors. There is also a shorter practical window to preserve the evidence that wins the case. A typical claim moves through these stages:

• Immediate investigation and evidence preservation
• Treatment until your doctors can project your long-term condition
• Identification of all applicable insurance coverage, including your own policies
• Demand, negotiation, and suit if the insurer undervalues the claim
• Resolution by settlement or verdict

Severe injury cases should not be rushed. Settling before the full extent of a head injury or orthopedic damage is known means absorbing those costs yourself later.

What Should You Bring to Your Pedestrian Accident Consultation?

Some items can help your consultation be more productive:

• The crash report number or investigating agency name
• Photos of your injuries, the scene, or the vehicle
• Medical records and bills received so far
• Your own auto and health insurance policy information
• Any letters or voicemails from the driver’s insurance company

We will explain how fault, coverage, and pedestrian safety rules apply to your specific crash, and what the claim looks like from here.

What Are Important Iowa Legal Resources for Pedestrian Accident Cases?

The statutes that control injury claims, including filing deadlines, negligence standards, and damages rules, are published by the state, and these official sources are reliable starting points:

• The Iowa Code online at the Iowa Legislature’s website includes the limitations and comparative fault chapters cited above.
• The Iowa Judicial Branch’s court process information explains how civil cases move through Iowa’s courts.

Reach Out to Law Group of Iowa to Schedule a Consultation

A driver’s insurance company starts evaluating your claim the day of the crash, and you give up nothing by getting your own advice just as early. Law Group of Iowa offers free, confidential consultations and responds promptly to every inquiry. Contact us to meet with a Des Moines, IA pedestrian accident attorney and learn what your claim is worth before you talk to any adjuster.