- Last Modified: September 8, 2026
A pedestrian has little protection when struck by a vehicle. The impact can cause broken bones, head injuries, spinal injuries, and other serious harm. For some people, the consequences continue long after the initial hospital visit, affecting work, mobility, independence, and everyday life.
If a driver’s negligence caused your injuries or harmed someone you love, Hite Law Firm is here to help. Our Abbeville pedestrian accident attorneys investigate how the crash happened, identify who may be responsible, and pursue compensation for what you have lost.
We also take the time to understand what the accident has changed for you. While you focus on your health and recovery, we can focus on protecting your claim and pursuing the accountability you deserve.
Hit While Walking? Let Us Look Closer
We can investigate what the driver did, preserve available evidence, and help determine who may be responsible.
Discuss Your InjuryCommon Causes of Pedestrian Accidents in Abbeville
Drivers have to watch for people walking near roads, intersections, parking lots, and other areas where vehicles and pedestrians share space. A moment of inattention or a dangerous driving decision can leave a pedestrian with little opportunity to avoid being struck.
Common causes of pedestrian accidents include:
- Failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk
- Turning through an intersection without checking for pedestrians
- Driving too close to the shoulder or roadside
- Backing out of a driveway or parking space without looking
- Speeding through parking lots, neighborhoods, or other areas with foot traffic
- Running a red light or stop sign
- Driving with inadequate or defective vehicle lighting
- Distracted driving, including looking at a phone
- Driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs
Distraction can be particularly dangerous because a driver may travel a significant distance while looking away from the road. Pedestrians can also be harder to recognize at night or in areas with limited lighting, making a driver’s attention and speed especially important.
Pedestrian crashes do not only happen in marked crosswalks. People can be injured while walking through parking lots, crossing residential streets, traveling along roads without sidewalks, or simply getting from one place to another. Wherever the collision occurred, we look closely at the driver’s actions and the circumstances leading up to the impact.
Proving Negligence in a Pedestrian Accident Claim
To recover compensation after a pedestrian accident, you generally need to show that another party’s negligence caused your injuries. That means establishing that the driver owed you a duty of care, failed to act reasonably under the circumstances, and caused the collision and resulting harm.
Evidence may include the police report, photographs, surveillance or traffic-camera footage, witness statements, vehicle damage, and information about the driver’s actions before the crash. A traffic citation may support the investigation, but a pedestrian injury claim does not necessarily depend on the driver receiving one.
What If the Driver Says You Were Partly at Fault?
South Carolina’s modified comparative negligence rule can affect pedestrian accident claims. A driver or insurer may argue that the pedestrian contributed to the collision, such as by crossing outside a marked crosswalk or entering the roadway unexpectedly.
Being partly responsible does not necessarily prevent you from recovering compensation. If you are found more than 50 percent at fault, however, you generally cannot recover damages. If your share of fault is 50 percent or less, your compensation may be reduced according to your percentage of responsibility.
We look at the entire collision before accepting an allegation that a pedestrian caused or contributed to the crash. Where you were walking, what the driver could see, the driver’s speed and attention, lighting, traffic controls, and other circumstances can all matter.
When multiple vehicles are involved, determining responsibility can become more complicated. Evidence may show that more than one driver’s actions contributed to the collision. Our experience handling a car accident claim helps us investigate those overlapping issues and determine whose actions contributed to your injuries.
Serious Injuries Require Future Planning
If your injuries may affect your work, mobility, or independence, your claim should consider what recovery may require in the future.
Speak With Our AttorneysPedestrian Accident Risks in Abbeville and South Carolina
South Carolina remains one of the most dangerous states for pedestrians. Smart Growth America’s Dangerous by Design report ranks South Carolina fourth in the nation for pedestrian deaths, with an average of 3.37 deaths per 100,000 residents between 2020 and 2024. Nearly 900 pedestrians were killed on South Carolina roads during that five-year period.
Pedestrian risks are not limited to larger cities. In and around Abbeville, people may walk along rural roads, residential streets, parking areas, and other places where pedestrian infrastructure or lighting may be limited. Higher vehicle speeds and reduced visibility can make it especially difficult for a driver to react when someone is walking near or crossing the roadway.
Nighttime conditions are particularly important. NHTSA reports that most fatal pedestrian crashes nationwide occur after dark. A driver who is speeding, distracted, or impaired may have even less time to recognize and respond to a pedestrian in low-visibility conditions.
Alcohol can also contribute to these collisions. When a pedestrian is struck by an impaired driver, evidence of alcohol use may become an important part of the claim. Our attorneys also handle drunk driving accidents and can investigate how impairment contributed to the collision while pursuing the pedestrian injury claim as a whole.
Compensation After a Pedestrian Accident
Compensation after a pedestrian accident should reflect both the financial losses you can document and the ways your injuries have affected your life. The value of a claim depends on the circumstances, the severity of your injuries, and what recovery may require in the future.
Depending on your case, compensation may include:
- Medical expenses and ongoing treatment
- Future medical care and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Other costs and losses related to your injuries
For someone with a serious injury, the consequences may extend far beyond the first hospital bill. You may be unable to work, drive, care for your family, or participate in activities that were once part of your normal life. Recovery itself can require months of appointments, therapy, and adjustments at home.
We take the time to understand those changes. When we build a pedestrian accident claim, we consider what the collision has already cost you and what your injuries may continue to require in the future.
When a Pedestrian Injury Becomes Catastrophic
Pedestrians have no seatbelt, airbag, or vehicle frame to absorb the force of an impact. When a pedestrian is struck, that force can cause injuries that permanently affect mobility, cognitive function, independence, or the ability to work.
Some of the most serious pedestrian injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injuries: A severe brain injury can affect memory, concentration, communication, behavior, and the ability to live independently.
- Spinal cord injuries: Damage to the spinal cord can cause lasting weakness, loss of sensation, or paralysis and may require extensive rehabilitation and assistance.
- Multiple fractures and orthopedic injuries: Serious fractures can require surgery, physical therapy, and extended periods with limited mobility.
- Internal injuries: Damage to internal organs can require emergency surgery and may cause lasting medical complications.
- Amputations and permanent disfigurement: Some pedestrian injuries permanently change how a person moves, works, or completes everyday tasks.
When injuries create permanent disability or significant long-term needs, the case may become a catastrophic injury claim. We look carefully at the medical care, rehabilitation, equipment, assistance, and other support the injured person may need over time.
For us, a catastrophic injury case is not simply about calculating future expenses. We want to understand what the injury has changed for you and your family, what independence may look like going forward, and what resources may be necessary to build the strongest possible future.
When Your Child Is the One Who Was Hurt
A child's injuries can create medical and developmental concerns that continue as they grow. We can help protect their claim.
Get Help With Your CaseCivil Claims and Criminal Charges After a Pedestrian Accident
A driver who strikes a pedestrian may receive a traffic citation or, in some circumstances, face criminal charges. Those proceedings are separate from the civil claim you may bring for your injuries.
A traffic or criminal case focuses on whether the driver violated the law and what penalties may apply. Your civil claim focuses on the harm the collision caused you. Through that claim, you may seek compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses.
You do not necessarily need a traffic citation or criminal conviction to pursue a pedestrian accident claim. We investigate the collision independently and build the civil case around the driver’s actions, the cause of the crash, and the injuries and losses you suffered.
When a traffic or criminal case does arise, information from those proceedings may become relevant to your claim. We can follow those developments while continuing to pursue the compensation and accountability available through the civil process.
Medical Records and Your Pedestrian Accident Claim
Medical records can become an important part of a pedestrian accident claim. They help document your injuries, treatment, recovery, and the connection between the collision and the medical care you received.
An insurance company may also ask for information about your medical history, particularly when there is a question about whether an injury or symptom existed before the accident. Prior medical history can be relevant in some cases, but that does not necessarily mean every part of your health history is relevant to the claim.
Our attorneys review requests for medical information and help determine what records are reasonably related to the injuries at issue. We also work to present your medical history accurately when a pre-existing condition is involved.
Having a prior injury or medical condition does not automatically prevent you from pursuing compensation. If the pedestrian accident aggravated or worsened an existing condition, we can look closely at your health before and after the collision to understand what changed and how the crash affected you.
Pedestrian Accident Claims Involving Children
Children can suffer serious injuries when struck by a vehicle. Their smaller size can affect where the impact occurs, and younger children may have difficulty judging traffic speed, distance, or when it is safe to cross a road. While you focus on your child’s medical care, our attorneys can handle the legal side of the claim.
A child’s injuries also need to be considered differently from those of an adult. Treatment may continue as the child grows, and the full effects of a brain injury, fracture, or other serious injury may not be immediately clear. Future rehabilitation, developmental concerns, and other medical needs can become important parts of the claim.
We take that longer view when representing an injured child. When appropriate, medical providers and other specialists can help us understand how the injury may affect the child’s development, education, mobility, and future needs.
For parents, the case is about more than recovering today’s medical expenses. It is about making sure your child’s injuries are understood and that the claim considers what they may need as they continue to grow.
Why Choose Hite Law Firm After a Pedestrian Accident
Hite Law Firm has represented injured people and families across South Carolina since 1981. The firm holds an AV® rating from Martindale-Hubbell®, reflecting a longstanding commitment to professional standards.
That experience matters when a pedestrian accident causes serious or lasting injuries. We investigate how the collision happened, identify the parties who may be responsible, and build the claim around both the evidence and what the injury has changed for you.
Our approach to personal injury claims goes beyond collecting medical bills and submitting them to an insurance company. We want to understand your treatment, your ability to work, your independence, and the parts of everyday life that have become harder since the accident. When an injury may affect your future, we consider those needs as well.
Our Abbeville office also gives injured people and families a local place to turn for help. We offer consultations by phone, video, or in person, and we can discuss other arrangements when an injury makes travel difficult.
Talk to an Abbeville Pedestrian Accident Attorney
Being struck by a vehicle can leave you facing injuries and changes you never had time to prepare for. You may also have questions about what the driver did, whether you were partly at fault, and how you will manage the costs and consequences that follow.
At Hite Law Firm, we want to hear what happened and understand what this accident has changed for you. We can investigate the collision, deal with the insurance companies, and pursue compensation that reflects both your immediate losses and the longer road ahead.
You do not need to know exactly who was at fault or what your case may be worth before contacting us. Those are questions we can help you answer. Contact Hite Law Firm to talk with an Abbeville pedestrian accident attorney about your next steps.
Not Sure Who Was at Fault?
You do not need to have every answer before contacting us. Let our team investigate the collision and explain your options.
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