Indiana law requires a driver to yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk and at an intersection crossing in a crosswalk that exists by law even without paint. A driver turning at a green light must yield to pedestrians already in the crosswalk. Every driver has a duty to exercise due care to avoid hitting a pedestrian regardless of where the pedestrian is. Bicycles are vehicles under Indiana law with the same rights and duties as a car, and a driver passing a bicycle must leave a safe distance; Indiana sets that distance by statute at three feet. Children are owed extra care: a driver who sees a child near the road must anticipate that the child may dart into it.
Drivers who hit pedestrians and cyclists leave the scene more often than drivers in car-to-car crashes, and when they are never found there is no liability policy to claim against. The answer is usually the household’s own auto insurance. Uninsured motorist coverage on your car, or on a car owned by a relative you live with, typically covers you as a pedestrian or cyclist struck by a hit-and-run driver, even though you were nowhere near your own car. The same is true when the driver is identified but has no insurance or too little. We review every policy in the household, read the definitions and exclusions, and pursue the UM/UIM claim alongside any claim against the driver.
Electric bicycles and rental scooters have added a new category of case. Indiana classifies e-bikes by speed and motor assistance and treats them largely like bicycles, while shared scooters are governed by local ordinance and the rental company’s terms; the rules about where they may be ridden and who is responsible for a defect differ. The injuries in all of these cases are the same: traumatic brain injury, facial and dental trauma, fractured legs and pelvis, spinal injury, and degloving wounds from contact with the pavement. We document every category of loss, from the emergency room through rehabilitation and lost earning capacity, and we retain reconstruction experts where speed, lighting, or sight lines are disputed.
The insurer will say you were wearing dark clothing, crossing outside a crosswalk, riding against traffic, or looking at your phone. Some of these arguments have a factual answer: street lighting, headlight range, and whether the driver was speeding or distracted can be reconstructed from the scene and the vehicle’s data. Some have a legal answer: a pedestrian outside a crosswalk must yield, but the driver still owes due care, and a driver who never braked was not exercising it. Indiana’s comparative fault rule allows recovery unless you were more than 50 percent at fault, with the award reduced by your share. When the case resolves, you get the check and we handle the bills.
In Indiana, most personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the date of injury (Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4). Claims against a city, county, or state agency require a formal tort claim notice much sooner, in some cases within 180 days. Waiting costs leverage, and in some cases it costs the claim entirely.
We represent injured people everywhere in Indiana. Most of an injury case happens by phone, email, and video, so you do not need to live near one of our offices to work with us.
Injury cases are handled on a contingency fee: no retainer, no hourly bill, and no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. The percentage is set in a written agreement before we start and depends on the stage at which the case resolves. How contingency fees work, in plain English.
A decorated U.S. Army veteran who set his sights on the law at age eight, James has represented hundreds of injured clients with a modern, client-first style and a refusal to let insurance companies run out the clock.
Yes. Report it to police immediately, and then call us. Uninsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy or a household member’s policy usually applies to a pedestrian or cyclist hit by an unidentified driver.
Not automatically. A pedestrian outside a crosswalk must yield, but the driver still owes a duty of care. Indiana compares the fault of both parties, and recovery is allowed unless you were more than 50 percent at fault.
Get medical care, keep the bike and the helmet exactly as they are, and call us before speaking to the insurer. A claim for a child involves additional protections and court approval of any settlement.
Nothing up front. You won’t owe us a fee unless we recover for you.
Five minutes on the phone and you will know where you stand. You will not owe us a fee unless we recover money for you, and the bills get handled before the check does.