EXPERIENCED PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER SERVING ALL OF TEXAS
Written by Geoffrey Dashner. Read more about the author.
Every week I talk with pedestrian accident victims in McAllen who ask the same first question: what is my case worth? It is the right question to ask, and the honest answer requires more than a quick number. Settlement values depend on injury severity, who was at fault, whether the driver had adequate insurance, and how well the evidence holds together. At Dashner Law Firm | McAllen Injury & Accident Attorney, I have handled enough of these cases to know that two accidents on the same street can produce wildly different outcomes — and understanding why makes a real difference in how you approach your claim.
This post breaks down what pedestrian accident settlements actually look like in Texas, how fault is assigned, what the data tells us about where and how these crashes happen, and what you should do if you or a family member was struck by a vehicle here in the Rio Grande Valley.
What Is the Average Amount Awarded in a Pedestrian Accident Settlement in Texas in McAllen?
There is no single average that applies cleanly to every case, but I can give you a realistic range based on what we see in Texas. Minor pedestrian injury cases — soft tissue damage, lacerations, a short hospital stay — tend to settle somewhere between $15,000 and $75,000. Cases involving broken bones, surgery, or extended rehabilitation frequently land between $100,000 and $500,000. Cases with permanent disability, traumatic brain injury, or wrongful death can reach seven figures.
In McAllen specifically, a few local factors shape these numbers. Hidalgo County juries have historically been sympathetic to seriously injured plaintiffs, which gives defendants a real incentive to settle before trial. At the same time, many drivers in this region carry only the Texas minimum liability coverage — $30,000 per person under state law as of 2026 — which can put a hard ceiling on recovery unless the driver had umbrella coverage, a commercial policy, or was on the clock for an employer. When a driver is underinsured or uninsured, your own UM/UIM coverage becomes critically important.
Several things push a settlement number higher: documented wage loss, clear liability with strong physical evidence or video footage, a credible treating physician who ties your injuries directly to the crash, and a defendant with real insurance assets. What drives numbers down is comparative fault. Texas follows a modified comparative negligence rule. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001, if a jury finds you 20% at fault, your recovery is reduced by 20%. If you are found 51% or more at fault, you recover nothing.
I have seen cases where a pedestrian had clear catastrophic injuries — a fractured pelvis, a traumatic brain injury — but the settlement was reduced because they crossed mid-block at night wearing dark clothing. That comparative fault argument is something defendants and their insurers use aggressively. Documented medical treatment, consistent records, and a thorough reconstruction of the accident scene are what protect your share of the recovery.
The CDC’s injury data consistently shows pedestrian injuries rank among the costliest in terms of lifetime medical expenses, which is one reason these cases warrant serious legal attention from day one.
How Many Car Accidents Involve Pedestrians in Texas?
Texas has a persistent and serious pedestrian safety problem. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, the state recorded over 800 pedestrian fatalities in 2024 — one of the highest totals in the country — and thousands more non-fatal crashes. Texas consistently ranks in the top three states for pedestrian deaths, alongside California and Florida, largely because of high traffic volumes, sprawling road design, and a built environment that historically prioritized vehicles over walkers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data for recent years shows roughly 7,500 pedestrian fatalities nationwide annually. Texas accounts for a disproportionate share. In the Rio Grande Valley corridor, pedestrian activity is high — people walk to work, to bus stops, across commercial strips along roads like 10th Street and Business 83 — and not all infrastructure along those routes provides adequate protection.
From a legal standpoint, what these numbers mean is that this type of injury case is not rare, and the litigation pattern around it is well-established. Defendants know the playbook. Their insurers have adjusters and lawyers who handle pedestrian claims every day. You need someone who has handled these cases on your side with equal experience. Our Texas pedestrian accident attorneys work these cases statewide.
When Is a Pedestrian at Fault for a Car Accident in Texas?
Texas law does not automatically protect pedestrians. A pedestrian can be fully or partially at fault, and that determination directly affects any settlement or verdict.
A pedestrian is typically found at fault — or shares fault — in the following situations. Crossing outside of a marked crosswalk or against the pedestrian signal is the most common one. Stepping into traffic from between parked cars, giving drivers no time to react, also creates strong liability arguments against the pedestrian. Jaywalking on a highway or expressway where pedestrian access is prohibited is another clear example. Entering an intersection while distracted — looking at a phone, wearing headphones — has increasingly been cited by defense attorneys as contributing negligence.
Under Texas Transportation Code § 552.005, pedestrians must obey traffic control signals and yield to vehicles when crossing outside of a crosswalk. The statute is clear: the right of way is not absolute for pedestrians in every situation.
That said, a driver’s comparative fault can still exist even when a pedestrian violated a traffic law. If the driver was speeding, distracted, or failed to take evasive action they could reasonably have taken, those facts shift some fault back to the driver. I have had cases where my client did jaywalk, but the driver was also texting — and the jury apportioned fault 60/40 in favor of my client. The pedestrian’s traffic violation does not automatically erase a negligent driver’s responsibility.
The Justia legal database provides good reference material on how Texas courts have handled comparative fault in pedestrian cases if you want to study the case law yourself.
When Is It Considered the Driver’s Fault in a Pedestrian Accident in Texas?
Driver fault is established when the driver failed to meet the standard of care Texas law requires. A few scenarios place fault squarely on the driver.
Failing to yield at a marked crosswalk is the most straightforward. Texas Transportation Code § 552.003 requires drivers to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Running a red light or stop sign and striking a pedestrian in the intersection is also clear driver negligence. Distracted driving — phone use being the primary culprit — impairs reaction time and situational awareness. Driving under the influence dramatically increases a driver’s liability, and in those cases punitive damages may be available on top of compensatory damages. Our Texas DWI accident attorneys handle the overlap between drunk driving and pedestrian injury regularly.
Speed matters too. A driver going 10 mph over the limit through a school zone or shopping center parking lot has less time to stop and causes dramatically more harm when contact occurs. Research published through NIH and transportation safety organizations consistently shows that pedestrian fatality rates spike sharply once vehicle impact speeds exceed 30 mph.
Backing out of a driveway or parking space without checking for pedestrians is another common scenario — particularly dangerous in parking lots along busy commercial strips. Drivers operating large trucks or delivery vehicles have an even higher duty of care because their blind spots are larger and the consequences of contact are severe. Our Texas truck accident attorneys have handled pedestrian cases involving commercial vehicles where the liability was straightforward but the damages required aggressive pursuit.
What Happens If a Pedestrian Caused an Accident in Texas?
If a pedestrian is found to have caused — or contributed to — an accident, a few things follow depending on the degree of fault.
If the pedestrian is less than 51% at fault, they can still recover damages under Texas’s proportionate responsibility system, but the award is reduced by their percentage of fault. If they are 51% or more responsible, Texas law bars recovery entirely. This is why the liability investigation matters so much. A determination that a pedestrian was 55% at fault rather than 45% is the difference between a meaningful settlement and nothing.
When the pedestrian caused harm to the vehicle occupants or others, that pedestrian can also face liability. Their homeowner’s or renter’s insurance sometimes covers personal liability claims in these situations. If the pedestrian has no assets and no coverage, the practical recovery for the driver may be limited — but that is a driver’s problem, not the pedestrian’s.
For injured pedestrians worried about their own comparative fault, the practical advice is this: do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company without an attorney. Adjusters are trained to elicit admissions that increase your assessed fault percentage. They will ask questions like “did you check for traffic before crossing?” in ways designed to get answers they can use against you. I have seen clients inadvertently talk themselves out of valid claims before they ever called our office.
What Percentage of Pedestrian Accidents Happen at Intersections in Texas?
Roughly 40 to 45 percent of pedestrian fatalities in Texas occur at or near intersections, according to TxDOT crash data. That number is somewhat counterintuitive — many people assume mid-block crossings are more dangerous — but intersections concentrate both vehicle conflict points and pedestrian crossing activity in the same space.
The remaining fatalities occur mid-block, in parking lots, driveways, and on roadways with no designated crossing infrastructure at all. In McAllen, stretches of Nolana Avenue, 10th Street, and US-83 have long been identified as high-risk corridors because pedestrian demand is high but crossing infrastructure is either absent or poorly maintained.
Intersection crashes tend to involve right-turn-on-red conflicts, left-turn vehicles that fail to yield to pedestrians who have the signal, and drivers who run late-cycle yellows or reds. These are situations where driver fault is usually easier to establish, because a pedestrian with the walk signal has legal right of way and the physical evidence — signal timing data, intersection camera footage — is often available if preserved quickly.
Mid-block crashes are where comparative fault arguments get more complex, especially when no crosswalk was present. From a legal strategy standpoint, intersection crashes generally produce cleaner liability narratives, which partly explains why they generate larger average settlements. FindLaw’s pedestrian accident resources offer useful background on how right-of-way rules interact with settlement outcomes.
Injuries That Drive Settlement Value Up
Not all pedestrian accidents produce the same medical picture, and the medical evidence is the core of any damage calculation. The injuries I see most often in serious pedestrian crashes include traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, pelvic and femur fractures, internal organ injuries, and lower leg fractures from bumper contact. The Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine both publish detailed information on long-term recovery from these injury types — that research supports expert testimony in cases where future medical costs are contested.
Future damages — future medical treatment, future lost earning capacity, future pain and suffering — often exceed past damages in serious cases. Getting these calculated correctly requires working with qualified medical experts and economists. That is one reason the attorney you choose makes a concrete difference in the final number.
You can review our results and client outcomes to get a sense of how we have handled cases with serious injuries in the past.
Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accidents in McAllen
Hit-and-run pedestrian crashes are not uncommon along high-traffic corridors in this region. When the driver flees, your recovery options shift. Your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage becomes the primary source of compensation. Texas does not require UM coverage, but most policies include it unless you specifically waived it in writing. Review your policy now — before you need it.
If the driver is later identified, and many are through surveillance cameras and witness tips, the case proceeds normally. Law enforcement investigation records become part of your evidence. A Texas pedestrian hit-and-run attorney who handles these cases knows how to coordinate with police investigation timelines while also preserving your civil claim. Our about our practice page gives you more background on how we approach these complex situations.
What to Do After a Pedestrian Accident in Texas?
The steps you take in the first 48 hours matter more than most people realize.
Call 911 immediately and get a police report filed. Photograph the scene, the vehicle, your injuries, the road markings, and any traffic signals before you leave. Get witness contact information. Seek emergency medical care the same day — gaps in treatment are one of the first things insurers point to when they argue your injuries are not serious.
Do not post about the accident on social media. Defense attorneys regularly pull social media records in discovery. Do not accept an early settlement offer from the other driver’s insurer without speaking to an attorney. Early offers are almost always low — they come before your full diagnosis is established and before future treatment costs are known.
Talk to a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer in McAllen
If you were hit by a vehicle in McAllen or anywhere in the Rio Grande Valley, the decisions you make in the first few days shape the entire trajectory of your case. Evidence disappears. Medical records accumulate without a clear legal narrative tying them to the crash. Insurance companies begin building their defense.
Dashner Law Firm | McAllen Injury & Accident Attorney represents pedestrian accident victims on a contingency fee basis — you pay nothing unless we recover for you. We handle cases throughout Texas, and our McAllen team knows the local courts, the local insurance carriers, and the specific road conditions and demographics that affect how these cases develop in Hidalgo County.
Contact us to schedule a free consultation. Call us at (956) 303-6170 or visit our office at 813 N Main St #608, McAllen, TX 78501. We are ready to review your case, answer your questions honestly, and tell you what your claim is actually worth — not just what you want to hear.
