Lexington Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
Legally Reviewed by Stephen Vicari: June 01, 2026
Walking should be one of the safest ways to get around Lexington, whether you are crossing Sunset Boulevard to reach a restaurant, walking to work near Lexington Medical Center, or taking an evening stroll in your neighborhood. When a careless driver hits a person on foot, the consequences are often catastrophic.
Our Lexington pedestrian accident lawyer team understands how quickly a crash can upend your health, your income, and your family life. Our Lexington pedestrian accident law firm provides injured pedestrians with hands‑on guidance and strong advocacy from the first call until the case is resolved.
Stephen Vicari is a South Carolina Bar-licensed attorney who has spent more than a decade building a practice focused entirely on representing seriously injured people in Lexington County. He brings that depth of local legal experience to every pedestrian accident case our firm handles. And because the Town of Lexington is one of South Carolina‘s fastest-growing communities, the county seat of one of the most rapidly expanding counties in the state, sitting at the intersection of I-20 and US-378 (Sunset Boulevard), drawing commuters from across the Columbia metro area, and home to Lexington Medical Center and thousands of residents who navigate busy commercial corridors every day, Stephen and our team are deeply familiar with the roads, the intersections, and the conditions where these crashes happen. That local knowledge matters when we build your case.
How South Carolina Law Affects Your Pedestrian Claim
South Carolina law places clear legal duties on drivers to protect pedestrians. Understanding these obligations is essential when building a successful pedestrian accident claim in Lexington County or anywhere in the state.
Pedestrians Have the Right of Way in Marked and Unmarked Crosswalks
Under S.C. Code § 56-5-3250, drivers must yield the right of way to pedestrians who are lawfully crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. This rule applies even if there are no painted lines; every intersection has an implied crosswalk. Failing to yield to a pedestrian in these areas is a statutory violation and strong evidence of negligence.
Drivers Must Exercise Due Care for All Pedestrians
South Carolina law requires every driver to exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian on the roadway. Under S.C. Code § 56-5-2710, drivers must give an audible warning when necessary and take proper precautions when they observe a pedestrian who appears confused, incapacitated, or unaware of approaching traffic. This duty exists whether or not the pedestrian is in a crosswalk.
South Carolina’s Modified Comparative Fault Rule
South Carolina follows a modified comparative fault rule in personal injury cases. If a pedestrian is found partially at fault for the accident (for example, by crossing outside a crosswalk, walking while distracted, or suddenly stepping into traffic), their compensation will be reduced by their percentage of fault. However, if the pedestrian is found to be 51% or more at fault, they are completely barred from recovering any compensation. Insurance companies often try to shift some of the blame onto the pedestrian to reduce or deny claims.
An experienced Lexington pedestrian accident lawyer knows how to counter these tactics by properly documenting the scene, gathering witness statements, and presenting clear evidence to protect your right to fair compensation.
The Most Common Injuries in Pedestrian Accident Cases
Because pedestrians have no protection from the force of a vehicle impact, the injuries sustained in these crashes tend to be among the most severe in all of personal injury law. Our Lexington personal injury lawyers regularly represent clients who have suffered:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries: The head is frequently the point of first or most significant contact in a pedestrian crash, whether from the vehicle itself or from striking the pavement after impact. TBIs range from concussions to severe, permanently disabling brain damage.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: The violent forces in a pedestrian collision can fracture vertebrae, compress or sever the spinal cord, and result in partial or complete paralysis. These injuries carry some of the highest long-term costs and care demands of any injury category.
- Pelvic and Hip Fractures: The bumper height of many vehicles means that initial vehicle-to-pedestrian contact often strikes the hip, pelvis, and lower extremities, causing complex fractures that require surgery and extended rehabilitation.
- Internal Organ Damage: Blunt trauma from a vehicle impact can cause internal bleeding, organ laceration, and other life-threatening internal injuries that may not be immediately obvious at the scene.
- Broken Bones and Crush Injuries: Fractures of the legs, arms, ribs, and other bones are common in pedestrian accidents, and in some cases, the pedestrian is run over or pinned beneath a vehicle, causing crush injuries with serious long-term consequences.
- Soft Tissue and Nerve Damage: Extensive soft tissue injuries, torn ligaments, and nerve damage can produce chronic pain and functional limitations that outlast the more visible injuries and significantly affect quality of life.
What Causes Pedestrian Accidents in Lexington County?
The great majority of pedestrian accidents in Lexington County and across South Carolina are caused by driver error or negligence, not pedestrian behavior. NHTSA’s 2023 data also confirms that South Carolina had the third-highest traffic fatality rate in the nation, 1.72 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, placing pedestrians statewide at significantly elevated risk compared to most of the country. The most common driver failures our attorneys encounter include:
- Distracted Driving: South Carolina’s Hands-Free and Distracted Driving Act took effect September 1, 2025, with active citations beginning February 28, 2026. Despite this, distraction remains a leading cause of pedestrian crashes. A driver looking at a phone cannot react in time to a pedestrian entering a crosswalk or crossing at an unmarked location.
- Failure to Yield in Crosswalks: Among the most common legal violations in pedestrian accident cases. Drivers who roll through right turns on red without checking for pedestrians, who accelerate through a crosswalk while a light turns green before checking foot traffic, or who simply do not see a pedestrian in a crossing are committing a clear violation of South Carolina traffic law.
- Speeding: Higher vehicle speeds dramatically reduce a driver’s ability to stop in time for an unexpected pedestrian and dramatically increase the severity of any impact that does occur. A pedestrian struck at 25 mph has a very different medical outcome than one struck at 45 mph.
- Impaired Driving: Alcohol and drug impairment reduce reaction time, narrow peripheral vision, and impair the judgment needed to recognize and respond to pedestrians in and near the roadway.
- Backing Accidents: Drivers backing out of parking spaces, driveways, and loading areas may not see pedestrians behind their vehicle, particularly in busy commercial parking lots. These crashes are more common than many people realize.
- Poor Visibility and Inadequate Infrastructure: Crashes in dark conditions, which account for 74 percent of pedestrian fatalities nationally, often involve a combination of driver failure to use appropriate speed for conditions and inadequate lighting or crosswalk marking on roadways that have not kept pace with growth in pedestrian traffic.
Statute of Limitations in South Carolina
Victims of pedestrian accidents in Lexington generally have three years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. In wrongful death cases, the three‑year period runs from the date of death. Missing this deadline permanently bars recovery, making prompt legal action essential.
What Compensation Can a Lexington Pedestrian Accident Victim Recover?
When a driver’s negligence injures a pedestrian in Lexington County, South Carolina law allows the injured person to pursue compensation covering the full scope of their losses:
- Medical Expenses: Emergency room treatment, surgery, hospitalization, specialist care, physical and occupational therapy, medications, medical devices, and any future treatment projected to be necessary as a result of the injuries.
- Lost Income: Wages lost while you were unable to work, and, if your injuries have produced lasting limitations, compensation for the projected reduction in what you will be able to earn going forward.
- Pain and Suffering: The physical pain, emotional distress, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and the disruption to everyday life and personal relationships that follow serious pedestrian accident injuries. South Carolina does not cap these non-economic damages in standard negligence cases.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: When your injuries take away activities, routines, and experiences that were central to who you are, whether that is coaching your child’s youth sports team, walking in downtown Lexington, or simply living independently, that loss has legal value.
- Property Damage: Personal items damaged in the crash, such as a phone, glasses, or other belongings, are compensable alongside personal injury damages.
- Wrongful Death Damages: When a pedestrian accident in Lexington is fatal, surviving family members may bring a wrongful death claim under South Carolina law for funeral costs, the financial support the deceased person provided to the family, and the loss of their guidance, companionship, and presence.
Visit Our Pedestrian Accident Attorneys in Lexington, SC
Contact a Lexington Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Today
If you or someone you love was hurt in a pedestrian accident in Lexington or anywhere in Lexington County, you do not have to face the insurance company alone. A Lexington pedestrian accident lawyer at Stewart Law Offices is ready to review your case, answer your questions, and explain your options.
We handle pedestrian accident cases on a contingency fee basis. Call us at (803) 520-0003 or contact us online to schedule your free, confidential case review. If your injuries prevent you from coming to our office, we will arrange to meet you wherever is most convenient.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lexington Pedestrian Accident Claims
Hit-and-run pedestrian accidents present specific challenges, but they do not necessarily leave you without recourse. If you have uninsured motorist (UM) coverage under your own automobile insurance policy, it may extend to a situation where the at-fault driver is unidentified, though most policies require physical contact between the vehicle and the injured person, and some require the crash to be promptly reported to law enforcement. An attorney can review your policy’s specific terms, identify whether any witnesses or surveillance footage might help identify the driver, and advise you on every available avenue for compensation. Reporting the crash to law enforcement immediately is critical in a hit-and-run situation.
Yes, under certain circumstances. Property owners, including businesses, shopping centers, and commercial developers, have a duty to maintain reasonably safe conditions for pedestrians on their property. If a crash in a parking lot resulted from inadequate lighting, poorly marked pedestrian pathways, dangerous driving patterns encouraged by the lot’s design, or failure to maintain a safe property, the property owner or manager may share legal responsibility alongside the driver. In Lexington’s busy commercial areas along Sunset Boulevard and Augusta Road, this kind of premises liability analysis can be highly relevant to pedestrian accident cases.
Timeline varies significantly based on injury severity, the clarity of liability, and the insurer’s level of aggressiveness in disputing the claim. Straightforward cases with clear liability and defined injuries may resolve in a matter of months. Cases involving catastrophic injuries, disputed fault, significant future damages projections, or government defendants can take one to two years or longer. If an insurer is making lowball offers, delaying in bad faith, or disputing liability despite clear evidence, filing a lawsuit is often necessary, both to preserve your rights and to signal that you are prepared to let a jury decide. Your attorney can advise when settlement negotiations have reached an impasse and litigation is the right next step.
Yes, meaningfully. South Carolina law applies a different and more flexible standard of care to child pedestrians than to adults. Courts recognize that young children cannot be held to the same standard of reasonable behavior as adults. A child who darts into traffic near a school zone is not treated the same way legally as an adult pedestrian making the same movement. Drivers have a heightened legal obligation to exercise caution in school zones, near playgrounds, and in residential areas where children are known to be present. Additionally, for injury claims by minors, the statute of limitations does not begin running until the child reaches age 18, giving families more time to evaluate the full extent of the injury before filing.
Do not provide a recorded statement without first consulting an attorney. The at-fault driver’s insurance company is not acting in your interest; their adjuster’s job is to gather information that can be used to limit or deny your claim. Recorded statements taken in the early days after a crash frequently capture answers about injuries, prior conditions, or accident circumstances that are later used to undermine a legitimate claim. South Carolina law does not require you to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Politely declining and referring them to your attorney is the right approach and will not jeopardize your legal rights.