If you or a friend was hit by a car while walking in Atlanta, the first priorities are medical care and a police report, then protecting the evidence. After that, the questions are who pays and how fault works under Georgia law. This guide covers both, in plain English, and explains how a friend or family member can help.
What to Do Right After a Pedestrian Is Hit by a Car
Call 911 first, even if the injuries look minor. A police response creates an official record, and paramedics can check for injuries that adrenaline hides. Then work through these steps as soon as it is safe.
- Get medical care the same day. Go by ambulance or to an emergency room or urgent care. Gaps in treatment are something insurers point to later.
- Take photos and video. Capture the car, its license plate, the crosswalk or roadway, traffic signals, lighting, skid marks and the injuries.
- Get witness names and phone numbers. Bystanders often leave before police arrive. A text to yourself with their contact details is enough.
- Make sure a police report is made. Ask the officer for the report number and the agency name so you can request the report later.
- Get the driver’s information. Name, insurance company, policy number, plate number and vehicle description.
- Do not give a recorded statement. The driver’s insurer may call within days. You can decline a recorded statement and refer the adjuster to your lawyer.
- Keep everything. Save torn or bloody clothing, shoes, hospital paperwork and receipts.
If your friend is in the hospital, these are tasks you can handle for them. Our guide on how to help a friend after a car accident has more ideas.
Who Pays When a Car Hits a Pedestrian in Georgia?
The at-fault driver’s liability insurance is usually the first source of payment. Georgia is a fault-based state, so the driver who caused the crash (through their insurer) is responsible for medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. When that coverage is missing or too small, other policies can step in.
Your Own Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage Can Apply Even Though You Were Walking
Your own auto policy’s UM coverage can cover you as a pedestrian. Georgia’s UM statute defines an “insured” to include the named insured, a resident spouse and resident relatives “while in a motor vehicle or otherwise” (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(1)(B)). The words “or otherwise” are broad enough to reach a person who was walking.
That means a pedestrian who does not own a car may still be covered. If they live with a parent, spouse or other relative who has an auto policy with UM coverage, that household policy may apply. Ask your friend who they live with and gather every auto policy in the home.
UM coverage pays when the driver has no insurance, or too little insurance to cover the harm (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(1)(D)). By default, Georgia UM coverage is added to the at-fault driver’s limits, unless the policyholder chose in writing to have it pay only the difference (§ 33-7-11(b)(1)(D)(ii)). A policyholder can also reject UM coverage in writing (§ 33-7-11(a)(3)), so the declarations page matters. Our page on uninsured motorist coverage in Georgia explains how to read your limits.
Medical Payments Coverage
Medical payments coverage is optional, and whether it covers someone on foot depends on the policy’s wording. Pull the declarations page and the full policy for every auto policy in the household and check before assuming there is no coverage.
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Georgia Pedestrian Right-of-Way Rules
Georgia law gives pedestrians the right of way in crosswalks, but pedestrians have duties too. Here is what the main statutes actually say.
- Crosswalks (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-91). A driver must stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian crossing in a crosswalk when the pedestrian is on the driver’s half of the road, or is approaching and within one lane of that half (or of the half the driver is turning onto). A pedestrian may not suddenly leave the curb and walk or run into the path of a vehicle so close that it is impractical for the driver to yield. Drivers coming from behind may not pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk for a pedestrian.
- Crossing outside a crosswalk (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-92). A pedestrian crossing anywhere other than a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection must yield to vehicles, unless the pedestrian had already entered the road safely. Between two adjacent intersections with working traffic signals, pedestrians may cross only in a marked crosswalk.
- Drivers’ duty of due care (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-93). Even when a pedestrian is outside a crosswalk, every driver must exercise due care to avoid hitting a pedestrian on the roadway. Drivers must take proper precautions when they see a child or an obviously confused, incapacitated or intoxicated person.
- Sidewalks (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-96). Where a sidewalk is provided, pedestrians generally may not walk along the adjacent roadway. The statute has limited exceptions.
The takeaway: a pedestrian outside a crosswalk does not automatically lose a claim. A distracted or speeding driver can still be mostly at fault.
What if the Pedestrian Was Partly at Fault?
Georgia reduces compensation by the injured person’s share of fault, and bars recovery at 50% or more (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33). If a jury finds a pedestrian 20% at fault for crossing mid-block, an award would be reduced by 20%. Insurers often argue that the pedestrian was in the wrong place or wearing dark clothing, which is why early evidence such as video and witness statements matters.
Deadlines for a Georgia Pedestrian Injury Claim
The general deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit in Georgia is two years from the crash (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). Claims involving a government vehicle or government defendant have much shorter written notice deadlines:
- City: written notice within 6 months (O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5(b)).
- County: claims must be presented within 12 months (O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1).
- State of Georgia: written notice within 12 months (O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26(a)(1)).
If a city vehicle, county vehicle or state vehicle was involved, talk to a lawyer quickly.
Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Crashes
A driver who hits a pedestrian must stop, give their name, address and vehicle registration, and give reasonable help to anyone injured. That includes taking or arranging transport for medical treatment when it appears necessary or the injured person asks (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270(a)). Knowingly leaving the scene of a crash that causes death or serious injury is a felony punishable by one to five years in prison (§ 40-6-270(b)).
When the driver is never found, UM coverage is often the main source of payment. Georgia treats a vehicle with an unknown owner or driver as uninsured, but requires physical contact with the insured’s person or property, or an eyewitness other than the claimant who corroborates what happened (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(2)). The crash must also be reported as Georgia law requires (§ 33-7-11(c)). For a pedestrian who was struck, the contact requirement is usually met, but the police report is critical.
Pedestrian Crashes in Atlanta and Georgia: The Numbers
Pedestrian deaths are a large share of Georgia’s traffic deaths. NHTSA reports that 286 pedestrians died in Georgia crashes in 2024, which was 20.4% of the state’s 1,403 traffic deaths (NHTSA, Pedestrians: 2024 Data, DOT HS 813 818, June 2026). These 2024 figures are preliminary. They come from NHTSA’s Annual Report File, which can change when it is finalized the following year. Nationally, 76% of pedestrian deaths that year happened in the dark and 73% happened at locations that were not intersections.
In Atlanta, 100 people died in traffic crashes in 2021, according to the City of Atlanta’s Vision Zero Action Plan (November 2023). The plan found pedestrians were involved in 1.3% of crashes but 11.2% of fatal and serious injury crashes. It also found that less than 10% of the city’s surface streets account for about 73% of fatal and serious injury crashes (2017 to 2021). The city’s goal is to eliminate fatal and serious injury crashes by 2040. Read more on Vision Zero and Atlanta traffic deaths and the most dangerous intersections in Atlanta.
How a Friend or Family Member Can Help
You can do a lot of the legwork while your friend recovers. Collect the police report number, photos and witness contacts. Find every auto policy in their household. Keep a simple log of medical visits, missed work and symptoms. Screen calls from the driver’s insurer and remind your friend not to sign anything or give a recorded statement before talking to a lawyer.
What Lawyer Should a Pedestrian Call?
Look for a lawyer who represents injured people in vehicle crashes and who will work on the case personally. Ask how quickly they will request video and the police report, how they will find every insurance policy (including household UM coverage), and how fees and case costs work. Learn more about our Atlanta pedestrian accident practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
The at-fault driver’s liability insurer is usually responsible for medical bills as part of the injury claim. If the driver has no insurance or too little, your own UM coverage, or a household relative’s, may pay. Georgia’s UM statute covers insureds “while in a motor vehicle or otherwise” (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11). Check every auto policy in your household for optional medical payments coverage too.
Your uninsured motorist coverage can. Georgia defines an insured to include the named insured, a resident spouse and resident relatives “while in a motor vehicle or otherwise” (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(1)(B)). That can include you while walking. Whether medical payments coverage applies depends on your policy’s wording.
Often yes. Georgia drivers must use due care to avoid hitting pedestrians even outside crosswalks (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-93). Your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and it is barred only if you are 50% or more at fault (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33).
You generally have two years from the crash to file a lawsuit (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). If a government vehicle was involved, a claim or written notice may be due much sooner: 6 months for a city (§ 36-33-5) and 12 months for a county (§ 36-11-1) or the state (§ 50-21-26).
Call 911 and make sure a police report is filed. Your UM coverage can treat an unknown driver as uninsured if there was physical contact with you or your property, or an eyewitness other than you backs up your account (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(2)). Knowingly leaving after a crash causing death or serious injury is a felony in Georgia (§ 40-6-270(b)).
Your friend can give basic contact information, but should not give a recorded statement or sign a release before speaking with a lawyer. Adjusters may use early statements to argue the pedestrian was at fault. A lawyer can handle those calls.
Talk With an Atlanta Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
If you or someone you care about was hit by a car while walking in Atlanta, Jonathan Flack can review the crash, the insurance policies in play and the deadlines that apply. He works directly on every case.
The consultation is free, and you owe no fee and no case costs unless the firm recovers money. Call or text (678) 653-0309 or contact us online.
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Related Guides
- Atlanta Pedestrian Accident Attorney
- Vision Zero Atlanta Traffic Deaths: A New Approach
- Most Dangerous Intersections in Atlanta
- Do You Have Enough Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Georgia?
- How to Help a Friend After a Car Accident Effectively
- How to Read a Georgia Crash Report (and Fix Mistakes in It)
See all our guides for people hurt in Georgia crashes.
