Nobody expects to be struck by a car. One minute you are crossing the street, walking to your car, stepping down from the curb. The next second, all is different.
And sometimes before you even get out of the hospital, the driver’s insurance company calls. They are polite. They sound handy. But their job is to figure out how much fault they can put on you, because the less fault they can put on their driver, the less they have to pay.
That’s the part that most people don’t know going in. And that’s the most important part.
If you’ve been struck by a car in Pasadena, one of the most important things you can do is talk to a Pasadena personal injury attorney before you answer any insurance company. My name is Adrianos Facchetti. My office is in Burbank, about 10 miles or so from Pasadena. I have been handling pedestrian accident cases all over Los Angeles County for 20 years.
We work on contingency, you don’t pay unless we recover money for you.
Free Consultation Before You Speak With the Insurance Company
The driver’s insurance company wants a recorded statement. They want it quick, while you’re still hurting, still bewildered, still not quite certain what happened. And that’s no accident. Sounds good.
One free chat with a lawyer changes that paradigm completely. We’ll tell you what the insurance company is really doing, what your rights are, and if we feel your case is worth pursuing.
No commitment. No pressure. No fee if we lose. Call (626) 793-8607 – 24 hours.
Pasadena Is a Walkable City and That’s a Real Danger
Pasadena is more walkable than most cities in LA County. Old Pasadena is busy with foot traffic all day and into the night. The South Lake Avenue District attracts shoppers from everywhere. Playhouse Village attracts theater crowds. Caltech and Pasadena City College each draw thousands of students on foot every weekday. The Huntington Hospital complex is designed to keep pedestrian traffic flowing at all hours.
Del Mar, Memorial Park, Lake, and Fillmore, and you’ve got a city where walking is a real part of daily life for many people.
The issue is that Pasadena’s streets were not meant for this level of foot traffic. Drivers race along Colorado Boulevard, Lake Avenue, Fair Oaks and Arroyo Parkway. They are used to thinking of these as car corridors, not pedestrian corridors. On Rose Bowl days, the Doo Dah Parade, and other events on Colorado Boulevard, pedestrian traffic is very high and the drivers are already impatient and distracted.
When things go wrong at the intersection of all that foot traffic and all that vehicle traffic, it’s always the pedestrian who gets hurt.
Where the Most Pedestrian Accidents Occur in Pasadena
Old Pasadena and Colorado Boulevard
Colorado Boulevard, which runs through Old Pasadena, is one of the area’s most active pedestrian corridors. Both sides are lined with restaurants, retail, bars and entertainment venues. People cross mid-block. They emerge from between the parked cars. Drivers cross at no glance over crosswalks.
Left-turn crashes in this area are common. A driver is making a left turn, watching for traffic coming the other way, and doesn’t see the pedestrian stepping into the crosswalk until it is too late. California Vehicle Code § 21950: Drivers must yield to pedestrians at a crosswalk. That duty does not vanish just because the driver was looking at other traffic.
Lake Avenue and South Lake District
Lake Avenue, south from Colorado Boulevard through the South Lake Avenue shopping district, is a busy place with heavy foot traffic from shoppers, transit riders, and students. The lanes are wide, so you can go faster. The number of driveways and entrances to parking lots results in an ongoing conflict between vehicles making turns and pedestrians walking.
Close to Metro A Line Stations
Every Metro station is a sure crossing point for pedestrians. Crossing streets de-train riders. They’re often looking at their phones.” They’re in a rush. Del Mar, Lake and Fillmore drivers often fail to yield to transit riders crossing legally.
Near Pasadena City College and Caltech
The streets around PCC on Colorado Boulevard and Caltech near Del Mar Boulevard have heavy student foot traffic at predictable hours. Some areas have protections for school zones. In others, students cross streets that aren’t signaled or timed for the number of people crossing.
Rose Bowl and Event Traffic Zones
The Rose Bowl area is a major pedestrian thoroughfare during games, concerts and events. The roads around the stadium and Brookside Park were never meant to handle this kind of density. Pedestrian accidents are a regular occurrence due to poor lighting, inadequate crosswalk signage, and impatient drivers leaving events.
When the Driver Turns Left Into a Pedestrian Crossing”
One of the most common types of serious pedestrian accidents we see are left-turn crashes. That’s why they are so common.
A driver is waiting to make a left turn at an intersection. They’re looking for a break in the oncoming traffic. They see it and they go. What they often don’t check is if a person has stepped out of the curb of the crosswalk they are about to cross.
The pedestrian has the walk sign on. They are in the marked crosswalk. “They’re doing it all right. The driver, anxious to get ahead of the oncoming traffic, doesn’t even look.
California law is clear on that. CVC § 21950 requires drivers to stop for pedestrians in any marked or unmarked crosswalk. CVC § 21801 requires left turning drivers to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic and pedestrians. Doing neither is a traffic violation and constitutes negligence.
The defense is usually something like “I just didn’t see them. That is not a defense under California law.” This is an admission that the driver was not paying sufficient attention.
What Happens When the Driver Blames You
That’s the tricky part with pedestrian cases, and it’s worth saying that up front.
Insurance companies have a standard play book when it comes to pedestrian accidents. They’ll look for any excuse to blame the pedestrian. Some of the most common arguments are:
- Jaywalking. Were you in a designated crosswalk? Are you crossing at a corner? If not they will say you were jaywalking and that contributed to the crash. California’s comparative negligence laws might cut your recovery, but they don’t stop you from recovering anything.
- Walking absentmindedly. You were on the phone? Got your headphones on? The insurer will argue you weren’t paying attention to what was going on around you. Again, this can affect the percentage of fault assigned to you but does not mean you have no claim.
- Dark clothing/bad visibility. If it was a night crash, they’ll say the driver couldn’t see you. This argument overlooks the responsibility drivers have to control their vehicles and to watch out for hazards no matter the visibility conditions.
- You just came out of nowhere. This is the common form. That means the driver did not see. That is not an excuse, that is negligence.
California has pure comparative negligence. If you are found to be 40% at fault, you can still recover 60% of your damages. Your lawyer will argue for the lowest percentage of fault possible under the facts and to make sure that the driver’s negligence is properly established.
Pasadena Pedestrian Hit-and-Run Accident
A driver hits you and drives away. Maybe they were panicking. Perhaps they knew they were drunk or had a suspended license. Either way, you’re on the ground, injured, and you have no idea who did it.
Hit-and-run pedestrian accidents occur in Pasadena more than most people realize, especially in Old Pasadena late at night, near event venues and on busier surface streets where drivers know intersection cameras may not be watching every crosswalk.
If you are in a hit and run , your options depend on your own insurance. If you have uninsured motorist coverage on any vehicle in your household, it could help cover the cost of your pedestrian accident injuries even if you weren’t in a car. We help clients to identify all available coverage and aggressively pursue it.
We also consider. The vehicle may have been caught on traffic cameras along Colorado Boulevard, Washington Boulevard, and around Metro stations. Occasionally, accidents that happen in front of neighboring properties are caught on business surveillance cameras. Witnesses might have license plate information they didn’t think to report. You want to get to that evidence quickly.
Evidence That Can Change the Outcome of Your Case
Pedestrian accident cases often come down to one dispute: what was the pedestrian doing, and what was the driver doing, in the seconds before the crash?
Evidence ends that debate. What we want is this:
- Intersection camera video. The City of Pasadena and Caltrans operate traffic cameras at major intersections along Colorado Boulevard, Lake Avenue, and other corridors. This footage is often the most direct evidence of what occurred.
- Business and personal security cameras. Many restaurants and retail businesses in Old Pasadena and South Lake have cameras aimed at the street. “We send out preservation notices immediately so that footage is not overwritten before we can get it.”
- Records of crosswalk signal timing. Traffic engineering data can tell us precisely what signal phase was active when the crash occurred. That data shows if the pedestrian had a walk signal and the driver had a red light.
- Police report. The Pasadena Police Department accident report will usually contain officer observations, notes on the initial fault, and witness interviews. We ask for it right now.
- Statements of witnesses. Witnesses to the crash who were prepared to stop at the scene We get to them quick before the memories go.
- Medical history. On the day of the crash, records show the connection between the impact and the injuries. Delayed treatment leaves gaps that the insurer will exploit.
- The driver’s phone logs. If we think the driver was texting or on the phone, we can use phone records to verify activity on the phone at the exact time of the crash. This requires legal process, but is often possible.
Common Injuries Pedestrians Sustain After Being Hit
There is no protection. No seat belt, no air bag, no metal frame. When a car hits a person, the body takes it all.
- Broken bones are a nearly universal feature of pedestrian accidents. The vehicle impacts the legs and hips directly. She tries to brace the fall, but her arms break. Rib fracture. Broken ankles.
- Head and brain injuries can range from a concussion to a traumatic brain injury with permanent cognitive effects. Head injury is a risk factor both for initial impact and for subsequent impact on the pavement.
- Spinal cord injuries can result in partial or complete paralysis in serious pedestrian accidents. These cases involve large lifetime medical costs and deserve full economic analysis.
- Injuries to the inside of the body are not always obvious at first. Even if the external injuries look relatively minor, there can be damage to organs, internal bleeding and chest trauma that requires medical attention.
- Knee, hip, and leg injuries are very common because the car usually hits the lower body first. These injuries often require surgery and extensive rehabilitation.
- Facial injuries occur when a pedestrian’s face strikes the vehicle, the hood, or the pavement. Common injuries include fractures, lacerations, and dental injuries.
- In California personal injury cases, scarring and disfigurement from road rash, lacerations, or surgical intervention have recognized value.
- The most serious consequence is wrongful death. If a pedestrian accident causes a death, the surviving family members may have a wrongful death claim against the driver of the vehicle.
What Compensation Might Be Available?
- Health expenses. All the money you’ve spent on treatment and all the money you will need in the future. Emergencies. Surgery. Hospital stays. Physical therapy. Specialist appointments. Medication. Ongoing care.
- Wages lost. Income you’ve lost while you’ve been recovering. Future earning capacity is also recoverable if your injuries impact your ability to work in the future.
- Suffering and pain. The physical pain of your injuries and the emotional impact of the crash and recovery. This often represents a substantial part of the total claim in cases of serious pedestrian injuries.
- Scarring & disfigurement. California understands the value of permanent visible scarring.
- Loss of earning capacity. A damage that is recoverable is the difference between what you would have made but for your injury and what you are now able to make.
- Damages for Wrongful Death. In cases of fatal pedestrian accidents, families can seek compensation for lost financial support, loss of companionship, funeral costs, and the pain and suffering of the deceased prior to death through a survival action.
The value of your particular case depends on the severity of the injury, medical bills, lost earnings, the determination of fault and the insurance coverage available. After we review your medical records and accident facts, we will give you an honest evaluation.
About Adrianos Faccetti
Licensed in California since 2006. State Bar No. 243213. Over 20 years of experience handling personal injury cases in Los Angeles County, including pedestrian accident cases involving crosswalk disputes, hit-and-run crashes, and insurance companies blaming injured pedestrians.
Top Attorney, Avvo 10.0 BBB A+ Accredited. Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® 2025. MyBurbank 2025 Best of.
No case is passed to an associate. Each case is handled directly.
If You Were Hit by a Car in Pasadena, Here Is What to Do Next
Call 911 and get medical attention immediately, even if you think you’re okay. Adrenaline kills pain. Internal injuries and concussions don’t always feel serious at first.
If you can get the driver info, name, license plate, and insurance company. If they drove away, try to remember the color of the vehicle, the make, and part of the license plate number.
Don’t say anything to any insurance company until you’ve spoken with a lawyer. Not the driver’s insurance. Not your. Tell them you’ll have your lawyer follow up. Then call one.
Our consultation is free of charge. We’ll hear your story, tell you how California law applies to your situation, and give you our honest opinion as to whether we think you are a candidate for pursuing a case.
Call (626) 793-8607 day, night, or weekends.
Or drop us a line directly →
This page is for general information and not legal advice. Each case is different. Historical performance is not indicative of future results.
