You step off the curb into a marked Chicago crosswalk, making eye contact with the driver of an approaching car. You proceed with the legal expectation of safety, a trust based on the simplest rule of the road.
But that trust is violently betrayed. The driver, distracted or impatient, fails to stop, and the brutal impact of their vehicle leaves you with catastrophic injuries. As you begin a long and painful recovery, the driver’s insurance company is already building a case to blame you for the collision.
A full defense of your rights requires a law firm that uses the specific language of Pedestrian Right-of-Way Laws in Illinois to hold that negligent driver accountable.
The crosswalk and the courthouse
When a driver’s carelessness causes you serious harm, the legal fight ahead is a direct challenge to their negligence. These are the principles that will guide your attorney’s actions.
- In Illinois, a pedestrian within a crosswalk has the absolute right-of-way. A driver’s failure to stop is not an accident; it is clear evidence of negligence that a lawyer will use to build your case.
- The insurance company’s main strategy will be to shift the blame. They will argue you "darted out" or were not paying attention. Your attorney’s job is to systematically dismantle this false narrative with facts.
- The evidence that proves your case—surveillance video from nearby businesses, witness accounts, and the data from the striking vehicle—is at high risk of being lost. A law firm must send legal demands to preserve it immediately.
- A driver’s duty to exercise “due care” to avoid hitting a pedestrian applies to the entire roadway, not just marked crosswalks. Your lawyer will use this powerful legal tool to hold them accountable for their inattention.
The Law Is Not a Suggestion: A Driver's Absolute Duty
In Illinois, the laws protecting pedestrians are strong and unambiguous. They are not open to a driver's interpretation or an insurance company's excuses. Your attorney will build your entire case on the solid foundation of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
This is not about making a simple argument; it is about proving that the driver who hit you broke a specific safety law.
The most powerful statute on your side is 625 ILCS 5/11-1002. This law states that when a traffic control signal is not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle "shall stop and yield the right-of-way... to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk."
The law further commands that a driver must remain stopped until the pedestrian has cleared the lane the vehicle is in. This is not a suggestion to be cautious. It is a legal command to stop. A driver’s failure to obey this statute is what the legal system calls "negligence per se."
This means the act of violating the safety law is, in itself, evidence of negligence. Your lawyer will use the driver’s proven failure to yield as the core of your personal injury claim. This makes it incredibly difficult for their insurance company to argue that their client did nothing wrong.
A Driver’s Duty of "Due Care" Extends Everywhere
While a marked crosswalk provides the highest level of protection, a driver’s responsibility does not end where the white lines fade. The law also imposes a general duty on all motorists to exercise "due care" to avoid colliding with any pedestrian on any part of the roadway.
This means a driver cannot simply speed down a street, oblivious to their surroundings. They have a legal obligation to be alert, to be aware, and to take reasonable steps to avoid a collision.
Your attorney will use this duty of due care to build a case even if you were not in a marked crosswalk. They will investigate to prove that the driver failed in this duty.
Did the driver have a clear, unobstructed view of you for a significant distance? Were they driving at an unsafe speed for the conditions, even if it was below the posted speed limit?
A lawyer will subpoena their cell phone records to determine if they were texting, talking, or otherwise distracted. By proving that the driver had the time and opportunity to see you and avoid the crash but failed to do so, your lawyer can still hold them fully accountable for your pedestrian accident injuries.
The Insurance Company’s Playbook: How They Blame the Victim
The moment the driver’s insurance company learns of the accident, its team begins to build a case against you. Its adjusters are trained professionals, and their goal is to save the company money by shifting as much blame as possible onto you, the pedestrian.
They have a standard set of arguments they use to try to devalue or deny your claim. An experienced pedestrian accident lawyer anticipates every one of these tactics and prepares a counter-attack based on evidence.
Your attorney is prepared to fight the common arguments insurance companies use. These blame-shifting tactics are predictable, and a prepared legal team knows how to dismantle them with facts.
- The "dart out" defense: This is their most common argument. They will claim you suddenly and unexpectedly ran out into the street from between parked cars, giving their driver no possible chance to stop. Your lawyer fights this by immediately canvassing the area for surveillance video from doorbell cameras, businesses, or city traffic cameras. This objective evidence can show you were walking at a normal pace and were clearly visible for a long time before the impact.
- The "distracted pedestrian" accusation: They will demand your cell phone records to argue you were looking at your phone or listening to music with headphones on, and therefore were not paying attention. Your lawyer argues that the driver of a 4,000-pound vehicle has a much higher duty of care. A lawyer will use the driver's own "black box" data to show their speed and braking, proving they had the last clear chance to avoid the crash.
- The "jaywalking" argument: If you were crossing mid-block, they will immediately claim you were jaywalking and are therefore 100% at fault. Your lawyer counters this by citing the driver's duty of due care. They will argue that in a busy city like Chicago, a driver must anticipate that people will cross at various points. They will argue that the driver’s failure to be alert and prepared for this reality was the true cause of the pedestrian accident.
- The "dark clothing" defense: If the accident happened at night, they will argue you were "invisible" because you were wearing dark clothing. Your lawyer will investigate the scene, checking the quality of the street lighting. They will use the vehicle’s position and headlight specifications to prove that you were adequately visible to any reasonably attentive driver.
Your Lawyer’s Investigation: How We Build the Case for You
While you are in the hospital and beginning your long road to recovery, your legal team is taking immediate and aggressive action. This is not a list of tasks for you to complete; this is what a law firm does on your behalf from the moment you hire them.
Immediate evidence preservation
Your attorney’s first move is to send legally binding spoliation letters to the driver, their insurance company, and any relevant businesses in the area of the crash. These letters are a direct legal command: Do not destroy any evidence.
This means the driver cannot delete data from their phone, the insurance company cannot get rid of the vehicle’s event data recorder (the "black box"), and the corner store cannot record over the security footage that shows the entire incident. This is an aggressive first step to protect the truth.
A Meticulous Reconstruction of the Accident
Your legal team launches a full-scale private investigation. This involves:
- Dispatching investigators: A team will go to the crash scene to take detailed photographs and measurements. They will document the location of the crosswalk, the driver's sightlines, and any physical evidence like skid marks or debris.
- Canvassing for witnesses: They will go door-to-door to nearby homes and businesses, looking for witnesses the police may have missed. These individuals can provide crucial testimony about the driver’s speed, their behavior before the crash, and what they said immediately afterward.
- Retaining experts: In serious cases, your lawyer retains an accident reconstructionist. This professional uses the physical evidence and vehicle data to create a scientific, computer-animated reconstruction of the crash. This reconstruction can prove the driver’s speed, your position in the road, and exactly how the collision occurred, leaving no room for the insurance company's speculation.
The Devastating Human Cost of a Pedestrian Accident
The physical, emotional, and financial consequences of being struck by a car are catastrophic. Your attorney’s job is to build a case that reflects the total and true cost of the driver’s negligence.
This goes far beyond the initial emergency room bills. Your lawyer will work with your doctors, with life care planners, and with vocational rehabilitation professionals to document the lifetime cost of your injuries.
This includes all future surgeries, the cost of physical and occupational therapy, the need for in-home nursing care, and modifications to your home and vehicle. It also includes a full accounting of your lost earning capacity if you can no longer perform the work you did before the accident.
AI Is Not Your Advocate After a Pedestrian Accident
An AI chatbot can find the text of the Illinois right-of-way statute. It can even define "negligence." But an algorithm cannot stand at the intersection of State and Madison and find the one surveillance camera that proves the driver never even touched their brakes.
It cannot cross-examine that driver in a deposition and force them to admit they were looking at their phone. For a fight this personal, you need the experience, the strategy, and the human advocacy of a real trial lawyer.
Contact a Chicago Pedestrian Accident Law Firm Today
You had the right-of-way. You were following the rules. You were injured because a driver failed in their most basic duty to be careful. Now you are facing a difficult recovery and a battle against an insurance company that will do everything in its power to avoid paying what it owes.
You do not have to fight this battle alone.
Let us fight for you. The attorneys at Abels & Annes, P.C. have a deep knowledge of the laws that protect pedestrians and a proven record of holding negligent drivers and their insurance companies accountable.
Call us now at (312) 924-7575 for your free, no-obligation consultation. We are available 24/7, and you will pay no fee unless you win.