Were you hit by a car while walking in Wichita? Pedestrian accidents are among the most serious traffic collisions because the person on foot has no protection against the force of a moving vehicle. Even a low-speed impact can cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and broken bones that change the course of your life.
Wichita recorded 137 pedestrian-vehicle crashes in 2024, a 35% increase over the year before, and nine of those collisions were fatal. If a driver’s negligence caused your injuries, Kansas law may entitle you to recover compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses tied to the accident.
The pedestrian accident attorneys at Bretz Injury Law have spent over 30 years representing injured clients across Kansas, recovering more than $300 million in settlements and verdicts. Call (316) 266-4111 for a free consultation to find out whether you have a case.
Pedestrian Accident Attorneys Serving Wichita
Bretz Injury Law represents pedestrians who have been struck by vehicles across Wichita and throughout Sedgwick County. Our Wichita office at 225 N Market St puts us close to the intersections, corridors, and neighborhoods where these accidents happen most often, and that local presence matters when building a case that depends on scene evidence, traffic patterns, and witness testimony.
Wichita’s wide, high-speed arterials create some of the most dangerous conditions for pedestrians in the state. Kellogg, which carries more than 110,000 vehicles per day along certain segments, Central, Douglas, and Broadway are all corridors where the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization has identified elevated crash risk for people on foot. The same roads that produce the most car accidents in the region are also the deadliest for pedestrians.
The city’s Planning Walkable Places program is working to expand pedestrian infrastructure, but progress has not kept pace with the problem. Many major roads still lack sidewalks, crosswalk markings have faded, and pedestrian signals at busy intersections are missing or broken. These infrastructure gaps create conditions that make crashes predictable, and when they happen, someone should be held accountable.
Without an Attorney vs. With Bretz Injury Law
Insurance adjusters handling pedestrian claims almost always argue that the victim was at fault for being in the road. Whether you were crossing outside a crosswalk, walking at night without reflective clothing, or simply standing near the curb, the adjuster’s goal is to shift blame onto you. In Kansas, that strategy has teeth because K.S.A. 60-258a bars you from recovering anything if your fault reaches 50% or more.
We understand how overwhelming it is to face that kind of pressure while you are still recovering from injuries that may have put you in a hospital bed or a wheelchair. You should not have to deal with that on your own, and our attorneys are here to make sure you don’t.
When you hire a pedestrian accident attorney, we move quickly to secure traffic camera footage, police reports, and witness statements before they are lost. Early action protects your claim and gives us the evidence we need to counter the fault arguments insurance companies rely on.
Types of Cases We Handle in Wichita
Bretz Injury Law handles all types of pedestrian accident cases in Wichita, whether you were struck in an intersection, a parking lot, a residential neighborhood, or along a road with no sidewalk.
- Crosswalk and Intersection Collisions. Drivers who run red lights, roll through stop signs, or fail to check for pedestrians before turning cause a large share of pedestrian injuries in Wichita. These crashes often happen at high-traffic intersections along Kellogg, Central, and Douglas.
- Hit-and-Run Accidents. When a driver strikes a pedestrian and flees the scene, the victim is left with serious injuries and no immediate way to identify who was responsible. We work with law enforcement and traffic camera records to track down hit-and-run drivers.
- Distracted and Impaired Driving Crashes. Texting, phone use, and alcohol impairment reduce a driver’s ability to see and react to pedestrians in time to stop.
- Parking Lot Pedestrian Accidents. Low visibility, tight spaces, and backing vehicles make commercial parking lots a frequent source of pedestrian injuries.
- Infrastructure-Related Crashes. When roads lack safe pedestrian accommodations, people on foot are forced into dangerous positions. Government entities and property owners who fail to address these hazards may share liability for the crash.
How Kansas Law Affects Your Pedestrian Accident Case
Kansas has a specific set of pedestrian statutes that define who has the right of way, what obligations drivers owe to people on foot, and what happens when both sides share fault for a collision.
K.S.A. 8-1533 establishes the pedestrian’s right of way in crosswalks when traffic signals are absent. K.S.A. 8-1534 addresses what happens when a pedestrian crosses outside a crosswalk. And K.S.A. 8-1535 imposes a duty of care on every driver to avoid colliding with any pedestrian, a duty that applies regardless of whether the pedestrian was following the rules.
When these statutes intersect with Kansas’s modified comparative fault system under K.S.A. 60-258a, the result is a legal framework where jaywalking reduces your recovery but does not automatically eliminate it.
Crosswalk Right-of-Way
Under K.S.A. 8-1533, drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation. This applies to both marked crosswalks and unmarked crosswalks at intersections, which means a pedestrian does not need painted lines on the pavement to have the legal right of way.
The statute also prohibits drivers approaching from behind from passing a vehicle that has stopped to let a pedestrian cross. Pedestrians also have an obligation under the same statute: they may not suddenly leave a curb and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close it would create an immediate hazard.
Jaywalking and Comparative Fault
Crossing outside a crosswalk does not automatically bar you from recovering compensation in Kansas. Under K.S.A. 8-1534, a pedestrian who crosses at a point other than a crosswalk must yield the right of way to vehicles, and violating that rule can contribute to your fault percentage. But K.S.A. 60-258a allows you to recover damages as long as your share of fault stays below 50%.
If a jury assigns you 40% fault on a $200,000 claim, your recovery drops to $120,000 rather than zero. Insurance companies use the word “jaywalking” to make victims believe their case is worthless, but the statute does not support that conclusion.
The Driver’s Duty of Care
K.S.A. 8-1535 requires every driver to exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian. The statute begins with the word “notwithstanding,” which means this obligation applies regardless of any other provision in the traffic code or any local ordinance. A driver who sees a pedestrian in the road cannot simply claim the pedestrian was in the wrong and keep driving.
The law specifically requires extra precaution when a driver observes a child or any person who appears confused or incapacitated. If a driver failed to slow down, stop, or take evasive action when they had the chance, they can be held liable for the injuries that followed.
What Are the Most Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries?
Pedestrian accidents produce severe injuries at rates that far exceed other types of traffic collisions. A person hit by a car traveling at just 25 miles per hour faces a roughly 10% risk of fatal injury, and that risk climbs steeply with speed.
The most frequently reported injuries in pedestrian crashes include traumatic brain injuries caused by the initial impact or by striking the pavement, spinal cord injuries that can result in partial or full paralysis, multiple fractures to the legs, pelvis, and ribs, and internal organ damage requiring emergency surgery. Crush injuries, severe road rash, and facial trauma are also common.
Beyond the physical harm, many pedestrian accident survivors develop post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety around traffic, and long-term depression. Fatal pedestrian crashes in Wichita have held steady at nine per year across 2023 and 2024, and surviving family members may have grounds to file a wrongful death claim.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Pedestrian Accident in Wichita?
The driver who struck you is the most common liable party in a pedestrian accident case, but responsibility does not always stop there. Kansas law allows you to pursue claims against every person or entity whose negligence contributed to the crash, and pedestrian cases frequently involve more than one source of fault.
Government agencies responsible for road design and maintenance can be held liable when missing sidewalks, broken pedestrian signals, or faded crosswalk markings force pedestrians into unsafe positions. Property owners who allow hazardous conditions near their storefronts or parking lots may also bear responsibility.
Employers whose drivers were on the clock at the time of the collision can be held accountable through vicarious liability, and construction companies that block sidewalks or fail to provide safe detour routes for pedestrians can share fault as well.
When multiple parties share liability, the total compensation available in your claim increases and the percentage of fault assigned to you goes down.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Pedestrian Accident?
Kansas pedestrian accident victims can pursue no-fault insurance benefits that pay out regardless of who caused the crash and, separately, a liability claim against the at-fault driver or other responsible parties. Both can be pursued at the same time, and an experienced attorney can help you maximize the total value across both.
Kansas is a no-fault state, which means Personal Injury Protection benefits are available to pedestrians under the state’s PIP system. Beyond PIP, a liability claim allows you to pursue the full scope of your economic and non-economic losses from the party whose negligence caused your injuries.
If the collision killed your family member, Kansas law allows surviving relatives to file a wrongful death claim. In cases involving extreme recklessness, such as a driver who was intoxicated or fled the scene, punitive damages may also be available. Kansas imposes a two-year statute of limitations on both personal injury and wrongful death claims under K.S.A. 60-513, so the sooner you talk to an attorney about a potential settlement or lawsuit, the better.
Kansas PIP Coverage for Pedestrians
Kansas law requires every auto insurance policy to include Personal Injury Protection coverage under the Kansas Automobile Injury Reparations Act, K.S.A. 40-3101 et seq. PIP benefits apply to pedestrians too, not just drivers and passengers. Under K.S.A. 40-3107(f), the insured vehicle’s PIP policy covers pedestrians and bicyclists struck by that vehicle, even if the pedestrian does not own a car.
Minimum PIP benefits include $4,500 for medical expenses and $900 per month for lost wages for up to one year. Because PIP is no-fault coverage, you are entitled to these benefits even if you are found to be 50% or more at fault for the accident.
Economic and Non-Economic Damages
A liability claim beyond PIP allows you to pursue the full value of your losses against the driver or other parties whose negligence caused the crash. Economic damages include medical expenses, hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, prescription medications, lost wages, and reduced future earning capacity if your injuries prevent you from returning to the same type of work.
Non-economic damages cover the personal toll of the accident, including pain and suffering, emotional distress, anxiety, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life. Kansas juries weigh the severity and permanence of the injury when determining what these damages are worth, and pedestrian cases often produce high awards because the injuries tend to be catastrophic.
Wrongful Death Claims
Families who lose a loved one in a Wichita pedestrian accident have the right to file a wrongful death claim under Kansas law. Recoverable damages include funeral and burial costs, the lost income the deceased would have provided to the household, and the loss of companionship, guidance, and emotional support the family has been deprived of.
Being struck and killed while walking is one of the most sudden and devastating losses a family can face, and no amount of compensation will undo that harm. But holding the responsible party accountable can provide financial stability and prevent the same negligence from injuring someone else.
What Should You Do After Being Hit by a Car in Wichita?
If you are struck by a vehicle anywhere in Wichita or Sedgwick County, call 911 immediately, even if you feel able to stand or walk. Adrenaline can mask the symptoms of serious injuries like internal bleeding and concussions, and a delayed diagnosis makes it harder to connect your injuries to the accident when you file a claim. Request that police respond to the scene and file an official report.
If you are physically able, get the driver’s name, phone number, insurance information, and license plate number before they leave. Photograph the intersection, the vehicle, your injuries, any skid marks, and traffic signals or signs in the area. Ask any witnesses for their contact information.
Preserve the clothing and shoes you were wearing at the time of the collision, as they can serve as evidence of the force of impact. Do not give recorded statements to the driver’s insurance company, and do not admit fault or apologize at the scene.
Contact a pedestrian accident attorney as soon as possible. Kansas has a two-year statute of limitations on these claims, and traffic camera footage and surveillance video can be overwritten long before that deadline arrives.
How Bretz Injury Law Can Help
Bretz Injury Law has recovered more than $300 million for injured clients across Kansas, and for over 30 years, our attorneys have fought to hold negligent drivers, government agencies, and property owners accountable for the harm they cause. We handle your case on a contingency fee basis with a written guarantee, which means you pay nothing unless we win.
Our Wichita office at 225 N Market St offers free consultations and bilingual services in English and Spanish. If you were hit by a car while walking in Wichita, call us at (316) 266-4111 or contact our team online.