Pedestrian & Bicycle Accident in Memphis: Your Rights and Next Steps

Your first priority after being hit by a car is getting help. Call 911 immediately, even if you think your injuries are minor. Pedestrian and bicycle accidents cause injuries that are routinely underestimated at the scene — concussions, internal bleeding, spinal injuries, and fractures may not produce noticeable symptoms for hours. Adrenaline masks pain. The 911 call creates a timestamped record that protects your claim later.

Do not move if you think you may have a spinal injury. If you can move safely, get out of the road to avoid a secondary collision. Stay at the scene until police arrive and take your statement. Under Tennessee law (TCA 55-10-101), the driver is required to stop, exchange information, and render reasonable assistance. If the driver fled, note whatever details you can — vehicle make, model, color, direction of travel, and any part of the license plate.

Ask responding officers to create a crash report. Memphis Police Department will respond to pedestrian and bicycle crashes involving injuries. Get the report number before officers leave. If police do not respond to the scene, file a report through Memphis PD's non-emergency line at 901-545-2677 or the Citizens Online Police Reporting System for eligible incidents.

Evidence disappears fast. If you are physically able, start documenting immediately. Use your phone to photograph your injuries, damage to your bicycle or personal belongings, the vehicle that hit you (including license plates), skid marks, debris, traffic signals, crosswalk markings, and the surrounding road layout. Take wide-angle shots and close-ups.

Look for surveillance cameras on nearby businesses, ATMs, traffic signal poles, and apartment buildings. Memphis has traffic cameras throughout the city, particularly along major corridors like Poplar Avenue, Union Avenue, and Lamar Avenue. Note every camera you see. Your attorney or the police can request footage before it gets overwritten, which usually happens within 7 to 30 days.

Get contact information from witnesses. Pedestrian and bicycle crashes often have bystanders who saw what happened. Their statements about the driver's speed, whether the driver ran a red light, and whether you were in a crosswalk can make or break your claim. Ask witnesses if they captured any video on their phones.

Pedestrian and bicycle crashes cause disproportionately severe injuries because the human body has no protection against a multi-ton vehicle. Common injuries include traumatic brain injuries (even with a helmet), broken bones, road rash, spinal cord injuries, internal organ damage, and knee and hip injuries. A pedestrian struck at 30 mph has roughly a 40% chance of dying — at 40 mph, that number jumps to 80%.

Go to an emergency room or urgent care within 24 hours of the accident — even if you walked away from the scene. The primary trauma center in Memphis is Regional One Health's Elvis Presley Trauma Center, the only Level I trauma center within a 150-mile radius. It treats over 4,500 trauma patients per year. Other hospitals include Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital, Baptist Memorial Hospital–Memphis, and St. Francis Hospital–Memphis. The ER visit creates a medical record linking your injuries directly to the accident.

Follow up with your primary care physician and follow every prescribed treatment plan. If a doctor refers you to a specialist, go. If they prescribe physical therapy, attend every session. Insurance adjusters look for gaps in treatment as evidence that your injuries are not serious. Consistent medical care is both good for your recovery and essential to your claim.

Tennessee law gives pedestrians the right of way in several situations. Under TCA 55-8-134, drivers must yield to pedestrians within marked crosswalks and at intersections. When a vehicle is stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross, other vehicles approaching from behind may not overtake and pass the stopped vehicle. Under TCA 55-8-136, drivers must exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian and must give a warning by sounding the horn when necessary.

Pedestrians also have duties. Under TCA 55-8-135, pedestrians crossing outside of a crosswalk must yield the right of way to vehicles. Between adjacent signalized intersections, pedestrians may only cross at marked crosswalks. However, even if a pedestrian crosses outside a crosswalk or against a signal, the driver still has a duty of due care — and the pedestrian may still recover damages under Tennessee's comparative fault system if the driver's negligence contributed to the crash.

Cyclists are treated as vehicle operators under Tennessee law (TCA 55-8-172). They have the right to use the road, must follow the same traffic laws as cars, and are entitled to the full lane when the lane is too narrow to share safely (lanes must be at least 14 feet wide for a car and bicycle to travel side by side). Under TCA 55-8-175, drivers must leave at least 3 feet of clearance when passing a bicycle — known as the Jeff Roth and Brian Brown Bicycle Protection Act. Memphis has been expanding its bike lane network through the Memphis 3.0 plan and Complete Streets policy adopted in 2019, but many roads still lack adequate cycling infrastructure.

Tennessee uses a modified comparative fault system (TCA 29-11-103). If you were partially at fault — for example, crossing outside a crosswalk, ignoring a pedestrian signal, or cycling the wrong way — your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are found 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing. Tennessee's threshold is stricter than many states — you must be less than 50% at fault to recover anything.

Insurance companies routinely argue that pedestrians and cyclists contributed to their own injuries by jaywalking, not wearing reflective clothing, or not wearing a helmet. Tennessee has no statewide helmet law for adult cyclists (TCA 55-52-105 only requires helmets for riders under 16), and TCA 55-52-106(c) explicitly provides that failure to wear a helmet is not admissible as evidence in any civil action. Despite this, defense attorneys may still try to argue comparative fault on other grounds. The key is building a strong evidence file — police reports, witness statements, camera footage — that shows the driver's negligence.

In practice, drivers bear the greater responsibility in most pedestrian and bicycle crashes because they are operating a dangerous machine and have a heightened duty of care. Courts and juries understand the massive disparity in vulnerability between a person on foot or a bicycle and a driver inside a vehicle. The driver's negligence — speeding, distraction, failure to yield — almost always outweighs any fault attributed to the pedestrian or cyclist.

Tennessee is an at-fault state for auto insurance. The driver who caused the crash is responsible for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages through their liability insurance. Tennessee's minimum liability coverage is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $15,000 for property damage (TCA 55-12-102). Many drivers carry only the minimum, which may not cover serious pedestrian or bicycle injuries.

If the driver is uninsured or underinsured, your own auto insurance policy's uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage may apply — even if you were on foot or on a bicycle at the time. About 24% of Tennessee drivers carry no insurance at all, one of the highest uninsured rates in the country. If you do not have auto insurance, you may be able to claim under a household member's UM policy. Check your policy or ask an attorney.

If the crash was caused by a dangerous road condition — a missing crosswalk signal, a pothole, an obstructed sight line — the government entity responsible for maintaining the road may also be liable. Government claims in Tennessee must be filed within 1 year under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act (TCA 29-20-305). These claims have strict procedural requirements, so consult an attorney promptly.

Tennessee's statute of limitations for personal injury claims is just 1 year from the date of injury (TCA 28-3-104). This is one of the shortest deadlines in the country — most states allow 2 or 3 years. Miss this deadline and you lose the right to file a lawsuit, no matter how strong your case. For wrongful death claims, the deadline is also 1 year from the date of death (TCA 28-3-104). If criminal charges are brought against the driver, the deadline extends to 2 years.

Do not wait until the deadline approaches. Evidence degrades fast — surveillance footage is overwritten, witnesses move away, road conditions change. The strongest pedestrian and bicycle claims are built starting on day one. File your police report, get medical treatment, photograph everything, and talk to an attorney as soon as possible.

Want to understand your options after being hit by a car while walking or cycling in Memphis? Get your free Injury Claim Check. You will answer a few questions about your accident and injuries, and we will provide a personalized report covering your potential claim value — including how comparative fault, insurance coverage, and the severity of your injuries affect your recovery — and connect you with a Memphis personal injury attorney experienced in pedestrian and bicycle cases.

Being hit by a car while walking or riding a bike is one of the most traumatic experiences a person can have. You were doing something completely normal — commuting, exercising, crossing the street — and someone else's negligence changed your life. Tennessee law protects your right to compensation. Start with the Injury Claim Check. It is free, confidential, and takes less time than waiting on hold with your insurance company.