Pedestrian or Bicycle Accident in San Antonio: Your Rights After Being Hit

Call 911 immediately. Pedestrian and bicycle crashes almost always involve injuries that require medical attention — even if you feel okay, adrenaline can mask serious injuries. Under Tex. Trans. Code 550.021, the driver must stop and remain at the scene. If the driver fled, you are dealing with a hit-and-run — provide the dispatcher with every detail you can about the vehicle.

Do not move unless you are in immediate danger from traffic. Spinal cord and head injuries can be worsened by movement. If you are in the roadway, try to get to the curb or sidewalk if you can do so safely. Otherwise, stay still and wait for EMS. University Hospital is San Antonio's only civilian Level I trauma center and handles the most severe pedestrian and bicycle injuries.

If you are conscious and able, ask bystanders to help document the scene. People at intersections, bus stops, or nearby businesses may have witnessed the crash and can provide critical testimony about what the driver was doing — texting, running a red light, failing to check before turning.

If you are physically able, photograph the scene: the vehicle that hit you (including the license plate), the intersection or road where the crash occurred, traffic signals, crosswalks, bike lanes, road conditions, and your injuries. If your bicycle was damaged, photograph it in its post-crash position and condition — the damage pattern can help reconstruct the crash.

Get the driver's name, phone number, insurance company, policy number, driver's license number, and license plate. Also get the names and contact information of every witness. At busy San Antonio intersections, multiple people may have seen what happened.

Note the specific location: street names, the nearest address, whether you were in a crosswalk or bike lane, and which direction both you and the vehicle were traveling. The direction matters — a right-turning driver hitting a pedestrian in a crosswalk has a different fault analysis than a driver hitting a jaywalker mid-block.

Under Tex. Trans. Code 552.003, drivers must yield the right of way to pedestrians lawfully in a crosswalk at an intersection. Under Tex. Trans. Code 552.002, pedestrians must obey traffic signals, and pedestrians crossing outside a crosswalk must yield to vehicles. This means pedestrians have strong right-of-way protections in crosswalks but reduced protections when crossing mid-block.

For cyclists, Tex. Trans. Code 551.103 requires drivers passing a bicycle to leave at least 3 feet of clearance. Cyclists have the same rights and duties as vehicles on Texas roads (Tex. Trans. Code 551.101) and may use full lanes when necessary for safety. Drivers who fail to check for cyclists before turning, opening doors, or changing lanes are typically at fault for resulting collisions.

Even if you were not in a crosswalk or were cycling outside a bike lane, you may still recover damages. Texas proportionate responsibility (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 33.001) assigns fault percentages to each party. A jaywalking pedestrian might be assigned 30% fault, but if the driver was speeding, distracted, or failed to keep a proper lookout, the driver bears the remaining 70% — and the pedestrian recovers 70% of damages.

When a vehicle hits an unprotected person, the injuries are almost always serious. The human body has no crumple zones, no airbags, no seatbelts. Even a vehicle traveling at 25 mph poses a significant risk of serious injury to a pedestrian — at 40 mph, the fatality risk for a pedestrian is approximately 85%. San Antonio's wide arterials with 40-50 mph speed limits make pedestrian crashes particularly deadly.

Common pedestrian and bicycle crash injuries include traumatic brain injuries (even with a bicycle helmet, the forces in a vehicle collision can exceed helmet protection), broken legs, pelvis, and hip fractures (the bumper-height impact pattern), internal organ damage, spinal cord injuries, road rash and skin grafts for cyclists, and facial injuries.

These injuries often require emergency surgery, ICU stays, multiple follow-up surgeries, and months or years of rehabilitation. Long-term or permanent disability is common. Medical costs for serious pedestrian and bicycle crash injuries frequently exceed $100,000 and can reach into the millions for catastrophic injuries like traumatic brain injury or spinal cord damage.

As a pedestrian or cyclist, you file your claim against the driver's liability insurance. You do not need your own auto insurance to make this claim — the driver who hit you carries liability coverage that applies to anyone they injure, including pedestrians and cyclists. Texas requires minimum liability coverage of 30/60/25 (Tex. Trans. Code 601.072).

If you do have auto insurance with uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, it may apply if the driver who hit you was uninsured or fled the scene (hit-and-run). Your UM coverage can pay for your injuries even though you were on foot or on a bicycle at the time of the crash. Medical payments (MedPay) coverage on your auto policy may also apply regardless of fault.

If the driver's insurance limits are insufficient — and for serious pedestrian or bicycle injuries, the minimum $30,000 per-person limit often is not enough — your underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage can fill the gap. Your health insurance will also cover medical treatment, though it may have a subrogation right to be repaid from any settlement or judgment you receive.

San Antonio has historically been designed around cars, not pedestrians or cyclists. Wide, multi-lane arterials with high speed limits and limited crosswalk infrastructure create dangerous conditions. Military Drive, Marbach Road, Culebra Road, Bandera Road, Fredericksburg Road, and Nacogdoches Road are among the most dangerous corridors for pedestrians in San Antonio.

The City of San Antonio has adopted a Vision Zero plan to reduce traffic fatalities, with a focus on pedestrian and cyclist safety. Protected bike lanes, improved crosswalks, and reduced speed limits have been implemented in some areas — particularly downtown, the River Walk area, and the Broadway corridor. But progress has been slow relative to the scale of the problem.

If the road where you were hit lacked adequate pedestrian or cyclist infrastructure — no crosswalk, no bike lane, no adequate lighting, no pedestrian signals — the City of San Antonio or TxDOT may share liability for the dangerous road design. These government liability claims require filing a notice within 6 months under the Texas Tort Claims Act.

Texas has a 2-year statute of limitations for personal injury (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003). This clock starts on the date of the crash. For wrongful death claims, the 2-year period runs from the date of death. For claims against the City of San Antonio or TxDOT, file a notice within 6 months.

Pedestrian and bicycle crash victims often face long recovery periods. It is not uncommon for treatment to last more than a year. Do not let the focus on recovery cause you to miss the filing deadline. Begin the claims process as soon as you are able — your legal rights have a clock running from day one.

Preserve evidence immediately: get the police report, photograph the scene and your injuries, save medical records, and identify witnesses. If you believe the road design contributed to the crash, document the conditions — lack of crosswalk, missing bike lane, poor lighting, obstructed sight lines.

Were you hit by a vehicle while walking or cycling in San Antonio? Take our free 2-minute assessment at /assessment/. We will help you understand driver liability, the value of your injuries, and whether connecting with a San Antonio personal injury attorney makes sense.

Pedestrian and bicycle crashes produce some of the most devastating injuries of any crash type. Your medical costs may be enormous and your recovery long. Start with the assessment — it is free, confidential, and can help you understand your legal options.