Hit by a Car While Walking in St. Louis?

If you've been hit by a car, your first priority is getting out of the traffic lane if you can move safely. St. Louis sits at the convergence of four major interstate highways — I-70, I-64, I-44, and I-55 — and its surface streets carry heavy traffic through a compact metro area. Grand Boulevard, Kingshighway Boulevard, and Gravois Avenue are among the most dangerous roads for pedestrians in the city.

Call 911 immediately. If the driver who hit you is still at the scene, do not let them leave without police documenting the incident. If the driver fled, give the dispatcher every detail you can: vehicle make, model, color, direction of travel, any part of the plate number. St. Louis Metropolitan Police (SLMPD) will respond and create an official crash report.

Even if your injuries seem minor, get police on the scene. A crash report is your most important piece of evidence. Without it, proving what happened becomes exponentially harder — and the driver's insurance company will use any gap in documentation to minimize your claim.

Pedestrian injuries are almost always more severe than they initially feel. Adrenaline and shock mask pain. Concussions, internal bleeding, fractures, spinal injuries, and traumatic brain injuries often don't produce full symptoms for hours or even days after the impact.

Go to an emergency room the same day. Barnes-Jewish Hospital at 1 Barnes Jewish Hospital Plaza is St. Louis's premier Level I trauma center, affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine. SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital at 1201 South Grand Boulevard is a second Level I trauma center in the city. Mercy Hospital St. Louis at 615 South New Ballas Road is the only Level I trauma center in St. Louis County. For children, St. Louis Children's Hospital at One Children's Place is the region's only ACS-verified Level I Pediatric Trauma Center.

Tell the doctor exactly what happened — that you were struck by a vehicle while on foot. This creates a documented medical link between the crash and your injuries on day one. Without that link, the insurance company will argue your injuries were pre-existing or caused by something else.

Keep every receipt, every doctor's note, and every prescription. Follow-up appointments, physical therapy, imaging, and specialist visits all build your case and directly impact the compensation you may be entitled to.

If you're physically able, pull out your phone and photograph everything before you leave the scene: the intersection or stretch of road where you were hit, traffic signals or signs, crosswalk markings (or the absence of them), skid marks, debris, your injuries, the driver's vehicle and license plate, road conditions, and weather.

Get the driver's full name, phone number, insurance company and policy number, driver's license number, and license plate number. If there are witnesses, ask for their names and phone numbers — witness testimony is especially valuable in pedestrian cases because the driver's insurance company will try to argue you were at fault.

Look around for security cameras. Gas stations, ATMs, businesses, and traffic cameras at intersections may have captured the crash. Note their locations so your attorney can request the footage before it gets overwritten — most systems record over old footage within 7 to 30 days.

Write down exactly what happened while it's fresh: where you were walking, whether you were in a crosswalk, what direction you were going, the direction the vehicle was traveling, the speed it seemed to be going, and whether the driver stopped. These details matter under Missouri's comparative fault analysis.

If SLMPD responded to the scene, they'll generate a crash report automatically. If officers did not respond — which can happen during high-volume periods, as St. Louis averages roughly 25 crashes per day — you should file a report yourself.

Missouri law requires drivers to file a written crash report with the Missouri Department of Revenue within 5 days if the crash caused injury, death, or property damage of $500 or more and was not investigated by law enforcement.

To obtain a copy of your St. Louis Police crash report, request it from the SLMPD Records Service Center at 1915 Olive Street, 1st Floor, St. Louis, MO 63103, or by phone at (314) 444-5551 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM). The fee is $6 to $10 for a standard crash report. Payment is by cash, money order, or business check — no personal checks or debit/credit cards. Reports can also be requested online through the SLMPD Public Records portal. Reports are typically available within 5 to 10 business days after the crash.

The driver's insurance company will contact you quickly — often within 24 to 48 hours. They will sound sympathetic. They are not on your side. Their strategy in pedestrian cases is almost always the same: blame you. They'll argue you weren't in a crosswalk, you were distracted by your phone, you crossed against the signal, or you were wearing dark clothing at night.

You are not legally required to give them a recorded statement. If they ask, say: 'I'm not prepared to give a statement at this time.' Don't let them rush you. Anything you say can and will be used to increase the percentage of fault attributed to you — which under Missouri's pure comparative negligence rule directly reduces your compensation dollar for dollar.

They may also offer a quick settlement. Don't accept it. Early offers are almost always far below the true value of your claim, especially before you know the full extent of your injuries. Pedestrian crash injuries frequently require months of treatment, and the full cost isn't clear for weeks or months.

Missouri follows pure comparative negligence under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.765. This is one of the most plaintiff-friendly fault rules in the country — and it matters enormously in pedestrian cases.

Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, but recovery is never completely barred. Even if you're found 60% at fault, you can still recover 40% of your damages. There is no threshold that cuts off your right to compensation. If your damages total $200,000 and you're found 30% at fault, your recovery is $140,000.

Drivers always have a duty of care toward pedestrians. Missouri law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 300.375), exercise due care to avoid striking a pedestrian (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 300.380), and give audible warning when necessary. The fact that a pedestrian was outside a crosswalk does not eliminate the driver's duty of care — it may reduce the percentage of fault attributed to the driver, but it doesn't eliminate it.

Any defendant found 51% or more at fault is jointly and severally liable for the full compensatory judgment under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.067. This matters when multiple parties share responsibility — for example, if a road design flaw contributed to the crash alongside driver negligence.

Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120, you have five years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit in Missouri. This is one of the longest statutes of limitations in the country. For wrongful death, the deadline is shorter: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.100 gives eligible family members three years from the date of death to file.

For claims against government entities — such as the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, or MoDOT for dangerous road design or missing crosswalks — a 90-day notice may be required under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.600 et seq. Missing this notice deadline can forfeit your right to sue the government entity entirely.

Don't let the long statute of limitations create a false sense of security. Evidence fades, witnesses move, surveillance footage gets overwritten, and memories become unreliable. Starting early gives your attorney more leverage and access to better evidence.

Pedestrian accident cases in St. Louis often involve severe injuries — traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, multiple fractures, internal organ damage. The medical costs alone can be staggering, and the insurance company's goal is to minimize what they pay.

An experienced St. Louis pedestrian accident attorney can investigate the crash thoroughly, obtain surveillance footage before it's overwritten, work with accident reconstruction experts, handle all communication with the insurance company, and fight to minimize the fault attributed to you under Missouri's comparative negligence system.

St. Louis City is an independent city — not part of St. Louis County. Your case will be filed in either the 22nd Judicial Circuit (city) or the 21st Judicial Circuit (county) depending on where the crash happened. If a government entity is involved (dangerous road design, missing crosswalk, broken traffic signal), the 90-day notice requirement adds urgency.

Initial consultations are free, and most pedestrian accident attorneys in St. Louis work on contingency — you pay nothing unless they win your case. Given the severity of most pedestrian injuries and the insurance company's incentive to blame you, having professional representation is critical to protecting your claim.