Fault & Liability
Who is at fault when a pedestrian is hit in Georgia?
Short answer
It depends on who had the right of way and whether the driver exercised due care. Georgia requires drivers to yield to a pedestrian lawfully within a crosswalk, and to exercise due care to avoid any pedestrian regardless of location. Pedestrians crossing outside a crosswalk must generally yield to vehicles, but that does not excuse a driver who was speeding, distracted or failed to keep a proper lookout. Because Georgia divides fault, both sides' conduct is usually examined.
What Georgia law says
O.C.G.A. § 40-6-91 requires a driver to stop and yield to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk under specified conditions, and O.C.G.A. § 40-6-92 requires a pedestrian crossing outside a crosswalk to yield the right of way to vehicles. O.C.G.A. § 40-6-93 requires every driver to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian and to give warning when necessary. Fault is apportioned under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, reducing recovery by the pedestrian's own share and barring recovery at 50 percent.
What this means after an accident
The practical point is that "the pedestrian was jaywalking" is a starting argument, not an ending one. Georgia's due-care rule keeps the driver's speed, attention and reaction in issue even where the pedestrian was not in a crosswalk.
How this actually works
What decides these cases: the point of impact on the vehicle and the pedestrian's rest position, which establish crossing path and speed; the location of the impact relative to crosswalk markings, signals and lighting; video from traffic, business, transit and dashboard cameras; vehicle event data showing speed and braking; and independent witnesses. Because pedestrian injuries are typically severe, the medical record from day one carries substantial weight. Coverage is the other half: where the driver's limits are inadequate or the driver fled, a pedestrian's own auto policy uninsured motorist coverage can apply depending on the policy language, and a resident relative's policy may also matter. Do not give a recorded statement about distances or timing before reviewing scene photographs, because estimates given from memory are used to build a comparative-fault argument.
What you should do
- 01Photograph the scene, crosswalk markings, signals, lighting and sightlines.
- 02Note the vehicle's point of impact and where each party came to rest.
- 03Ask nearby businesses, homes and transit agencies about camera footage immediately.
- 04Get medical evaluation the same day and report every symptom.
- 05Ask your own auto insurer in writing whether your UM coverage applies.
Important exceptions
Exceptions and complications: children are held to a different standard of care than adults, crashes in parking lots and private property involve different rules, a hit-and-run driver raises uninsured motorist questions, and a defective crossing signal or obscured sightline can add a non-driver defendant, sometimes a government entity with short notice deadlines. Each of these changes the analysis.
When an attorney may help
Legal help matters early, because video and vehicle data are the evidence that overcomes a driver's account, and both disappear quickly. It also matters where a government entity or an uninsured driver is involved, because deadlines and coverage questions arrive fast.
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MCA Answers
What you may need to know next
Straight answers built around Georgia law, authoritative sources and practical guidance.
- Who is at fault when a car hits a bicyclist in Georgia?Fault depends on who failed to follow the rules of the road, and in Georgia a bicyclist has the same rights and duties as a driver. Drivers must pass a bicycle by changing lanes when possible, or leave a safe distance of at least three feet when a lane change is not possible. Common driver-fault scenarios are right hooks, left-turn failures to yield, dooring, unsafe passing and rear-end impacts; a cyclist's own conduct — riding against traffic, ignoring a signal, no lights at night — can reduce or bar recovery.
- What should I do after a hit-and-run accident in Georgia?Call 911 from the scene and report it as a hit-and-run so an official report exists, get the responding officer's name and the report number, look for witnesses and cameras before you leave, get medically evaluated the same day, and notify your own insurer promptly — because in Georgia your uninsured motorist coverage is usually what pays when the driver is never identified. Leaving the scene without a police report is the single most common reason these claims fail.
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