Skip to content Insurers open a pedestrian file the same way every time: where exactly were you standing, and was there paint on the road. Both matter less than adjusters suggest. Arizona recognizes crosswalks that were never painted and imposes a duty on drivers that survives a pedestrian’s own mistake, the two points a pedestrian accident lawyer in Glendale establishes first.
A driver must yield to you and the crosswalk does not have to be painted. A.R.S. § 28-792 requires a driver to yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be, to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is on the half of the roadway the vehicle is travelling on, or approaching so closely from the other half as to be in danger.
The detail that decides cases: an unmarked crosswalk exists at virtually every intersection, as the natural extension of the sidewalk across the roadway. No paint is required. A pedestrian crossing at an ordinary corner with no markings is generally in a crosswalk and has the right of way, a point most drivers, and most injured pedestrians, do not know.
Section 28-792 carries a second protection that matters on multi-lane roads like Bell Road and 59th Avenue: a driver may not pass a vehicle stopped at a marked or unmarked crosswalk. The car that stops is complying, not being courteous and the driver who swings around it into the next lane is the classic multi-lane pedestrian collision. The statute cuts both ways, though: a pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb into the path of a vehicle so close that the driver cannot yield.
You can still recover. Two provisions work together here, and the second is the one insurers leave out.
A.R.S. § 28-793 does require a pedestrian crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk to yield to all vehicles, and prohibits crossing anywhere except a marked crosswalk when you are between adjacent signalized intersections. So a violation may well have occurred.
But A.R.S. § 28-794 imposes an independent duty on the driver to exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian, to give warning by sounding the horn where necessary, and to exercise proper precaution on observing a child or an obviously confused or incapacitated person. That duty is not conditional on who has the right of way. Arizona’s own police training materials put it bluntly: there is no open season on pedestrians.
Because Arizona applies pure comparative negligence under A.R.S. § 12-2505 with no percentage cutoff, your share of the fault reduces the award rather than defeating it. A pedestrian found 40% responsible for crossing mid-block still recovers 60% of proven damages and that percentage is a negotiating position, not a finding.
Not the driver’s insurer, at least not while you are treating. Arizona is an at-fault state with no Personal Injury Protection requirement, so the liability carrier generally pays once, at settlement leaving a gap during the months when treatment is heaviest.
Three sources usually fill it. Medical payments coverage on your own auto policy follows the person rather than the car, so it can pay even though you were on foot and your vehicle was parked at home. Health insurance pays as it normally would, subject to later reimbursement. And a provider lien recorded under A.R.S. § 33-931 lets treatment proceed now against payment from any settlement.
Liens and health plan reimbursement come out of the recovery, so the settlement figure and what you keep are different numbers which is why negotiating them down belongs in the case, not at disbursement.
Your own auto policy is usually the answer, even though you were walking. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage generally follows the person, so a pedestrian struck by an uninsured driver may have a claim on their own policy, and sometimes on a resident family member’s. Insurers must offer it under A.R.S. § 20-259.01, though buying it is optional.
Arizona also treats an unidentified driver who leaves the scene as an uninsured motorist, so a hit-and-run redirects the claim rather than ending it. Where no contact occurred a driver forces you off the roadway and continues on A.R.S. § 20-259.01(M) requires corroboration that the unidentified vehicle caused the incident, meaning an independent witness, camera footage, or physical evidence.
Two warnings. Many policies condition that coverage on reporting to police within 24 hours. And a Glendale uninsured motorist claim is adversarial despite being against your own carrier, which inherits every defense the absent driver could have raised.
The Grand Avenue / US-60 diagonal is Glendale’s most difficult environment on foot. It crosses the street grid at oblique angles with a rail line alongside, producing offset multi-leg intersections, long unprotected crossings, and sightlines that do not behave like a square corner.
Wide, fast arterials do the rest. Bell Road, 59th Avenue, 67th Avenue, and Glendale Avenue pair high speeds with long distances between signals, the pattern that produces mid-block crossings, and then the § 28-793 argument. Historic Downtown Glendale adds angled parking and short sightlines, ASU West puts student foot traffic on the northwest corridor, and event surges at State Farm Stadium and Westgate move crowds across arterials after dark, often alongside drivers who have been drinking.
Court and deadlines. Glendale City Court hears no civil injury suits; claims above $10,000 go to Maricopa County Superior Court, smaller matters to a Maricopa County justice court. The filing deadline is generally two years under A.R.S. § 12-542, but where a public entity may share responsibility a signal timing failure, a missing crossing, a city vehicle notice is generally due within 180 days under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, then one year to file. Glendale PD works city streets; DPS works Loop 101 Agua Fria and state routes including Grand Avenue.
Jason A. Harris has practiced personal injury and workers’ compensation law in Arizona since 2006, representing thousands of injury clients. Clients speak with him directly.
Fee terms (ER 7.1 compliant): Cases run on a contingency fee no retainer, no hourly billing, no attorney fee unless compensation is recovered. Case costs are advanced and reimbursed from any recovery, with terms in writing before you sign. Consultations are free.
A pedestrian absorbs the full impact, so these files run toward the long tail of a brain injury and lifetime care costs. Where a pedestrian does not survive, only the beneficiaries listed in A.R.S. § 12-612 may bring a wrongful death action.
Generally yes. An unmarked crosswalk exists at virtually every intersection as the natural extension of the sidewalk across the roadway, and A.R.S. § 28-792 requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in unmarked crosswalks just as in marked ones. No paint is needed for the right of way to apply.
Yes. A.R.S. § 28-793 requires a pedestrian crossing outside a crosswalk to yield, so a violation may have occurred, but A.R.S. § 28-794 separately requires every driver to exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian, regardless of right of way. Under pure comparative negligence, your share of fault reduces the recovery rather than barring it.
Usually, medical payments coverage on your own auto policy, which follows the person rather than the vehicle and can pay even though you were walking; your health insurance; or a provider lien under A.R.S. § 33-931. Arizona has no Personal Injury Protection requirement, so the at-fault driver’s carrier typically pays once, at settlement.
Often yes. Arizona treats an unidentified hit-and-run driver as an uninsured motorist, so the claim shifts to your own uninsured motorist coverage if you carry it. Report it to police promptly, and many policies condition that coverage on reporting within 24 hours.
Signal timing records, intersection and business camera footage, and the physical evidence of where you were standing all disappear within days, and they are what settle the crosswalk argument.
Harris Injury Law, PLLC 1136 E Campbell Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85014 (480) 800-4878
Glendale pedestrian lawyers serving the West Valley, with pedestrian accident attorneys handling claims across the metro from our Phoenix pedestrian accident attorney practice. Request a free consultation or meet our attorneys. Every case depends on its own facts; no outcome can be promised or predicted.
This page provides general information about Arizona law and is not legal advice. Reading it creates no attorney-client relationship. Arizona law and local ordinances change. Consult a licensed Arizona attorney about your situation.
Reviewed by Jason A. Harris, Harris Injury Law, PLLC.
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