Galveston Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Texas Transportation Code Chapter 552 decides who had to yield, and Texas divides the fault by percentage. A Galveston case adds two local rules: sworn notice to the City Council within 180 days for a claim against the city, and a charter section that says the city is not liable for sidewalk defects.

Who had to yield

At a crosswalk with no working signal, the driver must stop and yield to a person on the driver’s half of the road or approaching close enough to be in danger (Tex. Transp. Code § 552.003(a)). Crossing anywhere else, the pedestrian yields (§ 552.005(a)), and between two working signals a pedestrian may cross only in a marked crosswalk (§ 552.005(b)), a rule that matters on Broadway’s signalised stretch. None of that excuses the driver: § 552.008 still requires every driver to “exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian on a roadway.” The city’s safety plan also notes that a Galveston ordinance treats pedestrians as vulnerable road users whom a passing vehicle must give at least 3 feet or slow down for.

How shared fault changes the amount

A person found more than 50 percent responsible recovers nothing; at 50 percent or less, damages are reduced by that share (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 33.001, 33.012(a)). On the Seawall the insurer’s argument is usually that the person stepped out between parked cars or crossed in the dark. The answer is evidence: where the person was hit, the lighting, the vehicle’s speed and whether the driver was impaired.

When the driver drove away

A driver in a crash that is reasonably likely to injure someone must stop, return if they did not, and find out whether anyone needs aid (Tex. Transp. Code § 550.021(a)). Three of the five island crashes above involved a driver who left. If the driver is never found or has no insurance, the injured person’s own uninsured motorist coverage, or that of a relative in the same household, may pay; Texas auto policies include it unless a named insured rejected it in writing (Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101(c)).

Claims against the City of Galveston

Article XIV, Section 7 of the City Charter says the city is never liable for a death or personal injury unless the person gives the City Council written notice, “duly verified by affidavit,” within 180 days, stating when, where and how it happened, the injuries, the damages, the claimant’s residence and the witnesses. The same section says it does not shorten the six-month notice in Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 101.101 (Galveston City Charter, Art. XIV, § 7; § 101.101(a), (b)). The city’s own page sends claims to the City Secretary under Section 2-38 of the City Code (City of Galveston, File a Claim). Section 8 of the same article states that the city shall not be liable for damages “on account of any defect in, obstruction on, or anything else in connection with any sidewalk in the City.” How these sections apply to a particular fall or crash is a legal question we review at the start, because the notice clock runs from the day of the injury.

Where the case is filed

A lawsuit over a crash on the island is generally filed in Galveston County, whose courthouse is at 600 59th Street, and must be filed within two years (§ 16.003(a)). For the island’s other claim types, see our Galveston car accident page and the Galveston personal injury and maritime page; for the Texas rules in more depth, our Houston pedestrian accident page.