Pedestrian hit by a vehicle: what are your rights?

I crossed away from the pedestrian crossing: will I be compensated?

Yes, in principle. Crossing away from a pedestrian crossing, against a red pedestrian light, while running or while looking at your phone: these careless acts, even if real, are not enough to deprive you of compensation for your injuries.

The Badinter Act was designed to protect the most vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists and passengers. For them, compensation for personal injury is the rule, and the victim’s fault is the exception.

What is an “inexcusable fault”?

It is not enough that you were at fault. The insurer can only refuse to compensate you if it proves two things at once:

1. that you committed a deliberate fault of exceptional seriousness, which exposed you, without valid reason, to a danger of which you should have been aware;
2. that this fault was the sole cause of the accident: if the driver was also at fault (excessive speed, inattention…), it cannot be held against you.

These conditions are very strict, and the courts apply them narrowly. Mere carelessness, even serious carelessness, is not enough.

What about a child, an older person or a disabled person?

The protection is even stronger for victims who are:

• under 16;
• over 70;
• holders, at the time of the accident, of an official document recognising a permanent incapacity or disability rate of at least 80%.

They are compensated in all cases, unless they deliberately sought the harm they suffered.

Do I have to prove that the driver was at fault?

No. It is enough that the vehicle is “involved” (impliqué) in the accident, meaning that it played some part, in one way or another, in how it happened. It does not matter whether the driver complied with the Highway Code: their insurer must compensate you.

Who will compensate me?

• The insurer of the vehicle involved, not your own insurer.
• If several vehicles are involved, their insurers are jointly bound to compensate you.
• If the driver fled the scene and was not identified, or was uninsured, the French Motor Insurers’ Guarantee Fund (Fonds de garantie des assurances obligatoires de dommages, FGAO) takes over.

The insurer must make you an offer within specific deadlines: see the guide how long does the insurer have to make you an offer?

What about my damaged belongings?

For your property (phone, clothes, bag…), the rules are less favourable: any fault on your part, even a simple one, can reduce or rule out compensation for it.

An important exception: glasses, prostheses and devices supplied on medical prescription are compensated in the same way as your injuries, with the same protection.

What to do after the accident

• Have all your injuries, even minor ones, recorded by a doctor or at A&E, and keep the initial medical certificate.
• Note the vehicle’s registration number, the identity of the driver and of their insurer, and the contact details of any witnesses.
• If the police or gendarmerie attended, note which unit it was and ask for a copy of the police report (procès-verbal).
• Take photos of the scene and of your injuries.
• Keep all your receipts for expenses and your sick notes.
• Do not sign any document from the insurer before having it reviewed.