Getting hit by a car on foot is not a fair fight, and the insurance response after one of these crashes often is not fair either. Drivers walk away from most pedestrian collisions without a scratch.
The pedestrian rarely does. And by the time the driver's insurer calls, someone has already decided how to reframe the crash in a way that shifts fault onto the person who was walking.
An Albuquerque pedestrian accident lawyer at Gauthier & Maier Law Firm handles cases where that reframing is the whole game.
We represent people struck by vehicles across Bernalillo County, Valencia County, and the rest of New Mexico, whether the crash happened in a marked crosswalk on Central Avenue, at a Sunport parking lot, or on a residential street where a driver was not paying attention.
Our approach centers on getting ahead of the fault-shifting that insurers begin the moment the police report is filed. Call 505-226-0009 for a free case review with a New Mexico pedestrian accident lawyer.
What Sets Our Pedestrian Injury Cases Apart
Pedestrian claims turn on a specific tension between the driver's version of events and the physical evidence at the scene.
Insurers know that, and they build their case around anything that supports the driver's account: the pedestrian's clothing, the exact spot where they were crossing, the time of day, alcohol involvement, or even how quickly the pedestrian was moving.
Where the Firm Fits Into That Picture
Chance Gauthier and Shane Maier both practiced insurance defense before switching sides. That work included evaluating pedestrian claims from the insurer's perspective, which shapes how we identify weak points in the standard defense narrative early in a case.
Notable outcomes include a $36 million jury verdict in an auto accident and insurance bad faith case, though past results do not guarantee a similar outcome, as each case depends on its own facts.
Our Albuquerque and Los Lunas offices handle pedestrian injury cases on contingency, with no fees due unless we recover money on your behalf. Free consultations, including for family members of a pedestrian who cannot speak for themselves due to injuries, are always available.
What Does New Mexico Law Say About Pedestrian Right-of-Way?
New Mexico law generally requires drivers to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing within a crosswalk. Under NMSA § 66-7-334, when a pedestrian is crossing a roadway in either a marked or unmarked crosswalk, drivers must slow down or stop to allow the crossing.
The statute also prohibits a following driver from overtaking a vehicle that has stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian pass.
Where the Right-of-Way Rules Get Complicated
Right-of-way rules apply in most crosswalk situations, but the law includes limits that insurers use to shift blame:
- A pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb or other safe area and step into the path of a vehicle that is too close to yield
- Pedestrians crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk generally must yield to vehicles
- Different rules apply where traffic signals are present, requiring pedestrians to follow the walk and don't walk indicators
- Some crossings at unusual angles or at points where a crosswalk is not clearly defined create disputes over whether the crossing was legal
The exceptions do not eliminate the driver's duty to keep a proper lookout, control the vehicle, and avoid striking a person on foot. A pedestrian crossing outside a crosswalk may still recover under New Mexico's comparative fault rule if the driver failed to exercise reasonable care.
Why Do Insurers Shift Blame to Pedestrians After an Albuquerque Crash?
Insurers shift blame to injured pedestrians because pedestrian claims often produce serious injuries and, in turn, higher exposure than a routine car accident.
Reducing the pedestrian's recovery by increasing the pedestrian's fault percentage is a straightforward way to lower payouts on catastrophic claims.
The Fault-Shifting Playbook
Adjusters handling pedestrian claims in Albuquerque frequently raise the same arguments:
- The pedestrian was wearing dark clothing at night and was hard to see
- The pedestrian was outside a marked crosswalk when the impact occurred
- The pedestrian was under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance
- The pedestrian was looking at a phone or listening to headphones at the time of the crash
- The pedestrian entered the roadway suddenly and gave the driver no chance to react
Some of these arguments have merit in specific cases. Many do not, and even when they carry some weight, they rarely explain the full picture of what caused the collision.
Solid pedestrian cases in Bernalillo County get built by countering these arguments with physical evidence, driver conduct, and roadway conditions the insurer would rather not discuss.
What Types of Pedestrian Accidents Happen in Albuquerque?
Pedestrian accidents in Albuquerque tend to concentrate in specific settings. Certain corridors, times of day, and driver behaviors produce the majority of serious pedestrian injuries and fatalities in Bernalillo County.
| Setting or Circumstance | Common Contributing Factors |
| Central Avenue corridor | High-volume traffic, mix of pedestrian activity, nighttime visibility challenges |
| Freeway on-ramps and off-ramps at I-25 and I-40 | Drivers focused on merging, limited pedestrian infrastructure |
| Parking lots (retail centers, Sunport, hospitals) | Distracted drivers, blind spots, backing vehicles |
| Residential streets | Speeding, failure to yield at unmarked crosswalks, drivers looking at phones |
| Nighttime crashes anywhere in the metro | Reduced visibility, higher rates of impaired driving |
The pattern that runs through many of these cases is inattention. A driver focused on something other than the road strikes a person on foot who had every right to be where they were.
Talk to a lawyer at 505-226-0009 before giving a recorded statement to any driver's insurer.
What Happens When the Driver Flees or Has No Insurance?
Pedestrian cases in New Mexico often turn into claims against the pedestrian's own auto insurance policy when the at-fault driver flees the scene, cannot be identified, or has no valid liability coverage.
Under New Mexico law, uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on the pedestrian's own auto policy generally applies even when the pedestrian was on foot at the time of the crash.
Why UM Coverage Matters in Pedestrian Cases
Hit-and-run pedestrian crashes are common along Central Avenue and other Albuquerque corridors.
A driver who flees leaves the injured pedestrian without a clear defendant to pursue for compensation. UM coverage often steps in to fill that gap, but whether it applies depends on the policy’s terms and conditions. Understanding maximizing compensation in pedestrian accidents can help injured pedestrians evaluate available coverage and pursue the compensation they may be entitled to.
For pedestrians who share a household with a family member who carries auto insurance, that policy's UM coverage may also apply, depending on the policy terms.
Identifying every available policy is one of the first steps a pedestrian accident attorney takes when evaluating an Albuquerque case.
How Does New Mexico's Comparative Fault Rule Apply to Pedestrians?
New Mexico's pure comparative fault rule under NMSA § 41-3A-1 allows an injured pedestrian to recover damages even when they share some percentage of fault for the crash.
Compensation is reduced by whatever fault percentage a jury or adjuster assigns to the pedestrian, but no threshold blocks recovery entirely.
What This Means in Practice
A pedestrian who was crossing outside a crosswalk when struck by a driver running a red light may still recover from the driver.
A jury or adjuster might assign the pedestrian 20 or 30 percent of the fault for crossing outside the marked area. The pedestrian would still recover 70 or 80 percent of proven damages.
Even in cases where the pedestrian bears the majority of the fault, some recovery may be available if the driver's conduct also contributed to the crash.
This rule stands in contrast to the modified comparative fault systems used in many other states, which bar recovery once the injured person crosses a 50 or 51 percent threshold.
What Damages Are Available in an Albuquerque Pedestrian Accident Case?
Damages in a New Mexico pedestrian accident case may include medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses caused by the collision. Pedestrian crashes typically produce more severe injuries per collision than vehicle-to-vehicle crashes, which affects the range of compensation involved.
Recoverable damages in a pedestrian accident claim may include:
- Emergency medical treatment, surgery, hospitalization, and rehabilitation
- Future medical expenses for ongoing care, physical therapy, or assistive devices
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity if the injuries affect the ability to return to work
- Pain and suffering, including physical discomfort and emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life for permanent or disabling injuries
Punitive damages might apply in cases involving reckless or wanton conduct by the driver, such as high-speed impact, driving under the influence, or a hit-and-run. New Mexico generally does not cap non-economic damages in ordinary private-party personal injury cases.
How Long Do You Have to File a Pedestrian Accident Lawsuit in Albuquerque?
New Mexico generally gives injured people three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit under NMSA § 37-1-8. That three-year statute of limitations applies to pedestrian accident cases in Bernalillo County and throughout New Mexico.
When Shorter Deadlines May Apply
Pedestrian crashes involving a government vehicle, such as one operated by the city of Albuquerque or the New Mexico Department of Transportation, may follow the shorter deadlines and notice requirements of the New Mexico Tort Claims Act.
A two-year filing deadline and a 90-day written notice requirement often apply to those claims, subject to the specific defendant.
Claims for wrongful death arising from a pedestrian crash also follow a separate three-year deadline that runs from the date of death rather than the date of the incident.
FAQs for Albuquerque Pedestrian Accident Lawyers
What if the driver claims they never saw me before the crash?
A driver's failure to see a pedestrian is generally not a defense to the crash. Drivers have a duty to keep a proper lookout for pedestrians and other roadway users.
If a driver was not paying attention, was distracted by a phone, or failed to slow down in an area with pedestrian activity, that failure supports rather than defeats a pedestrian's claim.
Can I still bring a claim if the pedestrian crash killed my family member?
Yes, a wrongful death claim may be brought when a pedestrian is killed in a New Mexico crash. The claim must be filed in the name of the deceased person's personal representative under the New Mexico Wrongful Death Act.
Recoverable damages include medical costs, funeral expenses, lost earnings, loss of guidance and companionship, and the value of the life itself under New Mexico law.
Does my health insurance cover injuries from a pedestrian accident?
Generally yes, health insurance typically covers medical treatment after a pedestrian accident. However, the health insurer often asserts a right to reimbursement from any settlement or verdict the injured pedestrian later obtains.
Handling those subrogation claims is part of what a pedestrian accident attorney manages during the case.
What if the driver was on the job when they hit me?
The driver's employer may share liability if the driver was working at the time of the crash. Delivery drivers, rideshare drivers, commercial vehicle operators, and employees driving for work purposes may trigger claims against their employers under respondeat superior. This is one of several factors that can complicate proving liability in pedestrian accidents, since multiple parties may share responsibility.
Employer coverage often carries higher limits than an individual driver's personal auto policy.
What if I was struck by a driver who was drunk or impaired?
A drunk driver's impairment strengthens a pedestrian's case and may support a claim for punitive damages under New Mexico law.
Beyond the direct claim against the driver, a dram shop claim may apply against a business that continued serving the driver after they were visibly intoxicated. Both claims may proceed at the same time.
Get Answers About Your Albuquerque Pedestrian Accident Case
The gap between what happened and what the insurance company describes happening is often the most maddening part of a pedestrian case.
You know you were where you had a right to be. You know the driver was not watching. And then a claims adjuster calls with a version of the crash that quietly reassigns half the blame onto you.
Getting an attorney involved early puts a stop to that one-sided storytelling before it hardens into the insurer's official position.
Gauthier & Maier represents pedestrians across Albuquerque, Los Lunas, and the rest of New Mexico. Call 505-226-0009 to sit down with a pedestrian accident lawyer who understands how these cases actually get won.