Pedestrian & Crosswalk Accidents in Colorado: Fault, Cameras, and Evidence

Colorado’s roads are tough on people walking. Whether you’re crossing Main Avenue in Durango or navigating downtown Denver, a split-second mistake by a driver can change your life. After a crash, the first questions are always the same: Who’s at fault? Is there video? How do I prove what really happened? If you’re searching for a pedestrian accident lawyer Denver or you were hurt in a crosswalk accident Colorado fault dispute, this guide explains how fault is decided, how to find and preserve camera footage, and why medical documentation can make or break your claim.

As a personal injury firm led by an attorney with Registered Nurse (RN) experience, we build cases around two pillars: law and medicine. We use Colorado’s pedestrian right-of-way rules to frame liability—and precise clinical evidence to prove the full extent of your injuries. Below, you’ll find a clear playbook that blends both.

Two quick resources:
• Colorado’s crosswalk right-of-way statute (C.R.S. § 42-4-802) — read it here.
• CDOT’s statewide safety data hub (recent fatality trends by mode) — see CDOT’s Data Corner.

How Colorado law assigns fault in crosswalk and pedestrian cases

The starting point in nearly every case is Colorado’s traffic code for pedestrians and drivers:

• Drivers must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. When signals aren’t present or operating, a driver must slow or stop to yield to a pedestrian who is on the driver’s half of the road—or close enough from the opposite side to be in danger. Marked or unmarked, an intersection crosswalk triggers this duty (with special rules when signals are present).
  
• Pedestrians must obey pedestrian signals and traffic devices. “Walk/Don’t Walk” and other pedestrian-specific signals apply just like traffic lights apply to vehicles.
  
• Crossing mid-block (jaywalking) changes the duty to yield. Outside a marked crosswalk—or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection—the pedestrian generally must yield to vehicles. Between two signalized intersections, crossing mid-block is prohibited. This doesn’t eliminate a driver’s duty to use care, but it shifts how fault may be allocated.
  
• Drivers always owe a duty of “due care.” Regardless of who technically had the right-of-way, every driver must exercise due care to avoid hitting pedestrians, sound a horn when necessary, and take extra caution around children and obviously confused or incapacitated people.
  

These rules rarely answer every question by themselves. Most collisions turn on specifics: Was the pedestrian already established in the crosswalk? Did the driver block the crosswalk after stopping past the limit line? Were pedestrian signals working? Was visibility compromised? The closer we get to the truth of those facts, the clearer fault becomes.

The 50% rule: what happens when both sides share blame

Colorado uses modified comparative negligence. That means a jury (or an adjuster evaluating settlement) assigns each side a percentage of fault. Your compensation is reduced by your share—but if you’re 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing from the other party. (If you’re 49% or less at fault, you can still recover, reduced by that percentage.) Justia

In pedestrian cases, insurers often push hard to attribute 50% or more to the person on foot—especially if there’s any suggestion of mid-block crossing, distraction, dark clothing, or alcohol. Our job is to ground the percentages in evidence, not assumptions.

Why cameras and video are decisive—and where to find them

Footage is the closest thing to an objective witness. In Colorado, useful video sources include:

1. Intersection and enforcement cameras. Denver, for example, uses red-light and photo-radar enforcement to deter violations and keep crosswalks clear. These systems can generate stills and video that show vehicles entering an intersection after the light has turned red or stopping past the limit line. Not every city has them, but when they exist, they’re gold. DenvergovDenvergov
   
2. Transit, city, and agency cameras. Buses, public safety cameras, and transportation agencies sometimes capture approach angles, pedestrian phases, and vehicle behavior near crosswalks. Availability varies by jurisdiction, and footage often overwrites quickly (sometimes within days), so timing is everything.
   
3. Private business surveillance. Corner markets, banks, restaurants, and gas stations often have exterior cameras aimed at sidewalks and crosswalk entries. These owners can voluntarily share footage—or you can secure it via subpoena once a lawsuit is filed. The key is early, polite contact and a precise time window.
   
4. Residential and doorbell cams. Ring/Arlo devices can catch the lead-up to a collision, horn use, or a driver’s speed and lane position. Neighbors are more likely to share footage when asked immediately and professionally.
   
5. Dashcams and telematics. Your own dashcam (or the driver’s) can provide decisive proof. Modern vehicles and smartphone apps also store speed, braking, and location data that help reconstruct events.
   

Pro tip: Don’t just ask vaguely for “any video.” Identify the exact intersection, direction of travel, lane, and minute-by-minute timeframe. Ask the owner to preserve the footage while your request is pending. If we’re retained quickly, we send preservation letters and handle public-records requests to agencies when appropriate.

What if you were outside the crosswalk?

Not every safe crossing happens inside paint. Colorado recognizes unmarked crosswalks at intersections, and drivers still owe due care. But if you crossed mid-block between two signalized intersections, the statute says you must not cross there—and if you cross elsewhere, you must yield to vehicles. That doesn’t automatically doom your claim. We’ve prevailed in cases where:

• The driver was speeding, texting, or otherwise careless, which increased the danger even if the pedestrian’s decision to cross mid-block wasn’t perfect.
  
• Road design or a blocked sidewalk forced the pedestrian into the roadway.
  
• Evening lighting or faded markings made the safer route less clear.
  
• The pedestrian was nearly across and clearly visible when struck.
  

The legal bottom line is that both pedestrian conduct and driver conduct matter. We gather facts to keep your comparative fault below 50% so you remain eligible to recover.

The RN-lawyer edge: proving injury and causation

Video resolves how a crash happened. Medicine explains what it did to your body. Many pedestrian injuries don’t tell their full story on Day 1, especially when adrenaline masks symptoms. Here’s how we build a clinically credible record:

• Symptom timeline: Concussion signs (headache, dizziness, light/noise sensitivity, brain fog) and cervical/low-back injuries often evolve over 24–72 hours. We encourage a journal that records onset, severity, and triggers, then make sure providers formally document those changes.
  
• Objective findings where possible: Range-of-motion testing, neurocognitive screens, vestibular assessments, balance testing, and nerve root signs (e.g., positive Spurling’s or straight-leg raise) move the case from “subjective complaints” to measurable impairment.
  
• Functional impact: Insurers respond to ADL (activities of daily living) limitations and return-to-work restrictions. We connect the clinical dots to sitting/standing tolerance, lifting limits, screen time tolerance (for TBI symptoms), and missed work.
  
• Coordinated referrals: Pedestrian impacts produce a wide injury spectrum: fractures, ligament tears, TBI, complex lacerations, and post-traumatic stress. We ensure records reflect causation (“more likely than not related to the collision on [date]”) and that the plan makes sense medically.
  

Building a winning evidence file: a step-by-step plan

1. Call 911 and request police response. A crash report anchors names, times, locations, and signal status. If the driver fled, report it immediately.
   
2. Photograph the scene immediately. Crosswalk markings, the limit line, signal heads, pedestrian push-buttons, parked cars blocking sightlines—capture everything. Take wide shots to preserve context and close-ups for detail.
   
3. Identify cameras and ask for preservation. Note business names and addresses. If video exists, ask staff to save it; get the manager’s name, best contact, and camera coverage details (which lens, what angle, retention window).
   
4. Collect witness info. Independent witnesses can be decisive if signals are disputed. Ask for names, phone numbers, and whether they took photos or video.
   
5. Seek prompt medical evaluation. Even if you feel “mostly okay,” get checked. Early records tie symptoms to the event and cut off the insurer’s “you must have been hurt later” argument.
   
6. Save your shoes and clothing. In slip/impact disputes (e.g., driver skidding into the crosswalk), the condition of your soles or reflective clothing can matter.
   
7. Preserve digital data. Keep dashcam footage, smartphone location history, fitness tracker data (sleep disruption, step count changes), and rideshare receipts that place you at the scene.
   
8. Avoid speculative statements. Don’t volunteer, “Maybe I was looking at my phone,” or “I should’ve crossed faster.” Stick to facts.
   
9. Call counsel early. We can handle preservation letters, public-records requests, and—if needed—accident reconstruction.
   
   
   

Cameras, tickets, and how enforcement intersects with civil claims

A red-light camera ticket issued to a driver for entering on red or stopping past the limit line doesn’t automatically win your civil case—but it’s powerful corroboration that the vehicle encroached on the crosswalk and endangered pedestrians. Municipal programs (like Denver’s) emphasize keeping crosswalks clear for disabled and aging pedestrians; the same principle supports civil liability when a vehicle blocks the pedestrian’s path.

Even without a citation, raw footage is often admissible to show signal phase, vehicle position, and pedestrian movement. If signals or equipment were malfunctioning, agency records and maintenance logs can help establish notice and causation.

What insurers argue—and how we counter

“You weren’t in the crosswalk yet.” We map your foot placement using stills from video, paint wear patterns, and curb-ramp geometry to show you were established in the crossing zone.

“You crossed against the signal.” We compare timestamps on surveillance footage to signal timing sheets and police CAD logs to show the true phase.

“You were wearing dark clothes.” Drivers still owe due care—and many intersections are lit to meet visibility standards. We evaluate illumination and headlight aim to put darkness in context.

“You were jaywalking; you get nothing.” Mid-block crossings can increase a pedestrian’s share of fault, but they don’t excuse speeding, distraction, or careless driving. Because of Colorado’s 50% bar, evidence that keeps your share below 50% preserves your right to recover.

“Your injuries aren’t from this crash.” We use mechanism-of-injury analysis (impact direction, vehicle speed, body kinematics), objective clinical findings, and specialist opinions to tie your symptoms to the event.

Special Colorado considerations

• Careless driving & vulnerable road users. Colorado elevates penalties when careless driving causes serious bodily injury to a vulnerable road user (including pedestrians). While that’s a traffic/criminal consequence, the same conduct evidences negligence in your civil claim.
  
• Unmarked crosswalks. At many Colorado intersections, an unmarked crosswalk exists even if paint is faded or absent; drivers still must yield when the statutory conditions are met. Signalized intersections add rules for pedestrian phases.
  
• Data trends. Pedestrian fatalities have climbed in recent years in Colorado, underscoring the stakes and why enforcement and design changes are underway. State data show persistently high pedestrian deaths statewide—context juries understand.
  
  
  

Example case paths (hypotheticals)

A. Left-turn driver clips you in a marked crosswalk (steady WALK).
Video shows you halfway across; the turning driver looks right for cars, not left for people. Liability leans strongly toward the driver. Your damages include ER care, PT, time off, and pain and suffering.

B. Driver blocks crosswalk at red; you go around and are struck by through traffic.
Footage and stills show the first vehicle stopped past the limit line, forcing you into the lane. Multiple drivers may share fault; evidence clarifies percentages. Enforcement footage can corroborate the encroachment.

C. Mid-block nighttime crossing between two signals.
Statute weighs against you on crossing location, but the driver’s speed and inattention matter. If headlights were mis-aimed or the driver was speeding or on the phone, comparative fault stays below 50%, preserving your claim.

FAQs

Do I have a case if I crossed outside the crosswalk?
Possibly. Your recovery depends on comparative fault. If you’re less than 50% at fault, you can still recover (reduced by your percentage). Evidence about driver speed, distraction, and lighting is pivotal. Justia

Will I get footage if the city won’t give it to me?
Sometimes through public-records requests; other times via subpoena during litigation. The fastest wins usually come from private businesses that save clips when asked promptly.

What if the driver says the light was green?
We reconcile timestamps from multiple cameras with signal timing charts and witness accounts. Even on green, a driver turning across a crosswalk must avoid pedestrians lawfully in the roadway. Colorado.Public.Law

I didn’t go to the ER—did I ruin my claim?
No, but gap arguments get louder. Get evaluated as soon as you can and explain why you delayed (childcare, finances, shock). Then follow the plan. A clear medical timeline is your best counter.

How long do I have to file?
Colorado has strict deadlines; the timeline can vary based on the parties involved (e.g., public entities). Call promptly so we can preserve evidence while it still exists.

The bottom line

In a pedestrian or crosswalk crash, facts beat assumptions. Colorado law gives pedestrians powerful protections in crosswalks, holds drivers to a duty of due care, and uses a 50% rule to allocate fault when both sides share blame. The right combination of video, scene forensics, and clinical proof turns a disputed story into a credible claim. If you’re navigating this in Durango—or searching for a pedestrian accident lawyer Denver—we’re here to gather, preserve, and present the evidence that moves your case.

Ready to talk?

Bring us the crash report (if you have it), any photos or video, and your insurance info. We’ll map out a plan to locate footage, preserve it, and build the medical story with an RN’s precision.

Sources & authority (plain-English)

• Crosswalk right-of-way: Colorado statute requiring drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks (marked or unmarked), with specific conditions. Colorado.Public.Law
  
• Pedestrians outside crosswalks: Colorado’s rule requiring pedestrians to yield when crossing outside crosswalks and limiting mid-block crossings between signalized intersections. Justia
  
• Obeying pedestrian signals: Statute directing pedestrians to follow pedestrian-specific traffic devices. Colorado.Public.Law
  
• Drivers’ duty of due care to pedestrians: Independent statutory duty to avoid collisions (horn, extra caution for children/impaired). Colorado.Public.Law
  
• Comparative negligence (50% bar): Colorado’s modified comparative negligence statute governing shared fault. Justia
  
• Careless driving & vulnerable road users: Enhanced penalties when careless driving causes serious bodily injury to a pedestrian or other vulnerable road user. Justia
  
• Camera enforcement context: Denver’s photo enforcement overview and fact sheet explaining safety aims (including keeping crosswalks clear). DenvergovDenvergov