Pedestrian Accident Complaint

PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT COMPLAINT — PENNSYLVANIA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption
2. Parties, Jurisdiction, and Venue
3. General Factual Allegations
4. Count I — Negligence (Against Defendant Driver)
5. Count II — Negligence Per Se (Against Defendant Driver)
6. Count III — Negligent Entrustment / Vicarious Liability (Against Defendant Owner)
7. Tort-Option and Comparative-Negligence Allegations
8. Damages
9. Prayer for Relief
10. Jury Demand
11. Reservation of Rights
12. Signature, Verification, and Service Blocks
13. Pennsylvania Practice Notes
14. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF [COUNTY] COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

CIVIL DIVISION

No. [____________]

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (PEDESTRIAN COLLISION)

(Negligence; Negligence Per Se)

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

NOTICE TO DEFEND

You have been sued in court. If you wish to defend against the claims set forth in the following pages, you must take action within twenty (20) days after this complaint and notice are served, by entering a written appearance personally or by attorney and filing in writing with the court your defenses or objections to the claims set forth against you. [INSERT FULL Pa.R.C.P. 1018.1 NOTICE-TO-DEFEND TEXT AND LOCAL REFERRAL CONTACT.]

Plaintiff, by and through undersigned counsel, complains of Defendants and alleges as follows:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is an adult individual residing at [ADDRESS], [COUNTY] County, Pennsylvania, and at all material times was lawfully traveling on foot as a pedestrian on or along the public roadways of this Commonwealth.

2. Defendant [DRIVER NAME] ("Driver Defendant") is, on information and belief, an adult individual residing at [ADDRESS], [COUNTY / STATE].

3. Defendant [OWNER / EMPLOYER NAME] ("Owner Defendant") is [an adult individual / a corporation / a limited liability company] with [a residence / a principal place of business / a registered office] at [ADDRESS] that, at all material times, owned, controlled, and/or maintained the vehicle operated by Driver Defendant and/or employed Driver Defendant.

4. This action arises under Pennsylvania tort law for personal injuries sustained when Plaintiff, a pedestrian, was struck by a motor vehicle in [COUNTY] County, Pennsylvania, on [__/__/____].

5. This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction under 42 Pa.C.S. § 931.

6. Venue is proper in [COUNTY] County under Pa.R.C.P. 1006 because the Collision occurred in this county and/or one or more Defendants resides in, or regularly conducts business in, this county.

3. GENERAL FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

7. On [__/__/____] at approximately [TIME], Plaintiff was lawfully crossing/walking [within the marked crosswalk at / within the unmarked crosswalk at the intersection of / along the shoulder of / describe location] [ROADWAY] at or near its intersection with [CROSS STREET / LANDMARK], in [CITY / TOWNSHIP], Pennsylvania (the "Collision").

8. At the same time and place, Driver Defendant was operating a [YEAR / MAKE / MODEL] [passenger vehicle / pickup truck / SUV / commercial vehicle] owned by Owner Defendant, traveling [northbound / southbound / etc.] on [ROADWAY].

9. Traffic, lighting, and weather conditions were [describe — e.g., clear, dry, daylight; or dusk with the pedestrian "WALK" signal displayed], and Plaintiff was [wearing / not wearing] [describe visibility — e.g., light-colored clothing, reflective gear] and was plainly visible to a driver keeping a proper lookout.

10. Plaintiff entered and proceeded across the roadway [with the pedestrian "WALK" signal / when no traffic-control signal governed the crossing / lawfully and with the right-of-way], and at all material times exercised due care for Plaintiff's own safety.

11. The Collision occurred when Driver Defendant [SELECT / DESCRIBE THE MANNER OF COLLISION — e.g., failed to yield the right-of-way to Plaintiff in the crosswalk and drove into Plaintiff; turned left or right across the crosswalk into Plaintiff's path; overtook and passed a vehicle stopped to permit Plaintiff to cross; drove faster than was reasonable and prudent given pedestrians present and was unable to stop; was distracted and did not see Plaintiff until impact].

12. Although Plaintiff was plainly visible, Driver Defendant "looked but failed to see" Plaintiff, failed to keep a proper lookout, failed to yield as required, and/or failed to drive at a safe speed with regard to the special hazard presented by pedestrians.

13. As a direct and proximate result of the Collision, Plaintiff — wholly unprotected by any vehicle structure, restraint system, or crumple zone — was struck by the full force of Driver Defendant's vehicle and thrown to the pavement, sustaining severe, painful, and permanent bodily injuries, including but not limited to [LIST INJURIES — e.g., orthopedic fractures, traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, internal injuries, degloving / road rash, and disfiguring scarring].

14. Because a pedestrian has no protection whatsoever from the forces of a motor-vehicle impact, the Collision caused Plaintiff to suffer injuries materially more severe than those typically sustained by occupants of vehicles, and Plaintiff has suffered a "serious injury" within the meaning of 75 Pa.C.S. § 1702 (serious impairment of a bodily function and/or permanent serious disfigurement).

15. Plaintiff received emergency care at [HOSPITAL / EMS PROVIDER] and has since undergone [SURGERIES / HOSPITALIZATION / REHABILITATION / ONGOING TREATMENT], and will require future medical care.

16. All injuries and damages alleged were the foreseeable, natural, and probable consequence of Defendants' conduct.

4. COUNT I — NEGLIGENCE (Against Defendant Driver)

17. Plaintiff incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 16 as though fully set forth herein.

18. Driver Defendant owed Plaintiff a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation of a motor vehicle, to obey the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code, to keep a proper lookout for pedestrians lawfully using the roadway, to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, and to refrain from conduct endangering others.

19. Driver Defendant negligently, carelessly, and/or recklessly breached that duty by, among other things:

• Failing to keep a proper and careful lookout for Plaintiff, a plainly visible pedestrian;
• Failing to yield the right-of-way to Plaintiff while Plaintiff was crossing within a crosswalk;
• Turning across the crosswalk or path of Plaintiff when it was unsafe to do so;
• Overtaking and passing a vehicle stopped to permit Plaintiff to cross;
• Operating the vehicle at a speed greater than was reasonable and prudent under the conditions and the special hazard presented by pedestrians;
• Driving while distracted or inattentive;
• Failing to take available evasive action to avoid striking Plaintiff; and
• Failing to maintain proper and adequate control of the vehicle.

20. Each of the foregoing acts and omissions, separately and in combination, was the factual and legal (proximate) cause of the Collision and of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

21. As a direct and proximate result, Plaintiff has sustained the damages described in Section 8 below.

5. COUNT II — NEGLIGENCE PER SE (Against Defendant Driver)

22. Plaintiff incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 21 as though fully set forth herein.

23. The Pennsylvania Vehicle Code imposes specific statutory duties on Driver Defendant for the protection of persons lawfully using the roadway, including pedestrians such as Plaintiff. These include, as applicable to the manner of the Collision:

• 75 Pa.C.S. § 3542(a) — when traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection;
• 75 Pa.C.S. § 3542(c) — whenever any vehicle is stopped at a crosswalk to permit a pedestrian to cross, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass the stopped vehicle;
• 75 Pa.C.S. § 3361 — no person shall drive at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions, and every person shall drive at a safe and appropriate speed when special hazards exist with respect to pedestrians;
• 75 Pa.C.S. § 3714 — careless driving (driving in careless disregard for the safety of persons or property); and
• 75 Pa.C.S. § 3543 — to the extent Plaintiff is alleged to have crossed other than at a crosswalk, that section governs the parties' respective duties and does not relieve Driver Defendant of the duty of reasonable care.

24. Plaintiff is within the class of persons the foregoing statutes were enacted to protect, and the Collision is the type of harm those statutes were designed to prevent.

25. Driver Defendant violated [CITE THE SPECIFIC SECTION(S) APPLICABLE], and was cited for [TRAFFIC CITATION, IF ANY]. Such violation constitutes negligence per se under Pennsylvania law, and was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

6. COUNT III — NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT / VICARIOUS LIABILITY (Against Defendant Owner)

26. Plaintiff incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 25 as though fully set forth herein.

27. Owner Defendant entrusted the subject vehicle to Driver Defendant when Owner Defendant knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, that Driver Defendant was an incompetent, inexperienced, reckless, or otherwise unfit driver.

28. Alternatively, at the time of the Collision, Driver Defendant was operating the vehicle as the agent, servant, or employee of Owner Defendant and within the course and scope of that agency or employment, rendering Owner Defendant vicariously liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

29. Owner Defendant's negligent entrustment and/or vicarious liability was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

7. TORT-OPTION AND COMPARATIVE-NEGLIGENCE ALLEGATIONS

30. Tort option — full tort rights. Plaintiff is entitled to recover all damages, including noneconomic loss (pain and suffering and loss of life's pleasures), for one or more of the following reasons:

• [SELECT THE APPLICABLE BASIS:]
• (a) Plaintiff did not own a private passenger motor vehicle and was not a named insured or a covered household member under any private passenger motor vehicle policy electing limited tort; accordingly, Plaintiff is not bound by any limited-tort election under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705 and retains full tort rights; OR
• (b) Plaintiff is a full-tort insured under Plaintiff's own (or a covered household member's) private passenger motor vehicle policy; OR
• (c) Even if Plaintiff were otherwise subject to a limited-tort election, an exception under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d) restores full tort rights because [the at-fault driver was convicted of (or accepted ARD for) driving under the influence; / the at-fault driver had not maintained financial responsibility (was uninsured); / the at-fault vehicle was registered in another state]; AND/OR
• (d) In any event, Plaintiff sustained a "serious injury" within the meaning of 75 Pa.C.S. § 1702 (serious impairment of a bodily function and/or permanent serious disfigurement), permitting recovery of noneconomic loss regardless of any limited-tort election.

31. Comparative negligence. Pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a), Plaintiff's recovery, if any comparative negligence is alleged or found, shall be diminished only in proportion to the negligence attributed to Plaintiff, and shall not be barred unless Plaintiff's negligence was greater than the combined causal negligence of the Defendants against whom recovery is sought (a 51% bar).

32. Plaintiff denies any negligence. To the extent the trier of fact attributes any portion of fault to Plaintiff, such negligence was not greater than the combined causal negligence of Defendants and does not bar recovery.

8. DAMAGES

33. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants' conduct, Plaintiff has suffered and seeks recovery of the following, all in excess of the compulsory-arbitration threshold and subject to proof at trial:

• Past and future medical expenses — emergency, ambulance, hospital, surgical, diagnostic, rehabilitative, pharmaceutical, and physician care;
• Future medical and life care — anticipated surgeries, therapy, assistive devices, and long-term care;
• Past lost earnings and impaired future earning capacity;
• Past and future physical pain, suffering, mental anguish, and emotional distress (recoverable as Plaintiff has full tort rights and/or a serious injury — see Section 7);
• Permanent physical impairment, disfigurement, and loss of life's pleasures, including scarring;
• Property damage to Plaintiff's clothing and personal effects; and
• Delay damages pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 238, and pre- and post-judgment interest as allowed by law.

34. Plaintiff pleads each category of damage separately and in the alternative. The amount in controversy exceeds $50,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and exceeds the threshold for compulsory arbitration under Pa.R.C.P. 1301 et seq. and applicable local rule.

9. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully demands judgment against Defendants, jointly and severally, in an amount in excess of the compulsory-arbitration limits, together with:

• A. Compensatory damages, including economic and noneconomic loss, in an amount to be determined by the jury;
• B. Delay damages pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 238;
• C. Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as allowed by law;
• D. Costs of suit; and
• E. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

10. JURY DEMAND

Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury of twelve (12) on all issues so triable.

11. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

Plaintiff reserves the right to amend this Complaint pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1033 to add or substitute parties, to assert additional claims (including loss of consortium and punitive damages where supported), and to conform the pleadings to the evidence as discovery proceeds.

12. SIGNATURE, VERIFICATION, AND SERVICE BLOCKS

Respectfully submitted,

[LAW FIRM NAME]

By: /s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME] (Pa. Attorney I.D. No. [________])

Attorney for Plaintiff

[STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER]

Email: [EMAIL]

DATED: [__/__/____]

VERIFICATION

I, [PLAINTIFF NAME], verify that the statements made in the foregoing Complaint are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief. I understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities.

DATE: [__/__/____]

[________________________________]

[PLAINTIFF NAME], Plaintiff

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on [__/__/____] a true and correct copy of the foregoing Complaint (with Notice to Defend) was served upon the following by [original process pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 400–405 / the county sheriff / first-class mail / the court's electronic filing system pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 440]:

[NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) OF DEFENDANT(S) / COUNSEL]

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME]

13. PENNSYLVANIA PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations. Personal-injury (and related property-damage) actions must be commenced within two years. 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2). Claims involving a government party (e.g., a municipal or transit driver) may require written notice within six months under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522; verify and calendar early.
• Commencement. An action may be commenced by filing a praecipe for a writ of summons or a complaint (Pa.R.C.P. 1007). Original process generally must be served by the sheriff within 30 days (Pa.R.C.P. 401), and good-faith efforts at service are required to toll the limitations period (Lamp v. Heyman line of cases).
• PEDESTRIAN TORT OPTION — the key issue. The full-tort/limited-tort election under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705 binds only named insureds and the covered household members of a private passenger motor vehicle policy. A pedestrian who has no auto policy of their own and is not a covered household member of any limited-tort policyholder is not bound by any limited-tort election and is a full tort claimant by default — entitled to recover pain and suffering without threshold. If, by contrast, the pedestrian does have their own policy (or is a covered household member), that policy's election controls: a limited-tort pedestrian must satisfy the "serious injury" threshold (75 Pa.C.S. § 1702) or a § 1705(d) exception (at-fault driver convicted of/ARD for DUI; at-fault driver uninsured; or at-fault vehicle registered out of state). NOTE: § 1705(d)(3) (occupant of a non-private-passenger vehicle, e.g., a motorcyclist) does not apply to a pedestrian, who is not an occupant of any vehicle — do not rely on it; plead the actual basis (¶ 30) and verify the controlling subsection and current case law.
• DRIVER'S DUTY TO YIELD AND DRIVE SAFELY. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3542(a) requires the driver to yield to a pedestrian in a marked or unmarked crosswalk when signals are not in place/operation; § 3542(c) bars overtaking a vehicle stopped for a crossing pedestrian; and § 3361 requires a safe, appropriate speed where special hazards exist with respect to pedestrians. These provide strong negligence-per-se anchors.
• Pedestrian's duties. A pedestrian crossing other than at a crosswalk must yield to vehicles (§ 3543(a)) and may not suddenly leave a curb into a vehicle's path (§ 3542(b)). Address these candidly; under § 7102(a) any pedestrian fault reduces but does not bar recovery unless it exceeds 50%.
• MODIFIED COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a), a plaintiff recovers unless the plaintiff's negligence was greater than the combined causal negligence of the defendants (a 51% bar); damages are diminished in proportion to the plaintiff's share. Preserve evidence early to keep pedestrian fault at or below 50%.
• First-party medical benefits and UM/UIM. A pedestrian struck by a vehicle generally claims first-party medical benefits from the striking vehicle's policy, or — if the pedestrian has their own auto policy — from that policy (75 Pa.C.S. §§ 1711–1713; confirm the priority rules). UM/UIM coverage must be offered (75 Pa.C.S. § 1731); a pedestrian struck by an uninsured, underinsured, or hit-and-run driver may recover under his or her own (or a resident relative's) UM/UIM coverage. Observe stacking, consent-to-settle, and subrogation rules, and report any hit-and-run to police promptly.
• Delay damages. Pa.R.C.P. 238 allows delay damages on the compensatory award for bodily injury; preserve the claim (see Prayer).
• Punitive damages. Available under Pennsylvania common law for outrageous conduct done with reckless indifference (e.g., DUI, extreme speed, hit-and-run); plead as a separate count only where the facts support it.

14. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (official) — https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated
• 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524 (two-year limitations); § 7102 (comparative negligence) — https://www.legis.state.pa.us
• 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705 (election of tort options); § 1702 (serious-injury threshold); § 1705(d) (limited-tort exceptions) — https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-75-pacsa-vehicles/pa-csa-sect-75-1705/
• 75 Pa.C.S. § 3542 (right-of-way of pedestrians in crosswalks) — https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=75&div=0&chpt=35&sctn=42&subsctn=0
• 75 Pa.C.S. § 3543 (pedestrians crossing at other than crosswalks) — https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=75&div=0&chpt=35&sctn=43&subsctn=0
• 75 Pa.C.S. § 3361 (driving vehicle at safe speed), § 3714 (careless driving), § 3736 (reckless driving)
• 75 Pa.C.S. § 1731 (UM/UIM coverage); §§ 1711–1713 (first-party medical benefits)
• Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 1006, 1007, 1018.1, 1024, 1033, 238, 400–405, 440, 1301)
• Pennsylvania Suggested Standard Civil Jury Instructions (Motor Vehicle; Pedestrian; Comparative Negligence)

Disclaimer: This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. An attorney licensed in Pennsylvania must review and customize this document before filing. Laws, citations, and court rules change frequently; verify all authorities before use.